Darul Musannefin Shibli Academy

Darul Musannefin Shibli Academy Marching Towards Progress

From the very beginning Darul Musannefin Shibli Academy has its own press that published its monthly organ “Maarif” and the books authored by scholars associated with it. In fact in those early days it set a new standard for Urdu publications. Its publications were marked for their quality of printing and calligraphy. This standard was maintained for long but with the passage of time the situation gradually changed. After independence, due to combination of a variety of reasons, financial stability of the Academy was adversely affected. As help did not come, its financial condition continued to deteriorate and in the recent years it turned into a veritable crisis. Acute shortage of funds affected every aspect of the Academy. Living conditions of the staff became miserable and even routine maintenance of this grand old institution that constitutes one of the finest achievements of the Muslims of Indian subcontinent became impossible. Even necessary repairs could not be carried and its beautiful campus turned into a virtual wilderness. In this situation publication programme could not have remained unaffected. Quality of printing began to deteriorate. It was a time when printing technology was witnessing a revolution. Shibli Academy which was finding it difficult even to maintain its old standard could not afford to acquire expensive new printing technology. As a result, it could not keep pace with the changing world of printing. This further aggravated the situation. Consequently, the publications of the Academy could not compete with the other publishers and gradually lost much of its market. For long proceeds from the sale of the books was the main source of Academy’s income. As this source dried, the quality of the publication of its famed books was bound to be further affected. Thus a vicious circle was created; decrease in income leading to still poorer quality of books and this leading to further decline in income. Reckless publishers, who do not have any other consideration except profiteering, took full advantage of this situation and began to publish those books of the Academy which were in great demand thereby further jeopardising its financial stability. The Academy was faced with a very difficult situation. Virtually its life line was cut.

The present administration realised the gravity of the of the state of affairs prevailing in the Academy and after taking stock of the entire situation came to the conclusion that first and foremost priority was to launch a vigorous programme for publication of famed books of the Academy in accordance with the modern standards. Out of its more than 250 publications, many were out of print and many more were in a very bad condition and needed to be republished. The task was taken up in earnest even as the Academy did not possess necessary resources. As Academy’s press could not tackle the job, it has to be outsourced. As a result, the books are now mostly printed at Delhi. Till date forty five books have been published in keeping with the modern requirements. These could be placed alongside books of the good Urdu publishers. Every attempt is being made to accelerate the process and Insha Allah it will not stop till all the books of the Academy are published in keeping with the best standards of the time. It requires enormous funds but we have faith in divine providence and firmly believe that this mission will not remain unfulfilled.
The books which have been published so far include Hayat-i Shibli, Khutbat-i Shibli, al-Faruq, Iqbal-i Kamil, Shirul Hind, Khulfa-i Rashidin, Sirat-i Ayesha, Khutbat-i Madras, al-Mamun, Aurangzeb Alamgir par Ek Nazar, Arab wa Hind ke Taalluqat, Maulana Rum, three volumes of Maqalat-i Shibli,Islam mein Mazhabi Rawadari, Hindustan ke Muslim hukmaranun ki Mazhabi Rawadari, Tazkirat ul Muhaddisin etc.

The first priority was naturally given to the books which were out of print.

A very nice edition of Sirat un Nabi was brought out by the Academy few years back. It has been sold out in spite of the fact that a number of cheap pirated editions are available in the market. Preparations are afoot to bring out a new edition of this most important book of the Academy. It will require considerable funds. Help for the publication of this famed biography of our Prophet (SAWS) is indeed a matter of great saadat. Sponsorship for the publication of this great book as well as remaining two hundred odd books will be highly appreciated. Suggestions about improving any aspect of the Academy including publication will be most welcome.

To get hold of a copy of these or any other publications, please write to us at;
info@shibliacademy.org
shibli_academy@rediffmail.com

or call us at +91-54622-65017 , +91-54622-65080

For complete list of publications, catalog of books and other publication related information, please visit http://shibliacademy.org/publications