Daily Times

Mumtaz Mufti might have been the first novelist in Urdu literature who ventured to add mysticism in an explicitly romantic story. Considering our religious affiliations and ideological boundaries, it was a dangerous experiment; however, it was done so tactfully that it yielded great success for the author, both commercially and religiously. On the one hand, he was admired in the Pakistani Sufi circles for reinforcing the idea of a powerful parallel world controlling the major events of our lives. And on the other, he attained tremendous popularity in the young generation for his unusual and sensual tale of unfaithfulness. Although his casual style was taken negatively by the critics, nevertheless, the readers enjoyed his easy and less formal approach towards Urdu creative writing. After its triumph of Alipur ka Aili, the first part of his coded biography, it was clear that it had set the agenda for years to come. Younger writers, inspired by his achievement, would soon take up the same idea and produce similar stories, many of them much more candid than Mufti himself.

Through his novel, Mufti introduces us to Aili (himself), who meets a number of Sufis and gets their blessings throughout his life while having an ‘active’ affair with a married woman. The mystics who he describes in his biography, from Delhi to Rawalpindi, are gifted with special knowledge and display some extraordinary abilities. For one, they all are seers, comfortably disclosing the future and enjoying telepathy as a tool for their communication when they are alive; nonetheless, the author also believes they exercise some control over his life even when they have passed away. Without ever reprimanding Mufti about the illegality or even immorality of his actions, and justifying his misdeeds as God’s will, they foretell him regarding the fate of his relationship decades before the real events actually take place. Rules, regulations, laws and boundaries are left aside to be followed by the common ‘law abiding’, non-spiritual Muslims. After a brief introduction of their supernatural talents, the author, being young and carefree, focuses mostly on his romantic endeavours and leaves the difficult subject of mysticism for Alakh Nagri, the second part of his biography in which he reveals his spiritual aspect at great length.

While describing the events, Mufti enlightens the reader how his life has always been numinously protected, even with all his moral shortcomings, and how he has been extricated by the spiritual powers from every precarious situation in his life. Later, he pays tributes to his senior colleague, and one of the most renowned bureaucrats, Qudratullah Shahab, who he proclaims as one of the greatest saints of his times, even though the civil servant and the author of many books, is infamous for his role to strengthen the arms of a dictator against the will of the people of Pakistan. By the end of the book, we, the readers are convinced that regardless of the personal transgressions of Mufti, he indeed, was himself a Sufi too. Although, he apparently negates that impression, yet on the contrary, he continued to profess and recommend ordinary law abiding people to benefit spiritually by associating with the contemporary mystics in real life.

The practice of combining these two contrasting realities — religion and romance — in one place continues until today. We notice that an increasing number of Urdu novels and television plays use this formula as one of the most reliable ways to get market success in a short time. Usually, playwrights present a confused and anxious young man, who drenched with spirituality falls in love with his soul mate. Without having any unfavourable repercussions on his religiosity, they start courting each other and enter into a premarital relationship and the story goes on. Sometimes they find their soul mate after being married to another person for years, and that too does not bother their spirituality a bit!

My point to raise the subject is not to discuss the moral issues regarding these topics, nor is it to comment on Mufti’s religiosity. The spirituality of the characters in modern television dramas is not bothersome to me either; instead, the purpose of our discussion is much more fundamental. First, it is to understand that to a certain extent, Mufti’s spiritual journey as he has described in his books has limited the scope of Urdu literature to these two topics only, although he cannot be blamed for other people’s work. Second, even more disturbingly though, it has also led to the rise of some hate literature that has been published without any protest from the civil society. One of the most commercially successful novel lately that is written by a renowned playwright is full of propaganda against the Ahmedis. They are maligned and portrayed to bribe people out of their beliefs; their faith is ridiculed, presented generally as a conspiracy against the ‘true’ Islam; and their community is scorned for corrupting the spirit of Islam. My point here is not to prove the accuracy of their religion, nor is it to disprove their claim. Nonetheless, it is to emphasise that being a novelist without having a formal religious education, we can stretch the discussion about someone’s else faith only to a certain extent; and under no situation, we can demonise other sects regardless of our own beliefs. Yes, it is lucrative both socially and financially, yet professional responsibility and religious tolerance should supersede all other hankerings. While it is also true that it can elevate someone’s sense of spirituality, nonetheless, it can, on the other hand, cost someone else to lose his life.

P.S. The author does not belong to the Ahmedi faith, nor does he accept money from foreign powers to write in favour of Pakistani troubled minorities.

The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com