Book & Author
Prof. Dr Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahib: A Scholar and a Sufi
In the present modern era of science and technology, the attenuation and decline of moral, ethical, and humane capital continues. An elite and noble group of people who were a blessing to their neighborhood, community, country, and the region are swiftly vanishing from society. Dr Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahib (1912-2005) belonged to this elite and noble group. For more than fifty years,DoctorSahib guided people to the light of knowledge and the straight path (Seraatul Mustaqeem).
DoctorSahib was a great scholar and an innovative researcher of Urdu and Persian literature. He was an institution in himself. His life was an example of the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammed (SAW). He belonged to the Naqshbandi order of Sufi saints.
In an interview he was asked to describe the foundation of Tasawwuf. He stated, “Sincerity in following Prophet Muhammed’s (SAW) tradition…” Describing the nexus between the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammed’s (SAW) life Hayat-e-Tayabah, DoctorSahib in his book Huma Quran Dar Shan e Mohammed (SAW), observes, “Qur’an and its practical application, i.e., the life of prophet (SAW) Hayat-e-Tayabah, are inseparable and are closely connected. Prophet’s (SAW) life Hayat-e-Tayabah is the practical demonstration of the teachings of Qur’an…”
DoctorSahib was a great teacher; he guided and transformed the lives of thousands of students. Some of his students and followers became scholars and experts in their own domains and ranks: like Ibn-e-Insha, Jameel Jalibi, Abdul Lais Siddiqui, Aslam Farukhi, Farman Fatepuri, Moinuddin Aqeel and Abul Khair Kashfi.
Reflecting on Dr Ghulam Mustafa Khan’s personality, Dr Jameel Jalibi, former vice chancellor of the University of Karachi, states, “He was a great teacher. He was a very knowledgeable and compassionate teacher and unique, like of whom is difficult to find in this era….” Dr Aslam Farukhi had described DoctorSahib’s personality as “in every respect, a representative of Sunnat-e-Nabawi (SAW).” Professor Dr Rafiuddin Ashfaq, former head of the department of Arabic and Persian, Nagpur University, had portrayed DoctorSahib as a person who was simple, humble, and very hospitable. Dr Nabi Bux Baloch, vice chancellor, International Islamic University, Islamabad, had called DoctorSahib a model of humanity.
Dr Iqbal Ali, one of his close colleagues, in his book Meray Hazrat Sahib observed, “Personality of Hazrat Sahib was like an iceberg, an iceberg is about 10 percent above water and 90 percent under water. Our Hazrat Sahib kept his personality hidden and appeared like an ordinary man, but in reality, he was a high level Sufi saint…”
DoctorSahib was a scholar and a researcher par excellence. His scholarships had produced significant works in areas of critique, historical studies, and research analysis on a spectrum of topics and issues in Urdu and Persian literature. He is also credited for making significant contributions to the grammatical rules and vocabulary in Urdu. He authored more than one hundred books and a number of research articles in Persian, Urdu, and English. Some of his prominent works include Syed Hasan Ghazanavi (1946), Farsi par Urdu ka Asar (1952), A History of Bahram Shah of Ghaznain (1955), Hali ka Zahni Irtaqua (1956), Hazrat Mujaddid Alf Sani, Tahqeqi Jaiza (1965), Sindhi Urdu Lughat (1959), Persian literature in Indo-Pak subcontinent (1972), Iqbal aur Quran (1977), Marif e Iqbal (1978), Huma Qur’an dar shan Muahmmed (SAW)[1983], Urdu main Qur’an aur Hadees key Muhavarat (1980), Waqai Tarekhi (1988), and Adabi Jaizay (1995).
DoctorSahib received many awards in recognition of his scholarship, which include Naqoosh award (1983), First Presidential Iqbal award and Gold medal (1985, for Book Iqbal Aur Qur’an), Sitara-e-Imtiaz (1988), Sipas (1992, Hamdard Foundation), Sipas (1992, Pakistan National Academy), and Gold Medal (1995, Sindh University).
