Naseem Hijazi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Sharif Husain" redirects here. For the Arabian leader, see Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca.

Naseem Hijazi
Naseem Hijazi in 1976
Naseem Hijazi in 1976
BornSharif Hussain
19 May 1914
Gurdaspur district, Punjab , British India
Died2 March 1996(1996-03-02) (aged 81)
Lahore, Pakistan
OccupationNovelist
LanguageUrdu
NationalityPakistani
Notable awardsPride of Performance Award in 1992

Sharif Hussain (Urdu: شریف حسین), who used the pseudonym Nasīm Hijāzī (Urdu: نسیم حجازی, commonly transliterated as Naseem Hijazi or Nasim Hijazi) (19 May 1914 – 2 March 1996), was an Urdu novelist.[1][2]

Early life and career[]

Hussain was born in an Arain family in the village of Sujaanpur, near the town of Dhariwal, in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab, in pre-partition India. He migrated to Pakistan after partition in 1947. He chose Islamic history as the inspiration for his novels.[3]

Among the notable writers of his time, Ibn-e-Safi, Saadat Hasan Manto, and Shafiq-ur-Rehman were his popular contemporaries. He lived most of his life in Pakistan and died on 2 March 1996.[4][3]

Novels[]

Naseem Hijazi used historic settings as the background for his novels and based most of his work on Islamic history, demonstrating both the rise and fall of the Islamic Empire.[3] His novels Muhammad Bin Qasim, Aakhri Ma'raka, Qaisar-o Kisra, and Qafla-i Hijaz describe the era of Islam's rise to political, militaristic, economic, and educational power, while Yusuf Bin Tashfain, Shaheen,[5] Kaleesa Aur Aag, and Andheri Raat Ke Musafir describe the period of the Spanish Reconquista.

In Akhri Chataan, he depicts the Central Asian conquests of Genghis Khan and his destruction of the Khwarizm Sultanate.[3]

Hijazi wrote two sequential novels on the British Raj, and described the shortcomings of many nations within India after the collapse of the Mughal Empire. The novel Mu'azzam Ali starts a little before the Battle of Plassey. The lead character, Muazzam Ali, joins the fight against the British with the army of Siraj-ud-Daula. The story progresses as the character moves from one place in India to another in search of lost glory and freedom. He takes part in the third battle of Panipat and finally settles in Srirangapattana, which is growing in power under the towering personality of Haider Ali. The book ends around the death of Ali. The second book on the battles in the same area, Aur Talwar Toot Gayee (And the Sword Broke), is about Haider's son Sultan Tipu, where the same character is finding his dreams being fulfilled in Tipu's valiant endeavours against the British East India Company. The book culminates in Sultan Tipu's sad and untimely martyrdom.[3][1]

Hijazi also wrote the novel Khaak aur Khoon, which details the violence caused by religious tensions between Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus at the time of the partition of British India and the Independence of Pakistan in 1947.[6][3]

Although some historians have accused him of distorting historical facts in his novels,[3] he has influenced many readers inside and outside Pakistan.[2]

Publications[]

Title (Roman) Title (English) Title (Urdu) Genre Historical Period/Events
Khaak aur Khoon[6][1] Dirt and Blood خاک اور خون Novel British Indian Empire, Partition of India in 1947, Creation of Pakistan
Yousuf bin Tashfin[1] Yousuf Son of Tashfin یوسف بن تاشفین Novel Al-Andalus, First Taifas period, Almoravid Empire, Spanish Reconquista
Akhari Chattan[2][1] The Last Rock آخری چٹان Novel Siege of Jerusalem (1187) – Saladin captures Jerusalem from the Crusaders, Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia and Eastern Iran, Fall of Baghdad (End of Abbasid Caliphate)
Aakhari Maarka[2] The Last Battle آخری معرکہ Novel Invasions of India by Mahmud of Ghazni
Andheri Raat Ke Musafir[2] Travelers of the Dark Night اندھیری رات کے مسافر Novel Spanish Reconquista, Fall of Granada[3]
Kaleesa Aur Aag[2] Church and Fire کلیسا اور آگ Novel Spanish Reconquista, Spanish Inquisition, expulsion of the Moriscos - (continued from the end of Andheri Raat Ke Musafir)[3]
Muazzam Ali Muazzam Ali معظم علی Novel British Indian Empire, Battle of Plassey, Third Battle of Panipat, Anglo-Mysore Wars (Hyder Ali's Era)
Aur Talwar Toot Gai[2] And the Sword Broke اور تلوار ٹوٹ گئی Novel Anglo-Mysore Wars (Tipu Sultan's Era - continued from the end of 'Muazzam Ali')
Daastaan-e-Mujahid (1944)[3][2] A Soldier's Tale داستان مجاہد Novel Arab Ummayad Caliphate - Muslim Conquest of Al-Andalus, Sindh, Central Asia, and Maghreb
Insaan Aur Devta Man and God انسان اور دیوتا Novel Ancient India - brutality of upper castes towards lower castes in the Hindu religion
Muhammad Bin Qasim[1] Muhammad Bin Qasim محمد بن قاسم Novel Muslim Conquest of Sindh[3]
Pakistan Se Diyare Haram Tak From Pakistan to Sacred Land پاکستان سے دیار حرم تک Travelogue
Pardesi Darakht The Foreign Tree پردیسی درخت Novel British Indian Empire, a few years before partition of British India
Gumshuda Qaafley[2] The Lost Caravans گمشدہ قافلے Novel British Indian Empire, Partition of India, Creation of Pakistan - (continued from the end of Pardesi Darakht)
Pouras Ke Hathi [2] Poras's Elephants پورس کے ہاتھی Drama Indo-Pakistani War of 1965[3]
Qafla-e-Hijaz The Caravan of Hijaz قافلئہ حجاز Novel Rashidun Caliphate, Muslim conquest of Persia
Qaisar-o-Kisra[1] Caesar and Cyrus قیصر و کسر'ی Novel Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, Rise of Islam in Arabian Peninsula
Saqafat Ki Talaash In Search of Culture ثقافت کی تلاش Drama, Humor
Shaheen[5][1] The Falcon شاہین Novel Spanish Reconquista, Fall of Granada[3]

(English translation of Shaheen)

Sau Saal Baad 100 Years Later سو سال بعد Novel, Humor
Sufaid Jazeera[2] The White Island سفید جزیرہ Novel, Humor

Death[]

Naseem Hijazi died on 2 March 1996 at age 81 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.[4][1][7]

Awards and recognition[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "Naseem Hijazi's list of novels with their ratings". goodreads.com website. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k Unknown (6 September 2013). "URDU ADAB: Complete List of Novels Written by Naseem Hijazi (includes his profile)". urduadab4u.com website. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Naseem Hijazi: the master of historic fiction". The Nation (newspaper). 13 June 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Writer of Islamic historical novels Naseem Hijazi's anniversary today". Samaa TV News website. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Shaheen (Volume-1)". 12 March 2007. Archived from the original on 3 May 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Free Naseem hijazi novels online read". Free Books website. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Shahid Irfan (1 February 2017). "Naseem Hijazi: Historic and Islamic Novel Writer". theurduwriters.com website. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
Retrieved from ""