An all-embracing scholarly personality: `Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai
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Distinguished scholar, poet and thinker cAllamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai's literary and scholarly services span 62 years. In recognition of his services, he has received titles such as "Baba-yi Burushaski (Father of Burushaski)" and "Lisanu'l-Qawm (Spokesman of the Nation)". Recently at a high level literary function held on 10th June, 1994 at Gilgit, the local government of the Northern Areas conferred upon him the title of "Hakimu'l-Qalam (Sage of the Pen)". He is the first Sufi poet to have a Diwan (collection of poems) in Burushaski, the ancient language spoken in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. To date he has written around a hundred books of which forty have been translated into English and several others into French, Swedish, Persian, Turkish, and Gujarati languages. He has preserved the Burushaski language, it's grammar, vocabulary, history and traditions from becoming extinct. His writings are also preserved in well-known foreign universities for research. Thus he has not only preserved it with its ancient features and characteristics, but has also given it new life.
cAllamah Hunzai's writings are not confined to Burushaski. His more important contributions to the world of religion and spirituality, are such revolutionary subjects as science and religion, soul and matter, spatial and non-spatial worlds, flying saucers, spiritual science, on which he has written extensively. Thus, when a reader studies his works minutely, he finds "discoveries of knowledge" on every page of these books. It is because of this, when the name of this dignitary, who is a darwish, is mentioned or read, instantly the feelings of reverence, unbounded knowledge and recognition arise in our hearts. His works illumine heart and soul and every stratum of society benefits from them and they
enlighten their personal worlds with knowledge, wisdom, spiritual secrets and sublime realities and recognitions. The depth and appeal of his writings indicate that they are not based merely on traditional and acquired knowledge, but on given knowledge.
When a perspicacious reader studies his works, he finds himself in a new world of knowledge and feels liberated from the bonds of time and space, as if he is diving in an unfathomable ocean and collecting unprocurable pearls of knowledge, awareness, love, faith and certainty which are the main object of human life. cAllamah Hunzai's influential personality is a beacon of knowledge and action for the present and future generations. He disseminates the rays of Qur'anic wisdom and spirituality, full of eternal realities of the universe and vastness of the meanings of spatial and non-spatial worlds, in the matrix of his poetic verses abounding in true feelings of heavenly love.
cAllamah Sahib's all-embracing personality has given an universal outlook to many personalities who are involved in scholarly, literary and organizational activities, and as a result it has become their resolve and the supreme goal of their lives to serve the cause of knowledge unselfishly, universally and constantly. As for his collaboration in the field of research with foreign universities, he has worked with Professor Hermann Berger of Heidelberg University as co-author on the Burushaski-German Dictionary, which the University is going to publish. He has also collaborated with Professor E. Tiffou of the University of Montreal, by providing him material on grammar, riddles and proverbs of the Burushaski language. Professor Tiffou has compiled and published this material in a book called "Hunza Proverbs" and has acknowledged cAllamah Sahib as the co-author of the work.
In short, cAllamah Sahib, through his powerful pen and sweet speech and his erudite writings and discourses, which are full of higher realities and recognitions, has influenced a vast universe of countless personalities and has left deep impressions on the minds of readers and listeners alike.
cAllamah Sahib, despite his advanced age, has also travelled widely and has borne countless difficulties in order to spread his mission of knowledge and has left no stone unturned in the path to continue the flow of his creative ideas between the East and the West. Now, it is our first and foremost duty to spread his work widely from specialist to ordinary readers. This interview is an attempt to fulfil this duty. In this connection, let us discuss more cAllamah Sahib's ideas through the panel of the following interviewers:
Altaf Pirzadah, Magazine in-charge, Daily Jang, Rawalpindi. Sacadat cAli Mujahid, News Bureau in-charge. Shahid Mahmud, Anthropologist. Ghulam Qadir, News Editor, News section in-charge, Radio Pakistan, Gilgit.
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