Scholar and historian. Dr. Hamidullah was a great searcher of Islamic knowledge who did his D. Phil on International Laws of Islam from Bonn (Germany) and later D. Litt on the subject of the Islamic Ambassadorship during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and Khilafate Rashida from the University of Soborne in Paris. He also taught at various universities in France and Germany and remained attached to the National Centre for Scientific Research at Paris, for his initial years of stay in Paris where he later devoted himself wholly to Islamic Research, Dawah and Publication. His Highness Mir Usman Ali Khan, the last Asifjahi Nizam of Hyderabad, sent an official delegation, that included Dr Hamidullah, to the UN to plead the State's case for independence. But before the delegation reached New York, Hyderabad State was liquidated (five days after the Indian invasion) and lost its independent status. As a token of his devotion to Nizam Hyderabad and respect for the Osmania University, which was his Alma mater, Dr. Hamidullah refused to return to Hyderabad after 1948 and lived in self-exiled in France.

[Source: Jasarat, Maududi Number, 1979]

Dr. Hamidullah was a linguist with fluency in 22 languages including his own Urdu, but his passion remains for Islamic studies. He authored several books in English and French and also translated the meaning of the Qur'an in French. He gave extension lectures in various universities around the world and some of his lectures are also in published form. His works on Islamic science, history and culture number more than 250. Dr. Hamidullah's famous books are, 'Muhammad Rasulullah', 'The Battlefields of Prophet Muhammad', 'The Muslim Conduct of State; the First Written Constitution', etc. His compilation of Bibliography of the Qu'ran with excerpts from 120 translations in different world languages is another feather in his cap. Prof. Hamidullah went to those Islamic sources that were often buried in the dusty shelves of libraries. He discovered earliest Hadith manuscript in a Damascus library and he published in Urdu known as Sahifa Hamam. He has left behind him a legacy that many generations will benefit from. Muhammad Hamidullah was born in Hyderabad, a princely state of British India. Dr. Hamidullah who never married was settled in France but had to move in 1996 to his grandniece, in the USA, to be taken care of, because of his illness. He died in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. For further information click this link
Impact International - issue on Professor Hamidullah