An Indian scholar, theologian, historian and poet. When teaching Arabic at the Aligarh College in 1883, Maulana Shibli had access to Sir Syed Ahmad's rich collections of Arabic works published abroad. Maulana's Al Mamun was published in 1887. After that came a biography of Imam Abu Hanifa and then his masterpiece Al-Faruq. His ilm-ul-kalam, Al Ghazali, Mawzna-e-Anis wa Dabir and Maqalat-e Shibli were his other works. Maulana Shibli's Sher-ul-Ajam, an outstanding critical treatise on Persian poetry, revived the interest of Persian poetry in India. Maulana Shibli was able to write only the first part of the Sirat-un-Nabi, a monumental work on the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he died, however his disciple Suleyman Nadvi finally completed Shibli's work. Maulana Shibli was the founder of Nadwat-ul-Ulema at Lucknow and Darul-Musanafin Azamgarh. He created middle path between Deoband school of thought and Aligarh to impart modern western knowledge along with the usual courses of study in oriental subjects. Shibli Academy in Azamgarh has a wealth of authenticated documents dating back to the 16th century and is a seat of higher learning. Shibli Numani was born at Azamgarh, and he was one of the most learned men of his age.