Interesting books

Leave politics and the politicians to their dirty devices. We can see enough of that on TV. To get away from it all, here are some nice books, well worth reading and keeping.

The first is titled ‘Mahboob Anso Jan Sallallaho Alehe Wassalam (PBUH)” written by Munir A Malik. It is a voluminous book containing 829 pages compiled as an expression of the author’s love and affection for the Holy Prophet (pbuh). In it he has put every piece of poetry and prose which he liked for one reason or another. He has included works of old as well as more recent authors, all known for being devoted to the Holy Prophet (pbuh). Even some non-Muslim authors have been included.

This makes for a very interesting book. Unfortunately, not all works have been referenced, which is a pity as one would often like to know the source. Nonetheless, the central theme of the book – love and praise of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) – makes it of interest to all Muslims. Muslims may differ on many important points in life, but when it comes to our Holy Prophet (pbuh), they are united as one in their love and respect for him. Anyone straying away from this soon becomes an outcast.

The second book is ‘Mohtarazeene Iqbal Aur Dr Ayub Sabir Ki Iqbal Shanasi’. It has been compiled by Prof Dr Riaz Ahmad and published by Qalam Foundation, Lahore. He has put his whole heart and soul into explaining the personality of Iqbal. This is an invaluable book and I congratulate Prof Dr Riaz Ahmad on having written it. It is a gift to all those people who can understand Iqbal’s poetry and enjoy it. It also contains important information regarding the stature of Iqbal and there is mention of dozens of minor episodes and anecdotes to defend Allama Iqbal against allegations and criticism. This work by Prof Dr Riaz Ahmad is highly recommended for everyone who respects Allama Iqbal and who would like to know more about his life.

The third book, an important and useful one, is titled ‘Mazar al-Ajdad’, written by Prof Anzurul Haq Siddiqui and published by Qalam Foundation, Lahore. Prof Mansur is a respected name in Pakistan in the field of history. He is highly respected for his honest and objective writing. It is only after having read this book that one realizes its historical importance. I am thankful to Allama Abdul Sattar of Qalam Foundation for sending me the books that he publishes. There have been some very interesting ones.

The fourth book of interest is ‘Documentary – History and Progress’, which is full of knowledge about the media. It has been written by mr Nazimuddin, who has been a director/producer in PTV, and is published by Ashiana Publications, Karachi. Nazimuddin has been associated with the media for more than 50 years and his book contains many interesting episodes, often with lessons to follow. Prof Dr Ziaur Rahman has commented on the book in a very nice way, to which I fully agree. Mr Nazimuddin is a nice person who has projected Pakistan’s image positively, both domestically and internationally. He obtained three Masters degrees – in General History, Islamic History and Journalism.

During his association with the University of Karachi he wrote the ‘History of Karachi University’. He was also a professor at Government City College, Nazimabad and taught Islamic History. Mr Yawar Mehdi and Mr Muhammad Naqi commissioned him to write research programmes for Radio Pakistan. He then joined PTV and produced many popular programmes. He became well-known for his work for a documentary on PTV. Both Prof Ziaur Rahman and Mr Nazimuddin learnt a lot from the documentaries of the late Obaidullah Baig (famous from Kasoli with Himayat Ali Shaer).

Nazimuddin was responsible for bringing Prof Ziaur Rahman into the fold of PTV where he made almost 100 documentaries. Mr Nazimuddin earned many awards for his work. The NHK of Japan invited him to make a documentary on the Japanese and their life style. He migrated to Canada in 1998, where he also made many popular documentaries and wrote this book, which took him three years to write. This is the first book in Urdu on the history of documentaries and how they progressed. It is an excellent book for students of media studies.

NOTE: This is a sincere request to the rulers and politicians to stop all the drama to fool the common man. The most important problems are unemployment and sky high inflation. Our foreign policy has failed and hardly any important countries have supported us on Kashmir.

Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com