THE NEWS
Going against the widely held belief, a research scholar on Saturday said the Pashto mystic poet Abdur Rahman Baba lived early part of his life in Kohat.
Reading out his research paper at a seminar organised by the Rahman Adabi Jirga at the Iranian Cultural Centre to mark the death anniversary of the great saint, Persian scholar Prof Syed Ghayyur Hussain quoted a number of authentic sources to prove that Rahman Baba lived for 23 years in Kohat and its suburban areas.
According to him, Rahman Baba stayed for almost nine years in Jangalkhel area and less than 15 years in Sherkot village. He said that during the period, he came into contact with another great saint Haji Bahadur Sahib whose shrine is situated in Kohat city.
Ghayyur Hussain, who is the author of several Persian books and publications, quoted from the writings of eminent researcher and historian Abdul Haleem Asar, and other sources in support of his claim.
He said that during his stay in Kohat, Rahman Baba interacted with Mohammad Siddique, another great Pashto poet of the time.
The literatus said that according to the findings of known Pashto writer Abdul Hakeem Asar, Muhammad Yousaf went to Sherkot village of Kohat in 1061 AH and Rahman Baba studied under him the next year and lived there for several years afterwards.
He said Rehman Baba later moved to Bahadur Killay along with his tribe and subsequently Hazarkhwani village where he lived the rest of his life.
Ghayyur Hussain said Rahman Baba might have been influenced by the Hindko-speaking people of Kohat and wrote his sole Urdu gahzal during his stay there.
He said most of the researchers, including Maulana Abdul Qadir, had established Rahman Baba’s relationship with Kohat and said that Haji Bahadur sahib and Mohammad Yousaf were his guides. He called for further research on the early life of the great Pashto mystic.
Prof Dawar Khan Daud in his speech agreed with Ghayyur Hussain and said he had made a good effort through his research paper to highlight the early life of the great saint.
He said that hopefully his paper would prove beneficial to all those who have devotion and respect for Rahman Baba. He called for translation of the research works on Rahman Baba from Pashto into Urdu to take it to a wider audience.
Others who read papers at the seminar included Saadullah Jan Barq, Akhtar Hussain Khalil and Prof Abdul Qadir Logari. The patron of Rehman Adabi Jirga, Yusaf Ali Dilsoz and Secretary Malik Mohammad Noshad Khan also spoke on the occasion.
A grand mushaira was held in the second part of the programme and was attended by over 100 Pashto poets.
According to organisers, Minister for Information and Culture Mian Iftikhar Hussain had earlier consented to be the chief guest while Secretary Culture Azmat Hanif Orakzai was supposed to preside one session of the seminar but both failed to turn up due to unspecified reasons.
An elderly pioneer of the Jirga, Sultan Mohammad Dardmand, presided over the sessions along with Misal Khan Naqeebi and Saadullah Jan Barq.
No comments:
Post a Comment