September 28, 2003

Dr Anwar Hussain Siddiqui, a social scientist, recently retired as vice-chancellor of Allama Iqbal Open University. He was vice president of the Islamic International University, Islamabad

“READING is my ultimate relaxation,” says Dr Anwar Siddiqui, “and I just have to read something before I go to bed. Since early childhood, it was Urdu stories and Urdu comics that appealed to me as the influence of English literature was not so apparent in those days.”

Dr Siddiqui, who was also director general of the Federal Judicial Academy, and director, Pakistan Administrative Staff College, Lahore, and NIPA, Karachi, says that he particularly enjoys reading books on history, especially those concerning Partition and the second world war, “I have read all the books by Winston Churchill,” he adds.

Currently, Dr Siddiqui is reading Muhammad — His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings. “This book was given to my daughter as a prize,” he says, “and as the Prophet is my role model and ideal, I was attracted to the book immediately.”

The author of the book, Martin Lings, is a member of the British Museum and after taking a degree in English at Oxford, he went on to take a degree in Arabic. After studying the Quran and researching the life of the holy Prophet he converted to Islam. His book was selected as the best biography of the Prophet in English, at the National Seerat Conference in 1983. It has also been awarded by the government of Pakistan.

“One of the best things about this particular biography is the distinct style the author uses to weave a story that binds one to this book. The author refers to historical sources throughout his writing, and many critics have acclaimed this biography as one of the most authentic works on the Prophet.”

Dr Anwar Siddiqui adds that he particularly likes the way the author remains “unapologetic” and does not try to justify or offer explanations for the Prophet’s many marriages. In fact, he just states facts as they are.

“Martin Lings manages to portray the natural rivalries and jealousies between the Prophet’s wives very well. His style is easy and straightforward so the reader can easily relate to it,” he adds. “Essentially, all the prophets were leaders of the downtrodden and led rebellions of the oppressed against the oppressors; they were, in essence, true liberators,” says Dr Siddiqui.

Quaid-i-Azam is also a hero to him as he is the author of a “modern miracle”, as he succeeded in creating a new nation state within the limits of the law and constitutionalism and against such heavy odds.

Amongst his favourite authors, Dr Anwar has enjoyed reading the works of Manto, Ismat Chughtai and Mumtaz Mufti. “When I want to read something in my leisure time then I go for suspense, thrillers and spy-stories. I usually follow book reviews to learn about various authors, and then I select those books that appeal to me.”

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