KARACHI: An English translation titled The Future of Civilisation by Sumera Naqvi of distinguished public intellectual and former editor of Jang, the late Syed Muhammad Taqi’s book Karbala: Tehzeeb Ka Mustaqbil was launched at the Arts Council of Pakistan on Friday evening.

Moderating the event, Munazza Siddiqui said the book in Urdu was penned in 1980 by Mr Taqi, Ms Naqvi’s maternal grandfather. It’s not a religious but a philosophical book and it took the translator two years to translate it.

Oncologist Dr Azra Raza, whose message was relayed through a video link, was the first speaker of the evening. She said many books have been written about Imam Husain, even more about the tragedy Karbala. Few match the one written by Mr Taqi.

“The Future of Civilisation is the profound exploration of what we humans grapple with every day… It shows how Husain chose the noble path of martyrdom over rebellion.”

She said Ms Naqvi must be complimented and acknowledged for the translation.

Habib University President Wasif Rizvi, in his speech, referred to a project at the university he represents called epistemic reparation. “Epistemic hegemony has its basis in something called logical positivism, which means what we can understand is the only reality. Otherwise there’s no concept of reality. It took root in Europe. Therefore, it has created binaries in us, that is, philosophy is a different thing and religion is another. This day and age is perhaps the most non-philosophical age for humanity and there are many painful examples before us.”

He said he read the translated book with dedication. “The author is reminding you that all of it [the above-given argument] actually relates to God.” To describe the beauty of divinity he first quoted Plato: “Beauty is actually the splendor of truth.” And then another philosopher William Chittick: “Divine infinitude must contain the possibility of self-disclosure.”

Mr Rizvi said, “And that is the name of [Imam] Husain, which means the beauty of virtue.”

Scholar Dr Noman Ul Haq, who had also video recorded his message, said Ms Naqvi’s translation has a certain flow and is easy to read. “Mr Taqi knew many languages. He himself represented a civilisation.”

Dr Haq went down memory lane to tell the audience about his meetings with the intellectual. With respect to the central idea of the book, he said Mr Taqi universalised the tragedy of Karbala.

Educationist Abbas Husain began his address by saying that somehow in our culture we don’t seem to recognise our greats when they’re around us. “I [as a young man] had the great honour of listening to Taqi sahib but his vocabulary of Urdu was much above then my level of comprehension. His grip on philosophical themes for me was/is a powerful marker that even at that age I said to myself that if intelligence be of that calibre, this is what you need to aim for.”

He said the Urdu version of the book was given to him a long time ago as a gift. “A particular feature of the translation I’d like to acknowledge is the conversational style of Taqi sahib… We are dealing with something magnificent, we are dealing with an event which is magnificent. Although he belonged to the Left translating Karl Marx and other thinkers, every page of the book tells you that here’s a mind shaped by the Muharram culture of marsiya and majlis.”

Poet Iftikhar Arif, the third speaker whose message was pre-recorded, said just like great books, great personalities have many aspects (kasirul ma’ani). “The tragedy of Karbala is a big event in history. In the last 50 to 60 years five or six memorable books on Karbala have appeared. Taqi sahib’s is distinctly different (sab se alag).”

Lauding Ms Naqvi’s effort, he said Taqi sahib’s language and diction uses fewer words to say big things, and the translator does her job very well. “She must be commended for the way she’s translated it.”

In the end, Ms Naqvi delivered the vote of thanks. While doing so, she told the guests that it was Shabbar Zaidi who asked her brother that the book must be translated by Ms Naqvi.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2025