
It was a regular scene. People had become used to it. A frail lady, clutching her young child in her bosom, used to turn up at the doorsteps of the local mosque. She used to pray, “O Allah, you have taken my two daughters, please do not take away this child, he will do your work.” The time passed by. So did that lady. The child passing through numerous ups and downs in life, ultimately, became a leading advocate of the supreme court of India by the name of Wasi Ahmad Nomani.
He became engrossed in his work and forgot what his mother had asked from the Almighty and what had she promised Him. But once on a lazy evening when all family members were sitting and talking about past and the time gone, someone casually mentioned about what his mother used to pray. The old memories which were lying somewhere deep in his mind, resurfaced all of a sudden. He remembered what his mother had told him. He became a little worried and started thinking that what work can he possibly do for Allah. There was none whom he could turn for consultation and guidance. He did what his mother used to do. He prayed to Allah and asked for His guidance in this regard.
Reading Quran has been his old habit. He often reads Quran in his spare time. One day, he was routinely reading the holy book when an ayat caught his eye. The ayat had always been there and he himself had read it several times in the past. But that day was different. That day it seemed as if the ayat was talking to him. The ayat was about the Last Day, and how the world would come to an end.
Mr.Wasi Ahmad Nomani read the ayat again and again. He started searching and reading similar ayats in the holy Quran. He was surprised to learn that there are about a thousand ayats in the holy Quran about the natural phenomena and science. He realized that Allah had answered his and his mother’s prayers. He had found the way. He realized that all such ayats can together form a separate subject of study. He has given a name to this subject and calls it ‘QURAN SCIENCE AND COSMOS’. And he can be called as the first professor of this subject.
He says that if all these ayats are shown and explained to any person he would certainly accept that the Quran is the book of Allah and what thisbook has said is truth and what it has predicted will certainly take place. By his work on this subject, Mr. Nomani is inviting and attracting people towards the way of Allah and is thus working for Allah, as his mother had promised Him.
Mr. Nomani has given more than a hundred lectures on the subject in various parts of India like, Mumbai, Bhiwadi, Gorakhpur, Saharanpur, Azamgarh, Maunath Bhanjan and the NCR. The Zee TV for its Zee Salam channel recorded a 33 part lecture series. The whole series has been telecast twice by this channel. It should be reminded that he is regularly invited by many non – Muslim organizations to speak on the subject of ‘Quran, Science and Cosmos’. The Sai International Organization is one such organization which organized a function specially for Mr. Nomani to speak on the subject.
In September 2010, he delivered a lecture in the Nagpur University, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India, on the subject of ‘Quran, Science and Cosmos’. It is important to note that Nagpur city is the headquarter of the Hindu organization, the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS). It was thus obvious that the overwhelming majority of the audience was composed of the Hindus and the people belonging to the RSS ideology. It is also necessary to mention that his hosts in Nagpur were all Hindus. He was also invited by the House of Lords of the United Kingdom to talk on the subject. All this clearly shows that the non Muslims are always ready to listen any logical argument.
In August 2011, he visited Tehran, Iran, to attend the International Quran Exhibition. He delivered a detailed lecture on the subject in a seminar which was held in Tehran on the occasion of the mentioned exhibition. He told the assembled audience that till now a lot of research has been done on Quran. But the aspect which he has chosen to study has so far remained neglected. Muslims, regrettably, did not pay enough and the requisite attention to this dimension of their holy book. Many senior authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who were present in the seminar and listened to his presentation, were deeply impressed. It was announced in the seminar that Iran would establish an institute to perform research on the subject of ‘QURAN, SCIENCE AND COSMOS’.
Profession:
Mr. Nomani is in the legal profession continuously since the year 1977. He initially practiced in the sessions courts of Azamgarh, UP, India, and mainly dealt with the cases involving the criminal law. In the year 1986, he shifted to the supreme court of India where he had the opportunity to deal with the national and international cases and work with several leading advocates like, Mr. A. D. Giri, the former solicitor general of India, and Mr. Kapil Sibbal, the human resources development minister of India. He worked as the counsel in charge for Mr. Narasimha Rao, the former Prime Minister of India, in the well known Lakhu Bhai Pathak case.His team was able to get acquittal for Mr. Rao. Mr. Nomani has dealt with many constitutional, criminal, civil, matrimonial and consumer cases. He also worked under the supervision of the renowned advocate of the supreme court of India, Mr. R. G. Garg, in the famous S. R. Bommai vs Union of India case. In that case the supreme court of India stated in alandmark ruling that secularism is the soul of the constitution of India. Along with Mr. Kapil Sibbal, he also fought the case of the famous Indian film hero, Sanjay Dutt, who has been granted bail in that case. Mr. Nomani also appeared for some time on behalf of Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Rashtriya Janata Party leader, the former chief minister of the state of Bihar and the former Railways Minister of India.