DoctorSahib had done outstanding scholarship on Allama Iqbal. His magnum opus Iqbal Aur Qur’an was adjudged in 1981 the best book published since 1947 on Allama Iqbal’s message and philosophy. DoctorSahib’s scholarship illustrates the connection between Iqbal’s poetry and Qur’an’s verses. The book has 24 chapters spanning over 1118 pages. In the foreword, DoctorSahib observes that during his student days, Allama Iqbal was introduced to him by Mr Hameed Jalandhari, his class fellow at Aligarh Muslim University, and recalls, “I developed affinity to the message of Allama Iqbal. And when I became the head of Urdu Department at Nagpur University, I included courses on the message and poetry of Allama Iqbal in the curricula of Matric to M.A. levels. I did the same in Karachi, and at the University of Sindh.” Commenting on the format of the book, DoctorSahib observes that his work is divided into two parts: the first part “Tabsarah wa Zikrah” reflects on Allama Iqbal’s thinking, ideas, and incidents viz a viz Qur’an, and the second part “Lakule Abadaam Muneeb,” deals with the references and connections to Qur’an in various poetry collections of Allama Iqbal. For the translation of the verses of the Qur’an he had consulted translation of Qur’an by prominent scholars like Shah Abdul Qadir Mohadis Dehlvi (RA), Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (RA), and Maulana Ahmed Raza Khan (RA).
Describing Allama Iqbal’s love and affinity (Ishq e Rasool) to Prophet Muhammed (SAW), DoctorSahib mentions two incidents narrated by Maulana Syed Sulaiman Nadvi (RA). In the first incident, Allama Iqbal recalled that when he was a student in Sialkot, after waking up every morning, he used to recite Qur’an. One day, while he was reciting Qur’an, his father passed by him and said, ‘One day I will tell you some important thing about the recitation of Qur’an.’ Iqbal reminded his father couple of times about the promised advice about Qur’an. His father said after Iqbal completes his exams, he will tell him the advice. After the exams, when Iqbal was reciting the Qur’an in the morning, his father came to him and advised “Baita (son), I just want to tell you that when you recite Qur’an just imagine that it was revealed on you (like God is communicating with you).” The analogy of “God communicating with you” touched Iqbal’s heart. And in the second incident, Allama Iqbal reminisced that one day his father told him that he wants reimbursement for all the hard work he had done for educating Iqbal. Iqbal asked his father how he wants the hard work reimbursed. His father said someday he will spell it out. And then one day his father said, “You need to reimburse all my hard work by serving Islam.” Iqbal promised that he would reimburse his hard work by serving Islam. Afterwards Iqbal went to Lahore and became known and famous for his poetry that resonated with the emotions and aspirations of the Muslim masses. Later, when Iqbal’s father was on his death bed, Iqbal asked him, “Dear father, did I fulfill my promise of serving Islam?” His father replied, “My dear, yes, you have reimbursed me for my hard work!”
DoctorSahib has done an excellent job of tracing the roots of Iqbal’s poetry viz a viz Qur’an. His methodology is simple and straight forward, he presents a couplet and then cites the referenced verse of the Quran with its translation and interpretation:
Key Muahmmed (SAW) say wafa tu hum teray haiN
Yah JahaN cheez hai kya, Loh-o-Qalam Taray haiN
By being faithful to Muhammed (SAW), and We are yours
This world is nothing, you can command the pen and tablet of destiny!
Prophet Muhammed (SAW) received the following Qur’anic revelations:
“…Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favor upon you...” (Qur’an 5:3)
“Say, O Prophet, If you sincerely love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins…(Qur’an 3:31)[When Allah loves you so He can grant you pen and tablet of destiny]
DoctorSahib had covered the entire Urdu and Persian poetry of Allama Iqbal, which is an amazing accomplishment. Following the same methodology, he had asked one of his follower, Dr Muhammed Abdul Muqeet Shakir, to trace the origins of Iqbal’s couplets which have links to some of the Hadith of Prophet Muhammed (SAW). Dr Shakir analyzed only four collections of Allam Iqbal’s Urdu poetry which included Bang-e-Dara, Baal-e-Jibraeel, Zarb-e-Kaleem, and Armughan-e-Hijaz. The research effort took a long time to complete and the outcome was the publication of scholarly book “Iqbal Aur Hadees.”
Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahib was born on September 23, 1912, at dawn, in Jabalpur, CP, British India. Reflecting on his childhood DoctorSahib in his book Tareekh e Islaaf, writes: “During childhood I used to have fever often, due to our challenging economic circumstances, our family could not afford me to consult a Doctor. One day, my mother told me, “Baita (son) recite Qur’an, Allah willing you will recover from fever.’ My elder bother taught me how to read the first parah (part) of Qur’an. Afterwards every day I used to recite quarter parah; in several days I was fully recovered, and I also finished reading the entire Qur’an.”
