Allusions of Anisur Rahman
Habeel and Qabeel (Caine and Abel)
Habeel (Cain) and Qabeel (Abel) were the two sons of Adam. When they grew up, Habeel became a shepherd and raised cattle and Qabeel cultivated vegetables and fruits. Qabeel was rough by his temperament and behaviour while Habeel was soft and kind. When
Ibrahim (Abraham)
Ibrahim, also known as Abraham in the Biblical narrative, features prominently in Islam, Christianity and Judaism. He is also the most elaborately written about Prophet in the Quran (Sura 14). He was given the title of Khalil-ul-Allah (friend of God)
Safa and Marwa
Safa and Marwa are the two hillocks in Mecca. When Hajra (Hagar) ran out water and her little son Ismail (Ishmael) became thirsty, she went out to get some water for her son. Leaving her son behind, the desperate mother ran to Safa looking for someone
Yakub (Jacob)
Yakub, also known as Jacob in the Biblical narrative, was the son of Is’haq (Isaac) and the grandson of Ibrahim (Abraham). He is mentioned in the Quran (Surah 12) and his story is told through the narrative of his son Yusuf (Joseph). Yusuf was his favourite
Mohammad
Muhammad, the last prophet and founder of Islam, was born in Mecca (c. 570) in the tribe of Quraish. His father, Abdullah, had already passed away before he was born and his mother, Amena, died when he was only six years old. He was looked after by his
Jibreel (Gabriel)
Jibreel, also mentioned as Gabriel in the Biblical narrative, is an archangel who carried the word of God to a chosen group of people. He appeared before Prophet Muhammad during his contemplation in the cave of Hira in Mecca. Over the course of a few
Zulaikha
Zulaykha was the wife of Aziz, the Prime Minister of Egypt, who had bought Yusuf as a slave and brought him into his household. Yusuf was known as the most handsome man alive. In order to show how handsome he was, Zulaikha once called some of the noble
Zulqarnain (Cyrus)
Zulqarnain, also known as Cyrus in the Biblical narrative, is mentioned in the Quran (Surah 18). The word Zulqarnain means “the two horned”. According to the Quran, he travelled first to the western end of the world where he witnessed the Sun setting
Aazar
Aazar, known as Terah in Hebew Bible, was the father of prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). Aazar’s relationship with his son is central to the undeerstanding of his character. Aazar was a skilled idol sculptor who would often charge Ibrahim for making fun of
Mann-o-Salwa
When the Israelites found their freedom from the onslaughts of the Pharaoh, the first thing they asked Musa (Moses) was to get them water to quench their thirst. Musa struck his magical staff on the ground which brought forth twelve fountains for twelve
Nausherwan
Khusrow I was the king of the Sasanian Empire and was also known as Anushiruwan or Nausherwan-i-Aadil (Nausherwan the Just). He was one of the most celebrated kings and was responsible for many reforms during his time, the most important of them being
Adam and Hawwa (Adam and Eve)
Adam, the first man on this earth, was created out of clay of different shades collected from different regions of the planet earth. God blew His soul into him, endowed him with intellect and taught him the names of things which he repeated after Him.
Satyavan and Savitri
Savitri was the only daughter of king Asvapati of Madra Kingdom. She was exceedingly beautiful and the word of her beauty had reached far and wide. When she grew up, her father thought of finding a bridegroom for her. He sent his Brahmins and messengers
Burraq and shab-e meraaj
Burraq was the animal presented before Prophet Mohammad by archangel Jibreel (Gabriel) to transport him from the Kabaa in Mecca to Al-Quds in Jerusalem, and finally the seven skies. The word “burraq”, derived from the Arabic word “barq”, means lightening.
Sikandar (Alexander)
Sikandar, a student of Aristotle, was born in 356 BC. He became the ruler of Macedonia in the northern part of Greek after his father king Philip II was assassinated. After controlling rebellions at home, he consolidated his strength to win the world
Yad-e-Baiza
In Arabic, “yad” means hand and “baiza” means the shining one. Apart from the magical staff that God had offered to Musa (Moses), he was also given the great gift of a shining hand. For this, he was asked to take his hand inside his clothes and touch
Tuur
Al-Tuur, also known as Mount Sinai, is mentioned in the Quran (Sura 52). Once Musa (Moses) was travelling with his family and when he reached a particular place, he saw a fire. He walked towards it and it is here that God spoke to Musa and professed
Qaroon (Croesus)
Qaroon, also known as Croesus, is considered to be one of the richest men in history. He was an Israelite who lived in Eggypt but refused to pay heed to Prophet Musa’s (Moses) call. He is rumoured to have separate rooms filled with bags of gold, silver
Attia Faizi
Getting to know of Attia Faizi’s intellectual worth, Mohammad Iqbal (1877-1938), the major Urdu poet and founder of modern nazm, went to meet her in Cambridge. He was naturally drawn towards this graceful and intelligent lady. They discussed issues
Zulfiqar
Zulfiqar was the name given to the legendary sword of Prophet Muhammad which was used by his cousin and son-in-law Ali Ibn Abi Talib during the battle of Uhud. It had a peculiar shape as the long blade bifurcated into two ends. In the battle of Uhud,
Dajjal (Antichrist)
Dajjal is a charlatan, an imposter, a false messiah. According to Prophet Moammad’s prophecy, he would appear as a one-eyed human with the word “kafir” (non believer) written on his forehead. Being a false messiah, he would be banned in Mecca but he
Huma
Huma is said to be a divine bird that had its origins in Iranian folklore. Not only is this bird referred to in poetry but it is also mentioned in the Hindu scriptures. Legends have it that Huma was a magnificent bird which flew high in the sky but remained
Yaooj and Majooj (Gog and Magog)
