DarulMusannefin, also known as Shibli Academy, is a unique research institution based in Azamgarh, India. It is the oldest and most reputable research institution established by the Muslims of the Indo-Pak Sub-continent. It was established by Allama Shibli Nomani, the great Islamic scholar and historian whose biography of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Siratun Nabi, has no parallel in any language. He completed two volumes of this monumental work before his death in 1915. The next five volumes were completed by his able disciple and successor AllamaSulaimanNadwi.
During this period spanning over more than a century, the institution has published over 275 books of high-class research, many are in multi-volumes. These books, originally written in Urdu, have been translated into many Indian and foreign languages including Arabic, Persian, Turkish and English as well as Hindi and Malyalam etc.
The institution’s highly acclaimed monthly journal, Ma’arif, continues its uninterrupted publication since 1916. The great Islamic scholar, Dr Muhammad Hamidullah, considered it as the Muslim World’s best journal, while another famed Arab scholar Shaikh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah of Syria opined that Shibli Academy has no parallel in the Muslim World.
Great personalities of the Sub-continent like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr Zakir Husain and Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi have been associated with Shibli Academy. The current Patron of the Academy is the former Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari and its current Director is Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, an Islamic scholar and reputed writer who is well-known in the Arab World.