In 1918, he was admitted to a primary school in Jabalpur, and in 1923 he secured first position in grade 5 exams and was awarded a scholarship of Rs 4 per month. In 1924, his father Hazrat Gulab Khan passed away. In 1927, he was admitted to Anjuman e Islamia High School and passed his 8 th and 9 th grades with flying colors. He joined Aligarh Muslim University Intermediate College and passed his matric (1929) and intermediate (1931) examinations with distinction, and completed his BA (1933), MA (1935, Persian Literature) from Aligarh Muslim University. In November 1935, he travelled on a bicycle from Aligarh to Agra (53 miles) to visit historical sites of Taj Mahal, tomb of Mogul Emperor Akbar, and Fatehpur Sekri. On April 22, 1936 he met Syed Subhan Shah from Sasaram (Bihar) in Aligarh. Syed Sahib was travelling on foot to perform Hajj. He used to offer two nawafil after covering every five steps. In May 1936, DoctorSahib received his LLB, and MA (Urdu) from Aligarh Muslim University. On October 14, 1936 he got married. In 1937 DoctorSahib was appointed as a lecturer (Urdu) at the Edwards College, Amrawati.
Reflecting on his appointment, he recalls in his book Lana Umlana, “On July 5, 1937 I went to the Public Service Commission in Nagpur for the interview for the post of lecturer of Urdu. It was the era of British Raj. I wore Sherwani and had a Turkish Cap on my head. I never wore a suit and never had an English haircut. The members of the commission talked to me for a long time. Other candidates wore suits, but they were let go quickly, and I was selected as the lecturer of Urdu at Edwards College, Amravati.”
In 1939, DoctorSahib was appointed as the head of the Urdu Department at Nagpur University. In 1946, DoctorSahib received his PhD from Nagpur University. His doctoral thesis was on the 12th-century Persian poet Syed Ashruddin Hassan Ghaznavi . He also received a DLitt degree (1959) from the Nagpur University.
On November 7, 1947, DoctorSahib visited Pakistan for the first time. On November 22, 1947, his wife passed away and he returned to India. On January 22, 1948, due to his son’s ill health, DoctorSahib quit his eleven-year old gazetted position, and migrated to Pakistan and joined the Islamia College, Karachi, as professor of Urdu. On August 30, 1949 DoctorSahibmarried barrister Abdul Hameed Khan’s daughter. In September 1949, DoctorSahib travelled to Muzaffargarh and took Bayah at the hand of Sufi saint Hazrat Maulana Syed Zawar Hussain Shah Sahib to join the Naqshbandi Sufi order.
In 1950, when Baba-e-Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq established the Urdu College, DoctorSahib was appointed as the head of the Urdu Department. He also took MA classes at the University of Karachi.
In June 1956, at the invitation of prominent educator Allama Dr I.I. Kazi, Vice Chancellor, University of Sindh (UoS), DoctorSahib joined UoS as head of the Urdu Department and served in this capacity until 1976. In 1988, in recognition of DoctorSahib’s academic services University of Sindh bestowed upon him the rank of Professor Emeritus. An interview of DoctorSahib is available at: https://youtu.be/UnkTgiwH7TA
DoctorSahib departed this earthly abode on September 25, 2005 at the age of 93. To attend his funeral, tens of thousands of his students, followers, and well-wishers from Karachi, Hyderabad, and all over Pakistan converged near University of Sindh’s campus in Jamshoro, where he was buried. Commenting on his passing away, Iftikhar Arif, then chairman of Pakistan Academy of Letters, observed that Dr Ghulam Mustafa Khan’s departure would significantly affect the research work in Urdu literature. DoctorSahib had departed but the radiance of his scholarship and teachings continue to benefit students, teachers, researchers, and his followers in Pakistan and all over the globe.
Before he passed away, he left a very poignant message for the future generations. He advised, “For the completion of Deen (religion), three things are important: knowledge, action, and sincerity. The same three things are also important for accomplishing worldly affairs. That knowledge is useless, which cannot be transformed into action, and that action is just mere deception, which lacks sincerity…Remember, Pakistan is not the name of just a few sand dunes. You have to strive for accomplishing the objectives for which it was created, otherwise you will be held answerable and accountable not only before the nation but also God.”
(Dr Ahmed S. Khan --- dr.a.s.khan@ieee.org --- is a Fulbright Specialist Scholar (2017-2021).
