The ''Imran'' Series (Urdu عمران سیریز) is an

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

spy fiction Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligen ...

novel series created by Pakistani writer

Ibn-e-Safi Ibn-e-Safi (26 July 1928 – 26 July 1980) (also spelled as Ibne Safi) ( ur, ) was the pen name of Asrar Ahmad ( ur, ), a fiction writer, novelist and poet of Urdu from Pakistan. The word Ibn-e-Safi is an Persian expression which litera ...

Ali Imran Ali Imran ( ur, علی عمران) is a fictional character in various Urdu language detective novels written by Asrar Ahmed under the pseudonym of Ibn-e-Safi. He serves as the titular protagonist in the ''Imran Series'' novels. He is usually ...

is the pivotal character, a comical secret agent who controls the

secret service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...

as X-2 but appears to work as a normal member of the secret service. Except for a handful of people, no one knows his status as the chief of the service. The first book of the Imran series, ''Khaufnaak Imarat'' (The House of Fear) or (The Terrifying Building), (recently translated and published as '' The House of Fear'' by Random House, India) was published in October 1955. In early books Imran appears as a solo detective, but in the ninth book, ''Dhuaen ki Tehreer'' (The Scribbling in Smoke), he is portrayed as the chief of Secret Service as X-2. Humour, mystery, suspense, psychology is the essence of Ibn-e-Safi books. Ibn-e-Safi wrote 120 books of Imran Series and 125 books of

Jasoosi Dunya Jasoosi Dunya (Urdu: جاسوسى دنيا) is a popular series of Urdu detective stories created by Ibne-Safi. Its first novel, ''Dilaer Mujrim'' (دلير مجرم) was published in March 1952. In the following 27 years, Ibn-e-Safi wrote 127 bo ...

“Detective World” 'Fareedi Hameed Series'. Before creating the Imran Series in August 1955, Ibn-e-Safi created Jasoosi Dunya ‘The Detective World’ 'Fareedi Hameed Series' in March 1952 and continued to write until his death in 1980. Ibn-e-Safi created Imran Series and Jasoosi Duniya “Spy World 'Fareedi Hameed Series' and he is the best Imran Series writer. Both series created by him reached the peak of popularity. His character are famous in subcontinent and internationally. More than two hundred fake writers of Imran Series such as N Safi, Najma Safi, Naghma Safi, Aban Safi,

H Iqbal H, or h, is the eighth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''aitch'' (pronounced , plural ''aitches''), or region ...

S Qureshi S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...

MA Rahat Marghoob Ali Rahat popularly known as MA Rahat was a Pakistani writer. He died at the age of 76. He used different pen names and wrote thousands of novels and hundreds of books on various topics for the digests. M.A. Rahat started writing in 196 ...

, Azhar Kaleem,

Mazhar Kaleem Mazhar Kaleem (Urdu: مظہر کلیم) (1942 – 2018) was a Pakistani novelist chiefly known in Imran Series, Urdu spy fiction written within Imran Series mythos created by Ibn-e-Safi. He was known for writing the Imran Series and had wr ...

, Safdar Shaheen etc. used the popularity of Imran Series and Jasoosi Duniya for themselves.

Overview

Following the footsteps of the first best-selling series,

, this series features

– a playful, yet deceiving personality. He is a bright young

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

graduate with

MSc MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MSC ...

and PhD degrees in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

. His comical and apparently incompetent persona hides his identity as head of a

. This series has been widely acclaimed for its high literary quality and strong character development. Imran Series explains the workings of a country's secret service that operates from the capital of the country (supposed by many to be

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

in Pakistan which was the capital when initial Imran Series novels were written. Although Ibn-e-Safi was careful to never explicitly state this, villains often refer to the country as the "one from South Asia"). The Secret Service is administered by the Secretary of Internal Affairs, Sir Sultan, who offers Imran the position as its head after getting personal help from him in ''Raat ka Shahzadah'' (The Prince of Night – #8).

Ali Imran

Ali ImranCharacter of Ali Imran
The official website of the author is a pivotal character in Imran Series. Handsome and bright, the young-man holds MSc, and PhD degrees from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and has extraordinary sex appeal. He always appears comical and moronic, using these features to camouflage himself as one of the stupidest men. Always shown acting stupid, insane, and funny, he keeps the readers in hysterics at his every action. He never reveals his true side to anyone. He usually dresses eccentrically; for example, a pink coat, a light green shirt, a yellow necktie, white pants, and a purple flat hat with a red rose in it is his typical apparel.

Ibne Safi Ibn-e-Safi (26 July 1928 – 26 July 1980) (also spelled as Ibne Safi) ( ur, ) was the pen name of Asrar Ahmad ( ur, ), a fiction writer, novelist and poet of Urdu from Pakistan. The word Ibn-e-Safi is an Persian expression which literal ...

refers to this as Imran's "Technicolor Outfit." Imran is son of Amma Bi and Mr. Abdul-ur-Rahman,

director general A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive (government), executive officer, often the chief executive offi ...

