The International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) Urdu Department, in collaboration with Ahmad Faraz Trust, celebrated Ahmad Faraz’s birthday on Thursday at the IIUI Quaid-e-Azam Auditorium. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar was the chief guest while Acting IIUI President Professor Dr Sahibzada Sajid-ur-Rehman presided over the event. IIUI Rector Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik and other scholars presented their papers on Ahmad Faraz on the occasion.
Barrister Masood Kausar said that the appreciation of the work and personality of Ahmad Faraz in the literary world indicated the triumph of his thoughts and ideas.
He said that there were doubts in the society about religious soundness of Ahmad Faraz. However, Ahmad Faraz had belonged to a religious family, he said, adding that Faraz took off his literary journey at a good time. Faraz had inherited a deep sense of Arabic and Persian languages from his ancestors, he added. Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik said that Faraz’s poetry reminded of Allam Iqbal’s thoughts. He said that Faraz had challenged social injustice and human rights’ violations through his poetry in a very beautiful way.
He said further that Faraz had never compromised on human dignity. Prof Malik said he was writing a book on the works and personality of Ahmad Faraz. He said Faraz had taken a lesson from the incident of Karbala, adding that Faraz was not held hostage to religious rituals, rather he gained courage from the sacrifices of Hazrat Imam Hussain and stood up against oppression. Ahmad Faraz Trust Chairman Shibli Faraz said that the trust was promoting the thoughts and poetry of Ahmad Faraz. He said Faraz was a poet of the masses and nobody could inherit his creations.
Dr Sahibzada Sajid-ur-Rehman said that Faraz’s best quality was that he always spoke the truth, however ugly it might be. He said that poets could conquer hearts and were carriers of truth so whenever the dictators tried to muffle their rights, they resisted. The IIUI presented honourary shields to the speakers as the event concluded.
