Reynold Nicholson

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Reynold Alleyne Nicholson (or RA Nicholson; 1868-1945), was an eminent orientalist who is widely regarded as the greatest Rumi scholar in the English language.

He was a professor for many years at Cambridge University, in England, and dedicated his life to the study of Islamic mysticism. He was able to study and translate major Sufi texts in Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish to English. He was also the Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic at Cambridge University.

Works

Works on Rumi

His monumental achievement was his work on Rumi's Masnavi (done in eight volumes, published between 1925-1940). He produced the first critical Persian edition of Rumi's Masnavi, the first full translation of it into English, and the first commentary on the entire work in English. This work has been highly influential in the field of Rumi studies, world-wide.

Works on Iqbal

Being a teacher of the Pakistani scholar and poet Iqbal, Nicholson translated Iqbal's first philosophical Persian poetry book Asrar-i-Khudi in English as Secrets of the Self.

See also

• Rumi
• Iqbal
• Secrets of the Self