Shibli Nomani (1857-1914), undoubtedly one of the towering figures of Urdu literature written in the post 1857-era, is sometimes criticised for some of his views and the issues that he discussed in his books and other literary works. The issues and burning topics that attracted Shibli much had certain aspects and there were certain reasons behind Shibli’s attention being diverted to those topics. This paper explains the peculiar social, political, literary and religious factors that shaped Shibli and his views. The writer has taken into account the early life of Shibli, his upbringing and early education at religious schools (madrassas), Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s influence on him and his leaning towards a balanced view viz-a-viz eastern and western sources of knowledge while being associated with Nadwat-ul-Ulema, Lucknow. The article also considers Shibli’s various literary works in this analysis.