Mumtaz Husain, better known as Mumtaz Mufti ( ur, ; September 11, 1905 – October 27, 1995), was a writer from Pakistan.Recalling Mumtaz Mufti: LAHORE LITERARY SCENE Dawn (newspaper), Published 10 November 2001, Retrieved 4 September 2017
Initially a religious skeptic influenced by authors like
Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
,
Havelock Ellis
Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality i ...
,
Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler ( , ; 7 February 1870 – 28 May 1937) was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. His emphasis on the importance of feelings of belonging, family constellation and birth orde ...
and
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
, he would eventually come back to Islam through
Sufism
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality ...
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
(now in India). He was the son of Muhammad Hussain and his first wife Sughra Khanum. He was employed as a civil servant under
British rule
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...
short stories while working as a school teacher before 1947. In the beginning of his literary career, he was considered, by other literary critics, a non-conformist writer having liberal views, who appeared influenced by the psychologist
Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
. Pakistan's famous writer Ashfaq Ahmed was one of his close friends. According to Ashfaq Ahmed, Mufti used to read unpopular literature by a Swedish writer before 1947. Mufti initially did not like the 1947 partition plan of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, but changed his views later to become a patriotic Pakistani. In his later life, he used to defend Islam and its principles. His transformation from Liberalism to
Sufism
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality ...
was due to his inspiration from a fellow writer Qudrat Ullah Shahab. Despite all the changes in his viewpoints, he did manage to retain his individual point of view and wrote on subjects which were frowned upon by the conservative elements in the society.
The two phases of his life are witnessed by his autobiographies, '' Ali Pur Ka Aeeli'' (1961) and ''
Alakh Nagri
Mumtaz Husain, better known as Mumtaz Mufti ( ur, ; September 11, 1905 – October 27, 1995), was a writer from Pakistan.Ali Pur Ka Aeeli'' is an account of a lover who challenged the social taboos of his times, and ''
Sitara-e-Imtiaz
The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...
(Star of Excellence) Award by the
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Profile of Mumtaz Mufti on samaa.tv website Published 27 October 2011, Retrieved 4 September 2017
* 1989:
Munshi Premchand
Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known by his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu social fiction. He was one of ...
Award (a literary award from India)
Legacy
His son, Uxi Mufti, a literary critic himself, created a ''Mumtaz Mufti Trust'' after his death in October 1995. This trust has been observing Mumtaz Mufti's death anniversary events in different cities of Pakistan. His friends and admirers, including Ashfaq Ahmed,
Bano Qudsia
Bano Qudsia ( ur, ; 28 November 19284 February 2017), also known as Bano Aapa, was a Pakistani novelist, playwright and spiritualist. She wrote literature in Urdu, producing novels, dramas plays and short stories. Qudsia is best recognized ...
and
Ahmad Bashir
Ahmad Bashir ( Punjabi, Urdu: احمد بشیر; March 24, 1923 – December 25, 2004) was a writer, journalist, intellectual and film director from Pakistan. He was the father of leading television artists Bushra Ansari, Asma Abbas, Sum ...
have appeared as speakers at these events. Another famous writer
Kishwar Naheed
Kishwar Naheed ( ur, ) (born 1940) is a feminist Urdu poet and a writer from Pakistan. She has written several poetry books. She has also received awards including Sitara-e-Imtiaz for her literary contribution towards Urdu literature.
Early ...
comments in one of her book reviews that Mumtaz Mufti had plenty of human weaknesses but also has appreciated him as a learned critic. There is a road named after him in the city of
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the ol ...
, Pakistan.
Books
Short stories
* ''Gehma Gehmi'', 1949, 256 p.
* ''Asmarain'', 1952, 327 p.
* ''Ghubare'', 1954, 220 p.
* ''Ghurya ghar'', 1965, 312 p.
* ''Raughani putle'', 1984, 244 p.
* ''Muftiyane'', 1989, 1526 p. (collected short stories)
* ''Kahi na jae'', 1992, 178 p.
* ''Chup'', 1993, 269 p.
* ''Samai ka bandhan'', 1993, 192 p.
* ''Talash'', 1996, 278 p. (last book, the theme being Islam)
Play
* ''Nizam saqqah'', 1953, 169 p.
Autobiographical novels
* ''Alipur ka Eli'', 1961, 1188 p. (first part of the autobiography)
* ''Alakh nagri'', 1992, 996 p. (second part of the autobiography)
Travelogues
* ''Hind Yatra'', 1982, 359 p. (travel to India)
* ''Labbaik'', 1993, 320 p. (account of a
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...
pilgrimage undertaken in 1968)
Essays
* ''Piyaz ke chilke'', 1968, 184 p. (literary criticism and views on Pakistani nationalism)
* ''Aukhe log'', 1986, 311 p. (impressions of famous Pakistani writers)
* ''Aukhe avalre'', 1995, 258 p. (biographical sketches of famed Pakistani authors)