He also worked for the educational rights of the Muslim minority under the constitution of India. He appeared in a famous case by the name of P. A.Inamdar vs. Union of India. In this case 50% of the seats were reserved for the Muslims in the Muslim run institutions. The honorable supreme court of India observed in its decision that Muslims have the right to run their educational institutions to protect their religion, language and culture.
Background:
Mr. Wasi Ahmad Nomani was born on September 18, 1952 in Madhubani, in Mirzapur district of Bihar, India, to Mr. Abdul Quiyum and Mrs. Haleema Khatoon. His grandfather, Mr. Abdul Hameed was a small land lord of the area. But when Mr. Nomani was born all the land had gone and the family was facing acute financial crisis.
He is the eldest of the four brothers. His younger brother, Mr. Wali Ahmad, is in the hand loom business in Maunath Bhanja, UP, India. His second younger brother, Mr. Ghani Ahmad, is an advocate by profession in the same city. His youngest brother, Mr. Musheer Ahmad is engineer in the IFFCO company and lives in Noida.
The early education of Mr. Nomani was done in the Madrasa Jamia Miftahul Uloom, Maunath Bhanjan, where he learned reciting the holy Quran and became a certified qari. He shifted from Madhubani to Maunath Bhanjan for the purpose of education. The financial condition of his family was very weak and he had to do various odd jobs to continue his education and support the family. Once he served as muezzin and imam in the mosque.
After some time he brought his younger brother Wali Ahmad to Maunath Bhanjan and put him in school. But the young Wali was not much inclined towards academics and started the handloom business which he is still doing. In the meantime the two other younger brothers also were brought to Maunath Bhanjan for education.
The business of Wali Ahmad got established and Wasi Ahmad proceeded towards the Aligarh Muslim University and took admission in the pre University Class (P.U.C.). He completed LLB from the AMU Aligarh in the year 1976- 77 and started practice in law in Maunath Bhanjan from where he shifted to the supreme court of India in the year 1986.
The influence of the AMU on Mr. Nomani:
The Aligarh Muslim University was the place where his latent qualities of writing, speaking and leadership blossomed. In fact it was the AMU Aligarh which shaped and chiseled the raw Nomani in to a fine speaker and public personality. This university instilled in him the manners and confidence to meet and talk leading personalities and authorities.
In the AMU, he won around 50 various prizes in debates and essay writing competitions in Urdu, Hindi and English. He represented the university in the All India Literary and Cultural Festival in the University of Jaipur, Rajasthan. He also represented the university in many debating competitions held in the Banaras Hindu University and the Meerut University. He represented India as leader of the Indian Youth Delegation to the USSR in the year 1977 and won the gold and silver medals for the country. Mr. Nomani was very active in the social activities and served in several social and cultural organizations. He was the Chief Organizer of the National Service Scheme in the AMU Aligarh during the period 1975 – 77.
Joins Congress party in the AMU:
While Mr. Nomani was still studying in the AMU, he entered the national politics and joined the Congress party. He became the General Secretary of the Indian Youth Congress in the AMU Aligarh from 1972-76. He was elected as vice president of the AMU Students Union in 1973-74. During this period he was very close to Mr. Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, the Congress chief minister of the state of Uttar Pradesh of India.
He was the All India General Secretary of the Indian Youth Congress from 1973 – 75 and the General Secretary of the District Congress Committee, Maunath Bhanjan from 1978 to 1986. He was given ticket for the UP assembly election by Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. Though he could not win the election, but was always close to Rajiv Gandhi.He was the convener of the Youth Wing (Minority cell) of the All India Congress Committee from 1974 – 1975. He was arrested and sent to the jail of Azamgarh along with his 50 Congress party colleagues in protest to the illegal arrest of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in 1977. He was later appointed the Joint Secretary of All India Congress Committee (Legal Cell).
India Islamic Culture Centre:
Mr. Wasi Ahmad Nomani has been associated with the India Islamic Culture Centre for a long time. He was first elected as its General Secretary in the year 2003 and has since been deeply involved in its day to day activities and daily spends a considerable time there.
