Wahiduddin Khan Biography

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan was an Indian Islamic scholar, peace activist, and one of the most prolific Muslim writers of his generation, internationally recognized for his commentary on the Qur'an and his sustained articulation of a non-violent, spiritually-centered Islamic ethic. Born on 1 January 1925 in the village of Badharia near Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, India, he received a traditional Islamic education at Madrasatul Islahi in Sarai Mir, graduating in 1944, and pursued lifelong self-study in modern sciences, philosophy, and world religions.

Khan founded the Islamic Centre in New Delhi in 1970 and the Centre for Peace and Spirituality in 2001, through which he disseminated his vision of Islam as a religion of intellectual reflection, peace, and unilateral non-violence. His monthly journal Al-Risala, launched in 1976, ran for over four decades and reached audiences across the Indian subcontinent and beyond. He authored more than 200 books — including The True Jihad, Islam and Peace, The Prophet of Peace, and a major Qur'anic commentary Tazkir al-Qur'an — and produced an English Qur'an translation that remains widely circulated, including in bulk-distribution dawah editions.

Khan was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2000 and India's second-highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2021. He led peace marches and interfaith initiatives across India over decades of public work, including a 1992 fifteen-day march through Maharashtra alongside Jain and Hindu spiritual leaders. He died of COVID-19 in New Delhi on 21 April 2021 at the age of ninety-six and was buried at Panjpeeran Qabristan near the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin. His son Saniyasnain Khan continues his publishing legacy through Goodword Books.