Dear friends of Zabaan,
We hope this message finds you well.
It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of Professor C.M. Naim, who left us last week at the age of 89. While the precise cause is unclear, it appears to have been due to natural complications following a stroke he had suffered years ago.
Prof. Naim, affectionately known as Naim Saab holds a special place in Zabaan’s story. Our founder, Ali Taqi, first met him in 1999 at the University of Chicago’s Regenstein Library. At the time, Naim Saab was a revered professor of Urdu, and Ali was working as a Special Cataloguer on the library’s fifth floor. Over the coming years, Naim Saab taught and inspired Ali to do more with languages he was learning. They remained in touch beyond Naim retirement — as a teacher and friends.
In 2014, Ali invited Naim Saab to speak at Zabaan in New Delhi. Around forty students gathered to hear him speak about language and culture, many of those who attended had learned Urdu through his Introductory Urdu books, which Ali and Zabaan’s other Urdu teacher Raza had been using since 2009. It is a priceless memory for all associated with Zabaan, teachers and students alike.
Zabaan has taught thousands of students using Introductory Urdu Volumes 1 and 2, and Ali even adapted the book’s 70 grammar drills to supplement Hindi instruction alongside Prof. Rupert Snell’s Complete Hindi. In doing so, Naim Saab’s work has helped teach not just Urdu, but Hindi as well, indirectly guiding countless learners in both languages. When Ali once mentioned this adaptation to him, Naim Saab responded with modest pride, acknowledging the value of those drills. To this day, every single Zabaan student who has used them has completed the entire set and they remain a popular and incredibly enjoyable learning tool for our students.
Thanks to Naim Saab, generations of students have practiced with Ahmad and Najma, the fictional Muslim characters he created to illustrate grammar points. In our Hindi classrooms, they’ve been joined by Ravi and Kamla, Hindu counterparts imagined by Ali to bridge the linguistic traditions.
There are a few people in this world who leave behind more than memories- they leave behind tools for learning, thinking, seeing, and for speaking. Prof. Naim was one of them. We appreciate the time he spent reading, writing, reflecting that has allowed his work to endure the test of time.
Below are some recent articles published about Prof. Naim’s life and contributions. If you’re interested in learning Urdu or even Hindi through his books with us, please email learn@zabaan.com. We would be honored to teach you too using the materials he created.
With gratitude and remembrance,
The Zabaan Team
1) https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/eminent-urdu-scholar-cm-naim-dies-at-89-10118693/
2) https://scroll.in/article/1084479/remembering-cm-naim-1936-2025-the-conscience-keeper-of-urdu-who-wrote-fearlessly-of-its-politics
3) https://thewire.in/culture/c-m-naims-first-day-in-the-us
4) https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/urdu-doyen-prof-cm-naim-passes-away-leaves-a-lasting-legacy/articleshow/122373330.cms
5) https://tribune.com.pk/story/2555347/esteemed-urdu-scholar-cm-naim-dies-at-age-89-after-dedicating-his-life-to-the-language
6) https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/a-man-of-letters-a-bridge-between-east-and-west-101752851539206.html
7) https://www.newsclick.in/cm-naim-muslims-need-be-equally-guarded-communal-co-religionists-majoritarianism
8) https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/in-cm-naim-east-and-west-met-10126575/
9) https://thewire.in/culture/c-m-naim-may-you-always-be-our-lodestar
10) https://english.varthabharati.in/india/renowned-urdu-scholar-cm-naim-passes-away-at-89
11) https://sabrangindia.in/one-of-urdus-greatest-scholars-c-m-naim-passes-away/