A book that Urdu readers in Aligarh have argued over for nearly two decades is now in English. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: A Private Life, Prof. Iftikhar Alam Khan’s study of the founder of the MAO College, was published by Oxford University Press in October 2025. It is edited and translated by Ather Farouqui, General Secretary of the Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind).
The Urdu original, Sir Syed: Daroon-e-Khana (Sir Syed: inside the household), came out in 2006 from Educational Book House, Aligarh. A second edition followed in 2020, and the first edition can be read on Rekhta. Before it became a book, Prof. Abul Kalam Qasmi ran its chapters in instalments in Tehzeebul Akhlaq, and the Islamabad journal Nawa-e-Akhlaq also serialised it.
What the book covers
Instead of the reformer on the stage, the book looks at Sir Syed at home: the years that formed him, his loyalties, his manners and habits, and how he reacted to the people and events around him. The English edition, at 352 pages, covers his childhood and family, his service under the British and his drive to modernise Muslim education.
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What Dr Rahat Abrar says about it
Dr Rahat Abrar, former Public Relations Officer of AMU and former Director of its Urdu Academy, spoke on the book at the Sir Syed Academy at the invitation of its Director, Prof. Shafey Kidwai, and Deputy Director Dr Mohammad Shahid. In his Urdu review, shared with The Aligarian, he says he values every essay Prof. Iftikhar Alam Khan has written. But he does not agree with Prof. Abul Kalam Qasmi that the book opens the door to research, and he says some of its findings need correcting.
- Where Sir Syed’s wife is buried. Parsa Begum died in Moradabad. Dr Abrar, who wrote a monograph on Sir Syed’s Moradabad years for the Sir Syed Academy, says she is buried neither in the courtyard of a small mosque nor in the Shaukat Bagh graveyard, as some accounts claim. He adds that the wife of Sir Syed’s close friend Maulana Zainul Abideen, who died in 1886, was buried beside her.
- The famous group photograph. In the best-known group picture of Sir Syed, he sits on the ground while four deputy collectors sit on chairs. The book dates it to 25 December 1865 in Allahabad, or to an old bungalow in Aligarh. Dr Abrar argues it was taken in Moradabad in 1861, when people gathered to offer condolences on the death of Sir Syed’s wife. He identifies those seated as Maulvi Syed Imdad Ali, Deputy Collector of Moradabad; Raja Jai Kishan Das; Deputy Rahmat Ali, Deputy Collector of Bijnor; and Raja Baldeo Singh.
- Where the Madrasatul Uloom began. The book says the school opened in a small ceremony at the bungalow now known as Guest House No. 2. Dr Abrar says it began in a large thatched bungalow near the present Students’ Union building.
The other Iftikhar Alam
Dr Abrar points out a happy coincidence. The first serious history of Sir Syed’s school was also written by an Iftikhar Alam. Maulvi Syed Iftikhar Alam Marahravi, a student from the first generation trained under Sir Syed, compiled the Mohammedan College History, or Tareekh Madrasatul Uloom. It records the school’s story from its founding on 24 May 1875 to 1900, with the visits of guests and plans of the buildings. It was printed in 1901 at Matba Mufeed-e-Aam, Agra.
At Dr Abrar’s request, the Sir Syed Academy, then headed by Prof. Mohammad Salahuddin Umari, republished it in 2013 through AMU’s Publication Division. Dr Abrar notes that the newer book does not cite Marahravi’s history, which he calls a basic source for the Aligarh Movement.
What next
Dr Abrar ends with a request: a Hindi translation, so that more readers can understand the Aligarh Movement. He notes that Prof. Iftikhar Alam Khan’s son, Prof. Shah Alam, a doctor at AIIMS, wants the same. For more on the man himself, read our Sir Syed Ahmad Khan biography and our explainer on the Aligarh Movement.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sir Syed: Daroon-e-Khana?
An Urdu book by Prof. Iftikhar Alam Khan on the personal and family life of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, first published in 2006 by Educational Book House, Aligarh.
Is there an English translation?
Yes. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: A Private Life, edited and translated by Ather Farouqui, was published by Oxford University Press in October 2025.
Where was the famous group photograph of Sir Syed taken?
Prof. Iftikhar Alam Khan places it in Allahabad in 1865 or in Aligarh. Dr Rahat Abrar argues it was taken in Moradabad in 1861, after the death of Sir Syed’s wife.
What is Tareekh Madrasatul Uloom?
A history of Sir Syed’s school from 1875 to 1900 by Maulvi Syed Iftikhar Alam Marahravi, first printed in 1901 and republished by the Sir Syed Academy in 2013.
Sources: Dr Rahat Abrar’s Urdu review of Sir Syed: Daroon-e-Khana; publisher listing of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: A Private Life.
