Dr Shahzad Qaiser is a noted scholar, researcher, poet, inshaiya writer, and intellectual. He is a tri-lingual writer with philosophy as his major forte. His Punjabi kafis, Urdu light (humorous) essays, and English essays on erudite philosophical subjects are widely read and acclaimed
‘Creditably, even in the midst of his multifarious but exacting civil service assignments, Dr Shahzad Qaiser would find time to write articles and compose verse, though at a steady pace, to satisfy his urge for self-expression…’
Husayn’s Choice of The Transcendent
Author: Dr. Shahzad Qaiser
Publisher: Maktaba-e-Jamal, Lahore
Pages: 156; Price: Rs.300/-
Culture & Spirituality
Author: Dr. Shahzad Qaiser
Publisher: SUCHET Kitab Ghar, Sharaf Mansion, Chowk Ganga Ram, Lahore
Pages: 336; Price: Rs.400/-
Dr Shahzad Qaiser, an eminent ex-civil servant, is also a noted scholar, researcher, poet, inshaiya writer, and intellectual. He is a tri-lingual writer with philosophy as his major forte. His Punjabi kafis, Urdu light (humorous) essays, and English essays on erudite philosophical subjects are widely read and acclaimed.
The illustrious list of awards he has won from time to time in recognition of his literary-cum-academic excellence includes Pitras Bokhari Award in English Literature and Waris Shah Award in Punjabi Literature from the Pakistan Academy of Letters, Islamabad, Khawaja Ghulam Farid Gold Medal from Islamia University, Bahawalpur, President’s Award for Pride of Performance (Literature) and Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Litertaure).
His spiritual master, Baba Sufi Muhammad Tufayl (d.2000) is known to have initiated him in the Sufi order of his Murshid, Mehr Din Aba Sayan in 1987.
Dr. Sahahzad Qaiser’s creative profile is not less profuse either. Within a space of 34 years (1983-2017) he has produced the following volume of work:
English: Quest for the Eternal; Of Intellect and Reason; The Metaphysics of Khawaja Ghulam Farid; The Message of Diwan-i-Farid (Translation and Introduction); Iqbal and Khawaja Ghulam Farid on Experiencing God; Dimensions of Kh. Farid’s Metaphysics; Metaphysics and Tradition; Beyond the Manifest; Understanding Diwan-i-Farid (Translated and Explained); The Metaphysical and Cultural Perspectives of Khawaja Ghulam Farid’s Poetry and Iqbal; Culture and Spirituality: The Punjabi Sufi Poetry of Baba Farid-ud-Din Masud Ganj-i-Shakr as recorded in Guru Granth Sahib (Rendered into English prose and explained in the light of tradition).
Urdu: Clearance Sale (Insha’iye); Saf Chuptay bhi Nahi (Insha’iye);A’ina Banay hai Parahan (Insha’iye); Lutf-e-Agahi (Insha’iye).
Punjabi: Dujji Ankh (NazmaN); AsmanaN day Boohay Khol (KafiyaN); Maey NaahiN Sabh TuN (KafiyaN); Gal Wich Payam Preet Mohaar (KafiyaN); Tilawat-e-Wujud (KafiyaN); Ishq Faqr day Sang (KafiyaN); KafiyaN (ChowaN Kalam).
This scribe has keenly followed the meteoric graph of his rise as a writer. Creditably, even in the midst of his multifarious but exacting civil service assignments, Dr Shahzad Qaiser would find time to write articles and compose verse, though at a steady pace, to satisfy his urge for self-expression vis-à-vis his chosen areas of interest, i.e., metaphysics, spirituality, devotional verse (kafi), and light essay (insha’iya) in three languages (English, Punjabi, and Urdu).
And now a cursory overview of his two books, recently reprinted in paperback.
Husayn’s Choice of the Transcendent:
It comprises four articles from the same author’s book titled Of Intellect and Reason, published in 1990. These articles are captioned: Existential significance of Husayn’s choice, Symbolic understanding of Imamate and Caliphate, Fatimah: The celestial symbol of terrestrial suffering, and Zaynab’s commitment with truth.
The preface to the volume in view elucidates its raison d’etre also. ‘Husayn’s Faqr (Faqr-i-Husayn) is a universal message of sacrificing the ephemeralities of the terrestrial world for the sake of the Transcendent, in all moments of life. Next, it is a lesson of courage for the humanity to remain truthful, just and conscious in the realisation of rights. It is also a warning to the political tyrants of all times to desist from crushing human freedom at the altar of power.’ The ensuing four chapters of the book relate the themes of Husayn’s choice, the delicate shades of meaning attached to the institutions of Imamate and Caliphate, the cosmic and terrestrial role of Fatimah in the early period and that of Zaynab during Karbala period and its aftermath.
The author has added selections of Karbala poetry of Hazrat Sultan Bahu, Khawaja Ghulam Farid, Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Baba Sufi Muhammad Tufayl (his spiritual master) and some of his own kafis on the same theme alongwith their English translation.
Culture & Spirituality:
The second edition of the original work is purported to have been published after correction of some typographical errors in the earlier edition and insertion of minor changes in the text. A Preface has also been added to it besides the author’s kafis on Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer Sharif, Baba Guru Nanak and Baba Farid, rendered into English.
In the author’s own words, ‘The Punjabi Sufi Poetry of Baba Fariduddin Masud Ganj Shakr is one of the finest specimens of traditional poetry which integrates transcendence and immanence in its poetic vision and expression in the cultural context. It makes the forgetful person constantly remember his Origin and Centre. It makes him aware about the snares of ephemeral world. The possibility of death is existentially understood as a possibility of union with the beloved.’ The Saloks and Shabads of Baba Farid rendered in Gurumukhi and Urdu scripts, have been explained by the author in English, at great length.
‘Man has descended on the earth to realise his possibility of ascending to the heavens within the stipulated period of his life. He has no knowledge of the span of his life, which necessitates that he realises the cosmic purpose of his existence without becoming oblivious of a single moment of his life. He has to value his immediate present, which is instrumental in the realisation of his open possibilities. Men of God are fully conscious of their basic vocation in life. They undergo doctrinal realisation. The realisation of the higher possibilities of the self is by virtue of the terrestrial world. The world including its physical, social and cultural aspects is a ground for the inward realisation of the human self. It ultimately leads to the extinction and annihilation of the self.’
This is the recurring theme of the Saloks and Shabads of Baba Farid enunciated in a variety of celestial and terrestrial formulations, ‘in the light of tradition’.