Language Urdu Name Abdul Sharar Nationality Indian Role Essayist | Ethnicity Indian Died 1926, Lucknow Genre Essay, novel | |
Notable works Guzishta Lucknow
Firdos -e- Bareen Books Lucknow, Paradise of the Assassins: A Translation of Firdaus-e-Bareen, Gozashta Lucknow, Paradise | ||
Abdul Halim Sharar (Urdu: عبدالحلیم شرر; September 4, 1860 – December, 1926) was a prolific Indian author, playwright, essayist and historian from Lucknow. He left behind, in all, hundred and two books. He often wrote about the Islamic past and extolled virtues like courage, bravery, magnanimity and religious fervour. Malikul Azia Vārjina (1889), Firdaus-e-Bareen (1899), Zawāl-e-Baghdad (1912), Husn kā Daku (1913–1914), Darbar-e-Harampur (1914) and Fateh Maftūh (1916) are some of his famous novels.
Contents
His book Guzishta Lucknow is still considered as one of the best narrative describing the genesis of the city and its culture of Lucknow.
Early life
Abdul Halim Sharar was born in Lucknow in 1860. His father Hakim Tafazzul Husain was a scholar of Islamic religion and Persian literature. Sharar was educated at home where he learnt Arabic and Persian. He started learning Greek medicine system but did not finish it. In 1880 Sharar married his first cousin.
Works
فردوس بریں This Historical content tells us when a new sect was tried to invent and was named فرقہ باطنیہ (Sect of Spirituality) and their leaders conspired to rule out Islam and they established highly secret society and they created artificial Paradise. They would make people stunned by their network of spies. They would sneak up a person's personal life and would pretend to tell the hidden (غیب) then that person would become their devotee and would do anything they would demand. History shows they captured a lot of people and made them to kill many renowned people and Scholars (علماء). According to history Halaku Khan (ہلاکو خان) son of Ganges Khan or Changez Khan in Urdu چنگیز خان found these people and he disposed of them all. He authored a magazine dil gudaaz initially from Luckhnow and later from Hyderabad where he was in the service of Nizam of Hyderabad.
Anar Kali
Anar Kali انار کلی was his fantasy which he writes that he created this character to show or to imagine how it would look like in Akbar the Great's time. He admits this to be fantasy on the very first page. The Text Book Board of Punjab Pakistan published the book for 12th grade students and they give this to be on very first lines. انار کلی اور شہزادہ سلیم کی کہانی علامہ عبد الحلیم شرر نے لکھی تھی تاکہ اس بات کو سمجھا جا سکے کہ ان دنوں میں حرم سراء کیسے ہوتے ہونگے۔
This makes it clear that the Story of Anarkali is pure fantasy.