Mr. Nomani said about the Centre, “There are many organizations in the country working for the welfare of the Muslims. But the India Islamic Culture Centre has got its special tone and method to address the issues related to the peace and national development by actually participating in the progress of the nation. The main objective of the India Islamic Culture Centre is to create an atmosphere of unity, brotherhood and solidarity in the country. Its another important objective is to spread the teachings of Islam by removing the alleged misunderstandings about it. The IICC regularly organizes national and international seminars and symposia on various issues. It regularly organizes functions with the participation of the national and international religious and other scholars.”
His views on various issues:
He thinks that peace, development, unity and corruption are the main issues which should be paid attention to in India. If corruption is to be eradicated, the civil servants, politicians and social workers must be more responsible, dedicated and cooperative.
About the various anti corruption movements which are currently going on in the country, Mr. Nomani thinks that the people leading such movements must take every citizen of the country with them. About participation of the Muslims in such movements, he thinks that they must join the movement which is proved to be based on national spirit. He thinks that there must be some law to hold the prime minister, the chief justice and the auditor general of India responsible.
Mr. Wasi Ahmad Nomani had joined the Congress party in his student life. His parents and forefathers participated in the Indian national movement. They supported Mahatma Gandhi and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. He thinks that the Congress party needs a complete overhaul. This party has lost its roots because of not following the spirit which prevailed during the independence movement of the country. He thinks that those who opposed and criticized the policies of the Congress in the past are now given posts and positions in it. He thinks that such an attitude has damaged the party.
About the Indian Muslims, Mr. Nomani thinks, “The safety of life and property of the Muslims is the most important issue to be addressed without any delay. The Muslim community should be placed in a position so that they are able to share the power of governance positively. Their meaningful participation in the governance will eradicate even the corruption and dishonesty.”
About the pending cases in the Indian courts, Mr. Nomani said, “As a student of law, I have always believed, practiced and also written articles on the issue of the justice delayed. India is the country of villages, where about 80% of the people of the country live. Therefore, the cases are mostly prevalent in the villages because of illiteracy and ignorance about law. The present system of the delivery of justice is not sufficient in view of the actual requirement of the justice delivery system. Therefore, the powers of the judicial system must be decentralized. The courts, the lawyers and the judges should either be concentrated in the villages or the village panchyats should be given powers equal to the judicial magistrates and the munsif magistrates. The new advocates must be given responsibility to serve in the village Nyaya Panchayats before giving them license to practice in law. The senior advocates of the district courts, high courts and the supreme court must be given responsibility to guide the concerned Nyaya Panchayats of their area during the summer vacations or in any particular period of the year. This would fulfill the long felt need of bringing justice to the doors of the villages.
Thus the separation of the judicial powers will surely reduce the burden of the pending cases in the district courts, the high courts and the supreme court. The justice will be delivered in the true sense as the complainants and the accused are well known to each other in the villages. This will help in the delivery of justice. Mobile courts also should be established.” It should be mentioned that Mr. Nomani has written extensively on the question of village panchayats.
Writings:
Mr. Nomani has been a prolific writer and has written more than a hundred articles on various legal, political and social issues which have been published in leading Hindi, English and Urdu national dailies and periodicals of India.
Current activities:
For some time he has distanced himself from the active politics and has confined himself to just three activities: His legal practice in the supreme court, his social work in the India Islamic Cultural Centre and studying the subject of ‘Quran, Science and Cosmos’. He has been member of the Executive Committee of the Legal Cell of the Supreme Court of India from 1997 – 2008 and has been the General Secretary of the India Islamic Cultural Centre since the year 2003. He studies the subject of ‘Quran, Science and Cosmos’ usually in the stillness of the night. When everybody sleeps, he studies the ayats of the holy Quran.
Marriage:
Mr. Wasi Ahmad Nomani is married to a very talented lady, Dr. Naseema Nomani, a clinical psychologist by profession. She did M.Phil in Clinical Psychology from the Central Institute of Psychology, Ranchi, in 1990. She has served as Clinical Psychologist in various hospitals including the VIMHANS and the AIIMS in New Delhi, India. Currently, she is working as Senior Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the Kailash Hospitals and Research Centre, Noida, UP, India. She knows six languages of English, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Bhojpuri and Arabic. And she is a very good cook.