The book Maqalat-i-Bijnori is a selected compilation of Dr Abdur Rehman Bijnori's scholastic essays and a few poems seemingly written at leisure. Some of the letters written by Bijnori to his parents, siblings and friends, mostly from Europe, have also been included as they evince his analytical and prophetic abilities. Most of his predictions about Turkey's downslide and its impact on the Muslim world, as well the upsurge of European influence in the early 20th century have, more or less, come to pass.

The book has been published by Dr Abdur Rehman Bijnori Trust in Islamabad. The foreword titled 'Sukhan Haye Guftani' is an engrossing introduction to the book and its author. Two other introductions to Dr Bijnori, one by Professor Rasheed Ahmed Siddiqui for Baqiyat-i-Bijnori published in Delhi in 1940, and the other by Baba-i-Urdu Maulvi Dr Abdul Haque for Yadgar-i-Bijnori published in Rawalpindi in 1951 have been reproduced in order to provide readers the finest literature on the subject.

Dr Bijnori's magnum opus Mahasin-i-Kalaam-i-Ghalib is considered to be a classic which actually sublimated both the poet and his critic to incredible heights of recognition. The critic's creative journey was tragically cut short when he died at the young age of 31 on November 7, 1918 in Bhopal, but not before leaving an indelible imprint on Urdu literature.

Most of Dr Bijnori's prose and poetry included in Maqalat-i-Bijnori were written during his formative years at Aligarh, where he excelled in academics and was counted among the distinguished personalities of the defining era when Muslims were struggling for their survival and freedom.

His essays 'Urdu zuban ki taraqi kai mutaliq chand khayalat' and 'Hali' are erudite dissertations. Likewise, his critical appreciation of Allama Iqbal's masnavis (Asrar-o-Ramuz) in English, later translated into Urdu by Malik Ram and included in Maqalat, made a profound impact on the Iqbal who acknowledged the intellectual prowess of his critic.

Allama Iqbal and Dr Bijnori were contemporaries and had quite a few similarities. Both had qualified as barrister-at-law in London and earned a doctorate in Germany. The Allama selected 'Sources of Metaphysics in Persia' as the topic for his PhD thesis which was written in English. Dr Bijnori chose 'Sources of Islamic Jurisprudence' as his PhD thesis topic which was written in German. Bijnori was eight years younger than Allama but died 20 years before him.

The Allama was so distressed by Bijnori's sudden death that he wrote an emotional letter to Shoaib Qureshi on November 8, 1918 from Lahore. Some excerpts from it have been translated into English. 'Last evening your telegram about Dr Abdur Rehman Bijnori's untimely death struck me like a bolt. It was too much for my patience and fortitude. Alas! Bijnori was an exceptional Muslim scholar and intellectual. People like him are rarely born. But God took him away when he was most needed by us.

'Perhaps Bijnori was born ahead of his time, or the society in which he was born could not fathom his true stature. I think very few people among the educated Muslims in India had the vision to perceive Bijnori's glittering qualities of pen. Had he lived another 10 years, his glow and brilliance would have dazzled our eyes.' To the deceased's father, Khan Bahadur Nurul Islam, Allama Iqbal had fondly proposed a quatrain in Persian for his epitaph.

The contents of Maqalat evoke a multifaceted profile of the writer who demonstrated a keen observation of the world around him. His expertise in languages including German, Arabic, Persian, English and Urdu is reflected in his innovative style of writing. Whatever flowed from his pen remains relevant and contemporary. And that, indeed, is the litmus test for any creative work.

Maqalat-i-Bijnori
(Essays, poems & letters)
By Dr Abdur Rehman Bijnori
Dr Abdur Rehman Bijnori Trust, Islamabad
361pp. Rs150