Aab-e hayat ( ur, آبِ حیات, lit. ''water of life'') is a commentary (or ''
tazkira
Tadhkirah (), Arabic for "memorandum" or "admonition", is frequently used as part of the title of literary works of the nature of authoritative collections or summaries. It may refer to the following works:
*''al-Tadhkira al-Harawiya fi al-hiyal ...
Muhammad Husain Azad
Muhammad Husain Azad ( ur, — ; 5 May 1830 – 22 January 1910) was a scholar and an Urdu writer who wrote both prose and poetry, but he is mostly remembered for his prose. His best known work is Aab-e-Hayat ("Elixir of Life").
in 1880.Introduction to Excerpts from Aab-e Hayat http://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/12029 The book was described as "canon-forming" and "the most often reprinted, and most widely read, Urdu book of the past century." The book is regarded as the first chronological history of Urdu poetry.
Aab-e hayat became the single most influential source for both anecdotes and historical theories about Urdu poetry. Its second edition in 1883 was incorporated into the official curriculum at Punjab University and several other schools.
It provides an important perspective on the origin of Urdu: