VETERAN scholar and poet Aslam Ansari passed away in Multan on Oct 22, 2024. What made Ansari stand out among his peers was his extensive knowledge and command over several languages. And he wrote in four of them: Urdu, Persian, English and Saraeki.
Born in Multan on April 30, 1939, Prof Muhammad Aslam Ansari was an acclaimed poet of Persian and Urdu. His contributions to genres of ghazal and masnavi in both the languages were particularly acknowledged. But his Persian divan and three Persian masnavis were largely ignored as in the subcontinent Persian is no more the language of creative expression or scholarly works and it is hard to find its readers in Pakistan these days. But some of his Urdu ghazals became quite popular.
Iqbal Studies was another of his fortes and his five books on Allama Iqbal and critical works on other topics made him a critic to reckon with. Aslam Ansari translated kaafees by Khwaja Ghulam Fareed, a towering Sufi poet of Saraeki, into English. Prof Ansari’s Saraeki novel Beeri Vich Darya, or River in the Boat, is considered a modern Saraeki classic and has been made a part of syllabi. Ilyas Kabeer translated it into Urdu under the title Naao Mein Nadiya.
Just a few days before Aslam Ansari’s death, Lahore’s Majlis-i-Taraqqi-i-Adab had managed to bring out Tareekh-o-Tehzeeb, a collection of his critical and research essays. Subtitled Tanqeedi, Tareekhi-o-Tehqeeqi Mazaameen — or Critical, Historical and Research Essays — the book is a collection of 16 pieces that discuss cultural, literary, philosophical, metaphysical and aesthetic issues with reference to Urdu and Persian literatures. This eclectic approach of his is basically part of his endeavors to understand and explain literary theories and literature as a whole. His multi-lingual approach, too, reflects his notion that language is just a medium of expression, not a barrier.
As a result, Aslam Ansari emerged as a critic whose basic commitment is with literature and his approach is not limited to any specific school of thought. This wide-ranging outlook can be seen through his articles included in the book that have topics as diverse as Shibli No’mani’s encyclopedic works, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall’s English translation of Quran and its preface, intellectual aspects in Akber Allahabadi’s poetry, Iqbal’s point of view on comparative study of religions, Goethe’s West-Eastern Divan, existentialism and Sartre, aesthetic of Islamic arts and architecture and Abul Kalam Azad’s selection from Bedil. The longest piece in the book is on biological and psychological basis of pain and reveals yet another aspect of Prof Aslam’s varied studies and interests.
A true scholar, as Aslam Ansari was, his hugely vast reading and innate ideas reflect in these pieces, especially when he sees things in a different perspective and puts them in a nutshell. For instance, in his intro he begins with comparing Altaf Husain Hali’s Muqaddama-i-Shear-o-Shaeri with Muhammad Husain Azad’s Aab-i-Hayat and credits Azad for his ideas on literary criticism as well as history of Urdu poetry, quite a fresh point of view indeed, while at the same time acknowledging Hali’s pioneering effort in Urdu criticism. But he then settles the debate succinctly in one sentence: both the books complement each other as Aab-i-Hayat says what Urdu poetry is, whereas Muqaddama tells what it should be.
Prof Dr Muhammad Aslam Ansari began composing poetry at quite an early age and his ghazals and critical essays began appearing in literary magazines while he was still a student. Having passed his BA with philosophy and Persian as majors from Multan’s Emerson College, he did his MA in Urdu and then in Persian from Punjab University Oriental College, Lahore. Ansari then went on to obtain a PhD as well. He had begun composing poetry in Persian, too. Having chosen teaching as profession, he taught at different colleges in Multan.
Some of Prof Aslam Ansari’s collections of poetry are Khwab-o-Aagahi, Naqsh Ehd-i-Visaal Ka, Shab-i-Ishq Ka Sitara, Tehreer-i-Naghma, Maah-o-Nujoom, Pas-i-Divaar-i-Chaman and Kulliyaat-i-Aslam Ansari. His works on Allama Iqbal include Iqbal-i-Ehad Aafreen, Shear-o-Fikr-i-Iqbal and Mutala’at-i-Iqbal. His other books are Urdu Mein Alamiya Shaeri Ke Tasavvuraat, Jise Mir Kehte Hain Sahibo and Ghalib Ka Jahan-i-Ma’ani, Fikr-o-Intiqaad. Prof Ansari’s Persian works are Chiraagh-i-Lala, Nigaar-i-Khaatir, Divan-i-Aslam Ansari and Farrukh Nama.
Aside from Khwaja Fareed’s English translations, in English Ansari penned some poems and plays that have been collected in his book Lotus and the Sand Waves.
Being active till his very last days, Aslam Ansari used to contribute to several literary magazines and was planning to get some of his other works published.
We have lost a scholar and a poet whose works represent a confluence of various literary theories, a capacity to study different disciplines profoundly and ability to offer different opinion in a courteous manner.
Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2024
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