Reynold Alleyne Nicholson, or R. A. Nicholson, (August 18, 1868 — August 27, 1945) was an eminent English
orientalist, scholar of both Islamic literature and Islamic mysticism, and widely regarded as one of the greatest Rumi
scholars and translators in the English language
Son of paleontologist Henry Alleyne Nicholson, Nicholson was born in Keighley, Yorkshire, England; he died in Chester,
Cheshire, England. He was educated at Aberdeen University and theUniversity of Cambridge, Nicholson was lecturer in
the Persian language (1902–26) and Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic at Cambridge University (1926–1933).
He is considered a leading scholar in Islamic literature and Islamic mysticism who exercised a lasting influence on
Islamic studies.He was able to study and translate major Sufi texts in Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish to
English. Nicholson wrote two very influential books: Literary History of The Arabs (1907) and The Mystics of Islam (1914).