Naseem Hijazi
Sharif Hussain (Urdu: شریف حسین), who used the pseudonym Nasīm Hijāzī (Urdu: نسیم حجازی, commonly transliterated as Naseem Hijazi or Nasim Hijazi) (c. 1914–March 1996), was an Urdu writer.[1] He was born in an Arain family in the village of Sujaanpur near the town of Dhariwal, in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab, before the independence of Pakistan; his family settled in Lahore in 1947. He lived most of his life in Pakistan and died in March 1996.
His Novels
Naseem Hijazi bases most of his work on Islamic history. In dealing with this history, he shows both the rise and fall of the Islamic Empire. 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,[2] Kaleesa aur Aag, and Andheri Raat ke Musafir describe the period of Spanish Reconquista. In one of these novels (Kaleesa Aur Aag) he has painfully, yet truthfully, depicted the infamous Spanish Inquisition that began by targeting the Spanish Jews and ended also with the conversion or expulsion of the Moriscos or crypto-Muslims outwardly converted to Christianity.
In Akhri Chataan, he describes the Central Asian conquests of Genghis Khan and his destruction of the Khwarizm Sultanate. The novel shows the brutal conquests of the Mongols, the military genius of Genghis Khan, the undying willpower of Sultan Jalal ud-Din Khwarizm Shah, and the unworthy condition of the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad.
He wrote two sequential novels on British conquest of India, and described the shortcomings of Indian nations after the collapse of Mughal Empire. 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 goes around as the character moves from one place in India to another in search of the lost glory and freedom. He takes part in the third battle of Panipat and finally settles in Srirangapattana, which was growing in power under the towering personality of Haider Ali. The book ends almost around the death of Ali. The second book, Aur Talwar Toot Gayee (And the Sword is Broken) is more about Haider's son Sultan Tipu, where the same character is finding his dreams being fulfilled in Tipu's valiant endeavors against the British East India Company. The book culminates in Sultan Tipu's sad and untimely martyrdom.
He also wrote a novel on the Independence of Pakistan named Khaak aur Khoon.[3]
Publications
| Title (Roman) | Title (English) | Title (Urdu) | Genre | Historical Period/Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khaak aur Khoon | Dirt and Blood | خاک اور خون | Novel | British Indian Empire, Partition of India, Creation of Pakistan |
| Yousuf bin Tashfin | Yousuf the Son of Tashfin | یوسف بن تاشفین | Novel | Al-Andalus, First Taifas period, Almoravid Empire, Spanish Reconquista |
| Akhari Chattan[4] | 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 Marka | The Last Battle | آخری معرکہ | Novel | Invasions of India by Mahmud of Ghazni |
| Andheri Raat Ke Musafir | Travelers of the Dark Night | اندھیری رات کے مسافر | Novel | Spanish Reconquista, Fall of Granada |
| Kaleesa Aur Aag | Church and Fire | کلیسا اور آگ | Novel | Spanish Reconquista, Spanish Inquisition, expulsion of the Moriscos-(continued from the end of Andheri Rat Ke Musafir.) |
| Moazam Ali | Moazam 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 | And the Sword was Broken | اور تلوار ٹوٹ گئی | Novel | Anglo-Mysore Wars (Tipu Sultan's Era_ Continued from end of 'Muazam Ali') |
| Daastaan-e-Mujahid | Tale of the Fighter | داستان مجاہد | Novel | Arab Ummayad Caliphate-Muslim Conquest of Al-Andalus, Sindh, Central Asia and Maghreb. |
| Insaan Aur Devta | The Human and the Deity | انسان اور دیوتا | Novel | Ancient India-brutality of upper casts people towards people of lower cast. |
| Muhammad Bin Qasim | Muhammad Bin Qasim | محمد بن قاسم | Novel | Muslim Conquest of Sindh |
| Pakistan Se Diyare Haram Tak | From Pakistan to Mecca | پاکستان سے دیار حرم تک | Travelogue | |
| Pardesi Darakht | The Alien Tree | پردیسی درخت | Novel | British Indian Empire, Few years before partition |
| Gumshuda Qaafley | 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 [5] | Poras's Elephants | پورس کے ہاتھی | Drama | Indo-Pak war of 1965 |
| Qafla-e-Hijaz | The Caravan of Hijaz | قافلئہ حجاز | Novel | Rashidun Caliphate, Muslim conquest of Persia |
| Qaisar-o-Kisra | Caesar and Kisra | 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 | The Eagle | شاہین | Novel | Spanish Reconquista, Fall of Granada. An English translation of the novel can be viewed at http://shaheenthenovel.weebly.com/, Retrieved 14 Jan 2016 |
| So Saal Baad | After 100 Years | سو سال بعد | Novel, Humor | |
| Sufaid Jazeera | The White Island | سفید جزیرہ | Novel, Humor |
References
- ↑ http://urduadab4u.blogspot.com/2013/09/complete-list-of-novels-written-by.html, Naseem Hijazi biography, Retrieved 14 Jan 2016
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20070503011600/http://www.iqbalcyberlibrary.net/ICBN/969-416-205-018/, Naseem Hijazi's novel 'Shaheen' on iqbalcyberlibrary.net website, Retrieved 14 Jan 2016
- ↑ https://urdubookdownload.wordpress.com/tag/free-naseem-hijazi-novels-online-read/, 'Khaak aur Khoon' novel book review on urdubookdownload.com website, Retrieved 14 Jan 2016
- ↑ http://downloadurdunovels.com/complete-list-of-novels-by-naseem-hijazi/, Retrieved 14 Jan 2016
- ↑ http://rspk.paksociety.com/category/novels/naseem-hijazi/, List of novels by Naseem Hijazi on paksociety.com website, Retrieved 14 Jan 2016
External links
- http://shaheenthenovel.weebly.com/, English Translation of Naseem Hijazi's novel 'Shaheen' on weebly.com website, Retrieved 14 Jan 2016