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A Short Biography of Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai - Military Life

Military Life

According to the 'Mufid Interview', with this intense zeal and ardour for knowledge, he was recruited into the Gilgit Scouts as a soldier on 8th April, 1939. There, he continued his self-study of books and composition of poems during his leisure time. In the military barracks of Gilgit in 1359 AH/1940 AD, he wrote his first complete poem in Burushaski, his mother-tongue. Its exordium is:

He says: "At that time, a large number of Ismailis were in the Gilgit Scouts. Among them were sergeant Tahwil Shah and sergeant Hasan `Ali, who were among Mawla's lovers, and had ideal melodious voices. They requested this poem from me and then recited it with an excellent rhythm. It was Mawla's miracle! People were most amazed, and I started to receive requests for this poem from all directions. I too was surprised. Did the photo copying machine exist at that time? I became exhausted by repeatedly rewriting my poems for people. Thus, I was forced to conceal them for some time. When a book of my poems was ready, I sent a telegram to the presence of Mawlana Hazir Imam (May peace be through him) to seek his blessings. Mawlana Hazir Imam (May peace be through him) graciously sent a holy farman [in response], which is in the beginning of Diwan-i Nasiri".²⁴

He continues: "I was restless in the life of the scouts and my conscience used to tell me in a voiceless state to leave that station and move ahead. Thus, I resigned on 1st September, 1943, and returned home. I then went to Srinagar (Kashmir) and was recruited into the Indian Army on 5th October, 1943. I was first sent to Jhelum and then to Delhi, but my restlessness continued and I willingly discharged myself from there on 7th February, 1946, and went to Bombay where the preparations were underway for the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of my Beloved, which was to take place on Sunday, 10th March, 1946".²⁵

²³Diwan-i Nasiri awr Bihishte Asquring (Karachi, 2001), pp. 32-33; Mufid Interview (Karachi, 1993), p. 42.
²⁴The ta`liqah of this farman is also in Azeem Ali Lakhani, `Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai's Great Contribution to Esoteric Knowledge (Karachi, 2013), p. 9.
²⁵Ibid, p. 43; Idem, Jama`at-khanah (Karachi, 2002), pp. 113- 114.