Allama Nasir Uddin Nasir Hunzai is the author of over a hundred books related to the esoteric interpretation of the Holy Qur’an. He writes both prose as well as poetry. He is the first person to have a Diwan of poetry in Burushaski, his mother tongue, and is known as “Baba-i Burushaski” (Father of Burushaski) for his services to that language. He also composes poetry in three other languages: Urdu, Persian and Turkish. His contribution to spiritual science is widely recognized. He is the co-author of a German-Burushaski dictionary published by Heidelberg University, Germany and “Hunza Proverbs” published by Calgary University of Canada. He is a recipient of “Sitarah-i Imtiyaz” awarded by the Government of Pakistan for his contribution to literature
Allama Nasir Uddin Nasir Hunzai’s Great Contribution to Esoteric Knowledge
A Brief Statistical Survey of His Works:
Suwakuse har durowar mii ruwe chindak gumanis
“(O our Mawla,) be our soul’s support in every good deed May we initiate the work but its completion be by your invisible hands.”
Surmanas mii numa une gaybe gurin cum dumanis
Nasire isqe kitab aalamar pharees meymi
“The book of Nasir love will spread all over the globe, the good news was brought only yesterday from the invisible world by a messenger angels.”
Saroose gaybe jahaan cum khabar suwai le saboor
Undoubtedly, his work of poetry and prose are the countless universes of esoteric knowledge. His writing, lectures on spirituality and supplications have created such an enormous treasure that it is impossible for an individual to have even a cursory glance at it in his entire life, let alone understand it duly. Notwithstanding this, an attempt will be made to present here a statistical survey of the pages and words, both poetry and prose in order to express profound gratitude for his bounties of esoteric teachings.
He uses his potent pen to praise the imam of the time and expresses his gratitude for his bounties and favors likes pir nasir –I khusraw, the hujjat of khurasan. Pir Nasir expressing his gratitude to the imam of the time for spiritual and intellectual bounties writes in his Diwan:
Har ja ki buwam ta biziyam man gah-u bigan
Wherever and however long I live,
Bar shukar-I tu ranam qalam-u mihbar-u daftar
I shell always use my pen, ink-pot and paper in your praise
In the same way, our revered teacher writes:
Ine jaa qalamar qaw eti ke es yatise gucharchi
if he (my imam of the time) invites my pen for (his services),
eer beski mathan gan bila kuli es bese warchi
It will walk on its head and will never tier on matter how
Long the path!”
Prior to the statistical survey, it is necessary to present a brief account of the backgrounds of his extraordinary personality in the light of his own works, so that the readers may be able to appreciate his unprecedented feats.
Context of his esoteric writings:
Nasir Uddin Nasir Hunzai
Although Nasir Uddin Nasir Hunzai was brown in a family which according to that time was considered learned because his father Hubb-I Ali and grandfather Muhammad Rafi were the khalifahs or representatives of their respective Pir, the standard of khalifah knowledge’s was so limited that they were unable to produce any literary work. Therefore, prior to him, there is no trace of any religious literature in Hunza. For years prior to the birth in 1917, the British colonial government had established the only primary school in the capital of Hunza, Baltit. He studied there for ten months during which he completed third and fourth classes and that was a measure of his entire secular education! However by God’s special help, through self-study he advanced in his learning so rapidly that in 1940 he was able to compose a perfect poetry with all its requirements of meter, rhyme’s etc.thus started the journey of his esoteric writings with the epoch-makings ginan, which he, with the imam of time, Mawlana Sultan Muhammad shah (fidahuarwahuna). this poem was the first of its kind in the Burushaski language.in it he says:
Haazir imaame ishqe phuwan jaa asar balii
The fire of hazir imam’s love is kindled in my heart,
Haazir imam jaa gale malyam jaa asar mili
Hazir Imam is the ointment for my wound,
My heart medicine.
In the same blessed year of 1940, the imam of the time had sent a secred message through the radio that the light of his kindness and love would reach the entire Jamat of Hunza like the sun. the above Ginan was indeed evidence of the imam lights reaching the Jamat of Hunza, because thereafter the light of esoteric knowledge began to spread rapidly in this area, culminating in the foam of the personal resurrection of a revered teacher in 1951. 1940 was the beginning of his spiritual progress in which he began to advance along its important stages. Among these, 1946 the year of the diamond jubilee of the imam is extremely important, because it was during his year that he was blessed with the Didar of the imam of the time in Poona, India during which the experienced the spiritual zalzalah (quake). subsequently, he also received the Ism-Azam from the exalted imam in Hasanabad Ziyarat, Bombay. He (Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai) also started to composes poetry in Urdu and wrote a moving poem in praise of the Qa’im of the time, entitled “the colorful, flourishing and pleasing memories of the diamond jubilee (1946)”, the exordium of which is:
Jis ghari shah ali jinab-I maydan aya
The moment shah Ali entered the stadium
Mara dil khene laga dekh kih janan aya
My heart said: look the beloved has arrived!