of the Central Intelligence Bureau and as being from Genghis Khan's bloodline, he has Mongol lineage. He resides in an apartment with his two most trusted assistants: Sulaiman, the cook, and Joseph Mugunda, his bodyguard. He is, most of the time, seen driving a two-seater sports car. Imran purposefully keeps multi facets to his personality. As Imran—Ali Imran—he acts as an opportunist who can turn either a police informer or a blackmailer as the situation demands. A perfect cover to his profession. His other most significant personality facet is the Chief of the Secret Services: X-2. Only three other characters know his secret: Sir Sultan, Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; “Black Zero,” or Tahir, who acts as X-2 in Imran’s absence; and Roshi, a long time friend and a trusted partner. The other two personalities Imran assumes now and then are the Prince of Dhump, a warlord of a fictitious state known as Dhump, and Rana Tahavvar Ali Sandooqui, a wealthy landlord and businessman. Imran works as a normal member of the Secret Service and none of the other members had a slightest clue of his being their chief officer. These agents usually laugh him off and sneer at him, but as X-2, they really dread him. Imran's favourite agent is Safder Saeed. Imran has perfected the art of dodging bullets. It is called "Sing Art," which he learns from an international Chinese criminal, Sing Hee. Imran calls him Uncle Sing (Chacha Sing) and in return, Sing Hee refers him as nephew. His another old time foe is T3B, Theresia Bumble-Bee of Bohemia. Theresia has a great crush on him but Imran hardly pay heed to her rather jeer at her sentiments. He, like Col.

Ahmad Kamal Faridi Ahmad Kamal Faridi (Urdu: احمد کمال فریدی) (Inspector Faridi, later Colonel Faridi, also known as Colonel Hardstone) is a fictional spy and crime-fighter, created by Ibn-e-Safi as the lead character of the Urdu spy novel series '' ...

, has impregnable character vis-à-vis women. Due to his naive appearance and innocent looks, women are smitten with him, but he usually gives them a cold shoulder.

Other characters

One of

's distinguished writing qualities include formation and development of characters. He has established characters in such a fashion that they appear to be real and materialised. And, Imran Series has a range of diverse, colourful, and sentient characters. X-2, the chief of the

, in fact is Ali Imran (sometimes played by Tahir aka Black Zero). The members of the X-2's team are: Juliana Fitzwater, Safdar Saeed, Tanveer Ashraf, Khawar, Chauhan, Nomani, Siddeeque, Zafar ul Mulk, Jameson, and Nimi. Sir Sultan, Secretary of the Ministry of foreign affairs, is Imran or X-2's boss. Roshni, an Anglo-Burmese girl, is Imran's long time friend; she was Imran's working partner for sometime, but later left him. Captain Fayyaz is the Superintendent of the Central Intelligence Bureau. Not very sharp or intelligent, he with the help of Imran is able to solve numerous cases, which resulted in his promotions. Imran resides in a flat with his cook, Sulaiman, Sulaiman's wife, Gul-Rukh and the Central African bodyguard, Joseph Mugunda. Imran's family includes his father Karam Rahman (also mentioned as Abdul Rahman in initial books), Director General of Central Intelligence Bureau, mother Amma Bi, and sister Suraiya. Suraiya marries Dr. Shahid in the books, ''Adha Teetar'' and ''Adha Batair''. In series written by Ibn-E-Safi, One of a biggest foe of Imran was Tsung Hi, a chinese criminal who on certain occasions favored Imran by not killing him or harming him and vice versa. He was described as a tall, very thin man with glowing eyes full of energy. Imran considered him one of his worthy adversary and vice versa. Tsung Hi was a master in martial art as well as a very intelligent individual. He knew a very lesser known art of deceiving bullets from a very close range which Imran was able to learn from him in their first encounter in London during his study in Oxford. He joyfully calls Imran ''Bhatija (son of one's brother)'' meaning nephew in return to which Imran used to call him ''chacha'' meaning uncle.

Headquarters of the Secret Service

''Daanish Manzil'' was the initial headquarters of the Secret Services. It, however, was exposed thus destroyed in one of the adventures (see Sugarbank trilogy) and the Secret Services was forced to shift its headquarters to a new building called "Psycho Mansion," which operates under the semblance of a psychiatric clinic. Till Safi's last book "Psycho Mansion" maintains its status of being the headquarters. The members of the Secret Service, from time to time, also use another building, the mansion of "Rana Palace," as a hideout and operations centre.

Plagiarism

During 1960–1963, while Ibn-e-Safi was suffering from

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

, many amateur writers started posing themselves as Ibn-e-Safi and produced third class copies of his work, distorting the character of not only

, but also of Colonel Faridi and Captain Hameed. These acts of

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

were reported by Ibn-e-Safi himself in the preface of ''Daidh Matwaalay'' (One and a Half Amused – #42), the book he returned with after his recovery. Some writers and publishers still continue to write on Safi's characters, much to the annoyance of many fans. Safi used to mention fans' complaints sometimes in the prefaces, and mocked the fake publishers and writers in his own witty style. During Ibn-e-Safi's life, many writers started writing on his characters illegally, and many wrtiers continued to write even after Ibn Safi's death, such as

, Safdar Shaheen, MA Peerzada, Mushtaq Ahmed Qureshi,

MS Qadri MS, ms, Ms, M.S., etc. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ms.'' (magazine), an American feminist magazine * Metal Storm (webzine), a heavy metal website based in Estonia Businesses and organizations * MS-13, criminal gang * Missionaries ...

, Zaheer Ahmed (Author), Jahanzeb Aziz, Ibn-e-Rahat, Ali Nawazish, Irshad Alaser Jaferi, Syed Ali Hassan Gillani etc. Ayne Safi (N Safi), MA Sajid, Ibne Kaleem, Nasir Javed, Azhar Kaleem, Humayun Iqbal, writes books in the series, and has introduced many new characters in the series.

died on 24 April 2017. Ibn-e-Kaleem died on 12 March 2017.

died on 26 May 2018. Some fans of Ibn-e-Safi dismiss many fake Imran Series writers books, arguing that they distorted the original 'feel' of the series, and that he deformed the key characteristics of many characters, including Ali Imran. Nevertheless.

Overview

Ali Imran

Other characters

Headquarters of the Secret Service

Plagiarism

See also