KARACHI, Nov 7: Three books by the late Mohammad Muslim Azeemabadi were launched at a ceremony held at the Arts Council here on Friday evening.

The books, Gulha-i-Rung, Rung (a collection of poetry), Daawat-i-fikr (short stories and plays) and Maqalat (essays), have been meticulously compiled by Mohammad Aslam, the late scholar’s son, from his works spread in various publications from Patna to Karachi.

Prof Mohammad Muslim Azeemabadi was born in Sadiqpur mohallah of Patna (Azeemabad) in 1818. He passed his secondary school examination from his family’s Muhammadan Anglo-Arabic School, graduation from B.N. College, Patna, and obtained the MA and MOL degrees from the Punjab University, where he also taught Urdu and Persian to British students. In poetry, Muslim was among the prominent students of Shaad Azeemabadi.

Dr Farman Fatehpuri, who presided over the ceremony, was indisposed and had to leave early.

In his brief speech, he said Muslim Azeemabadi’s contribution to Urdu language and literature was remarkable.

He also described Azeemabad’s importance in Urdu literature. He said the city had given new similes and metaphors to Urdu literature. Quoting the popular couplet Ghazalan tum tau waqif ho, kaho majnoon kay marnay ki/ Diwana margaya aakhir ko veeranay pai kia guzri, he said, for instance, ghazalan in these lines meant the returning soldiers and Majnoon was a metaphor for Nawab Sirajuddaula.

Dr Fatehpuri praised Mohammad Aslam for investing time and money in preserving his father’s literary heritage. He deplored that well-off families took pride in changing curtains and furniture periodically rather than spending money on such worthy causes.

Prof Sahar Ansari highlighted the significance of Azeemabadi’s essays. He said the late scholar’s study of Persian and Arabic literature was very deep. He said the scholar had given an interpretation to Islamic mysticism that was different from its traditional definition.

He said Muslim’s essays on ancient Arabic literature and Omar Khayyam were of particular interest.

Imrana Moiz, a daughter of Muslim Azeemabadi’s, spoke on the personal life of her father. She narrated various incidents to highlight his friendly nature, how he behaved with his family youngsters, his students, and also how he loved gardening. She said the professor enjoyed perfect health even while he was close to 90 years of age when he was killed in a road accident on February 15, 1977.

Mohammad Aslam, in his long essay, highlighted the sacrifices of his ancestors for the cause of Islam and freedom. He said his great-grandfather supported the movement of Syed Ahmed and Shah Ismail, who were martyred by the Sikh rulers at Balakot, and endured tremendous afflictions as a consequence.

Dr Mohammad Moizuddin said Muslim had devoted his life to scholarly pursuits and had left many published and unpublished literary works. He said the late scholar was a deeply religious but enlightened man, who ensured his daughters’ modern education at a time when it was available to only a few girls.

Paying homage to his late college teacher and father’s friend, Dr Syed Azhar Ahmed, a retired lieutenant-general and vice-chancellor of a private university, said he had never seen a greater teacher than Muslim Azeemabadi. He said although he had been a student of science since the age of 10, he was so much inspired by Prof Muslim that he had retained a love for Urdu poetry throughout his career.

Speaking on the occasion, Arts Council secretary Ahmed Shah highlighted the council’s literary activities. He said a five-day international Urdu conference would be organized by the council in the last week of the current month.

Dr Saba Ikram and Ali Haider Malik also spoke. The compering was done by Yawar Mehdi.