He continued to pass through great spiritual stages. In 1948, in Kharadhar Jam’at-Khnah, he experienced the first Light. In 1949 he had the golden opportunity to go to China in connection with the construction of Jama’at-Khanahs and schools for Ismaili Community there. In Sariqul, China he observed his symbolic sacrifice in a luminous dream, which was the glad tiding of his practical or great sacrifice ( zibbin azim) during his personal resurrection. In 1951, as mentioned above, he underwent the personal resurrection and obtained the everlasting wealth of knowledge and recognition with which he returned to Hunza 1954. The noble work of expressing this knowledge of resurrection in the form of prose and poetry continues to date. He established the Ismailia Darul-Hikmat on 2nd June 1963 to facilitate this work, about which Mawlana Hazir Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni in a taliqah dated 4th October 1966 says:
“…I have read the report of Ismailia Darul Hikmat
With much interest and pleasure.
I am very happy indeed with your good work
And devoted services, and I gave my most affectionate
Paternal maternal loving blessings to all the members
Of the Ismailia Darul Hikmat for their services.”
Regarding the paramount importance of his poetry, it more than suffices to say that Mawlana Hazir Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni in a taliqah dated 9th October, 1961 has graciously accorded it the status of ginan, which only a Pir can write. The Imam has said;
“I am very happy to know that you have completed the Ginan Book in Hunza Language.”
Further, about all his works Mawlana Hazir Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni gave the following guidance in 2001 during a special mulaqat in London as mentioned in a letter addressed to him by Vasier Shafiq Sachedina on 16th August, 2004:
“You will recall that Mawlana Hazar Imam was very keen that ways and means should be found whereby your learning and scholarship can receive a wider jamati exposure through collaboration with the Insitute.”
Here it should also he mentioned that he, in addition to his spiritual discoveries has also rejected many theories of secular scientists, such as the composition of the sun, the gravity of the earth, etc.
His (Nasir Uddin Nasir Hunzai) published and unpublished works are based on Qur’anic wisdom, ta’wil, Divine remembrance, recognition of the Imam, Monoreality, recognition of oneself, recognition of God, spiritual science and many other such deep subjects.
Published Works:
His published works exceed one hundred and twenty-five (125) books, Sixty (60) of them have been translated into English by Dr. Faqir Muhammad Hunzai and Rashida Noor Muhammad Hunzai. Akbar Rajan has translated twenty-five (25) books into Gujarati. A few of them have translated into Arabic, Persian, French, Tajik, and Swedish. Altogether the pages of these books number more than fifteen thousand (15,000) and the words are in the region of 2.6 million. There are nineteen thousand references to the holy Qur’an and six hundred Ahadith in these works. There is also the mention of a thousand friends who are linked to him and Khanah-yi Hikmat.
Unpublished Works:
There is a huge number of his unpublished articles, which also include letters written to this student where he has lifted the veils from spiritual secrets. There are certain special articles in which he has divulged his real position. These articles have been compiled in book form by Zahra Sunderani. Among these are two extremely important works: “Seven oceans of Luminosity” and “The Psalms of Resurrection”. The former consists of his private lectures to selected students from 1995 to 1999, specially held on Saturday Mornings in Karachi. These were recorded by Zahra Sunderani. It consists of two hundred articles covering seventeen hundred Pages (1700) and five hundred thousand words (500,000). The latter consist of muajats and giryah-u zari (supplications with tear), which are recorded in two hundred audio cassettes, which in transcription will fill twenty-one hundred pages (2100) and total seven hundred thousand words (700,000). The first twenty-two cassettes have been transcribed by Yasmin Sher Wali.
Other titles in this category are: Recognition of the Qa’im (3 Volumes), Forty Keys of Luminous Ta’wil, Ladies of the Qur’an, Gems of Qur’anic Knowledge and Wisdom, Confluence of Material and Spiritual Science, The Knowledge of the Sacred Sanctuary, Secrets of the Living Qur’an, Secrets of the Intellectual Shari’at, Hidden Book, Gems of the Qur’an, Laws of Paradise, Great Miracle of Seventy Thousands, Miracles of the Jama’at –khanah in Yarqand, Luminous Pool, Royal Bungalows in the Living Paradise. These books contain approximately fifteen thousand pages (15,000) and two million nine hundred thousand words (2,900,000).
Poetry – Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai:
He has composed poetry in four languages: Burushaski, Urdu, Persian and Chinese Turkish. His (Nasir Uddin Nasir Hunzai) compilations include Naghmah-yi Israfil, Manzumat-I Nasiri, Ainah -yi Jamal, Jawahir-I Maarif, Bihiste Asquring, Diwan-I Nasiri (Burushaski) and Diwan-I Nasiri (Urdu, Twelve volume to date). These works contain more than three thousand five hundred (3,500) poems and thirty thousand (30,000) verses.
Digitized Record of His Lectures:
His (Nasir Uddin Nasir Hunzai) lectures are recorded in four thousand and five hundred (4,500) CDs, the duration of which extends to more than six thousand five hundred hours (6,500). The transcription of these continues by the volunteers of Karachi and Chitral under the supervision of Shahnaz Salim. In terms of pages, these will number one hundred and thirty thousand (130,000) pages and approximately thirty-two and a half million (32,500,000) words.
The approximate pages and words of all these works are one hundred and sixty thousand (160,000) and thirty-eight million (38,000,000) respectively, Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!