Yajooj and Majooj, mentioned in the Quran and the Judeo-Christian texts, were two wild tribes with all the barbaric qualities. They destroyed the crops of Turks, killed their children and made their lives extremely miserable. They used to live in a mountain
Azra, Salma, Rehana
Akhtar Sheerani (1905-1948) is a compulsive romanticist of Urdu poetry. Known for mentioning certain women in his poetry by name, Sheerani has left his readers guessing whether they were real figures, or only imaginary beings. He has also kept his readers
Shehr-e-Babil and the tower of Babil
Emperor Namrood (Nimrod) is supposed to have ordered the construction of the Tower of Babil. He had been locked in a war of wits with Prophet Musa (Moses) over the question of God’s ssupremacy with respect to everything in the world. Since Namrood did
Zakariya (Zachariah)
Zakariya, also known as Zachariah in the Biblical narrative, was the progeny of Prophet Suleiman (Solomon). He was a priest who looked after Al-Aqsa, a place of worship in Jerusalem. It is said that he was asked to float a pen in the river along with
Jamshid
Jamshid is a mythological character in Iranian folklore. He is supposed to be the greatest ruler in the history of Iran who ushered the first Golden Age in the country. He is said to be the emperor of the world with a complete control over all the demons
Khizr
Khizr is known as the spiritual guide of Musa (Moses) and Sikandar (Alexander). While many say that he was a Prophet, some others argue that he was one of the angels sent upon the earth to guide those who had lost their way. There are many stories around
Majnoon (Qais) and Laila
Majnoon is one half of the famous star-crossed lovers known as Laila-Majnoon. Their story comes to us from the 11th century Arabia. Although the story was known in Persia, it was the eminent poet Nizami Ganjavi who gave it a legendary status in the twelfth
Iblees
Iblees, also known as Satan, was a jinn who had risen to a high rank and was given a place in the heaven. Also called Azazeel, he was made of smokeless fire. When God made Adam from clay, he asked all the angels to bow down before Adam. The angels obeyed
Meera Sen and Meeraji
Meera Sen was a Bengali girl who became an irremediable obsession for the major modernist Urdu poet Meeraji (1912-1949). Some say that one day when he was sitting in the hockey ground of Panjab University with his friends, he saw her passing by and got
Radha and Krishna
Radha and Krishna were archetypal lovers. Here is an an interesting story about them. On being poisoned by the breast milk of Putana, Krishna got a dark skin colour and was disappointed with his swarthy appearance. He thought that because of his skin
Ismail (Ishmael)
Ismail, known as Ishmael in the Christian narrative, is also mentioned in Judaism. He was the son of Hajra (Hagar) and Ibrahim (Abraham). Hajra had the premonition of his birth and the name he should be given. There are two oft-quoted happenings from
Baagh-e-Iram and Shaddad
Iram, or Iram of the Pillars, is a mythical city that had to bear the onslaughts of a divine wrath which came as punishment to the people of Aad. It happened because the people disregarded a prophet’s call to follow the path of one God. As a consequence
Israfeel
There are four archangels mentioned in the narrative traditions: Israfeel, Mikhail, Azrail and Jibreel. Although Israfeel’s name does not figure in the Quran as such but there are repeated mentions of the day of judgement when Israfeel would announce
Nau-rooz
Navroz is the Iranian national festival which marks the arrival of spring and is celebrated on the first day of the month of Farvardin according to the Persian calendar. According to the Christian calender, it is celebrated on 21/22 March every year.
Shri Ram
One of the most revered deities of Hinduism, Ram is known by yet another name, Ramachandra. He is supposed to be the seventh incarnation of God Vishnu. He was born in Ayodhya of Kaushalya and king Dashrath. Dashrath gave three siblings to Ram from two
Muunni Bai Hijab and Dagh Dehlavi
Munni Bai “Hijab” was a courtesan from Calcutta. She hapeened to visit the famous Benazir fair of Rampur where she met Dagh Dehlavi (1831-1905). She was a poet and liked Dagh’s poetry. Dagh, being a poet himself and a man of romantic disposition, also
Hatim Tai
Hatim Tai, a native of Yemen, is known as one of the most bountiful and generous human beings on this earth. His reputation as a munificent and kind man had travelled far and wide. People from Yemen and even from outside used to come to him and get their
Isa (Jesus)
Isa, also known as Jesus in the Biblical narrative, was the penultimate Prophet and the son of Maryam (Mary). He was miraculously born to Maryam, a virgin. He is a significant figure in Islam with the the Quran mentioning him ninety-three times in various
Nuuh (Noah)
Nuuh, also known as Noah in the Biblical narrative, was one of the earliest Prophets sent by God to spread His message on the Earth. He is known as the True Messenger of God, as well as His Most Grateful Servant. During the times of Nuuh, the society
Saqi-i-Kauser
Prophet Mohammad has been called Saqi-i-Kauser which implies that he would be the saqi to offer a drink from the two lakes of the heaven called Kauser and Tasneem. This offering would be a gesture of welcome to those entering the heaven. Commentators
Roz-e-Jaza / Roz-e-Hashr
This is precisely the day of judgement when all the human beings would be brought together and they would be punished, or rewarded, according to their actions on this earth. This will be the day of very severe test for them as the sun will come very
Suleiman (Solomon)
Suleiman, also known as Solomon in the Biblical narrative, was the great grandson of Yaqub (Jacob) and son of Dawood (David). He had inherited the throne after the death of his father and became the third King of Israel. He was a messenger of God and
Musa (Moses)
Musa, also known as Moses in the Biblical narrative, was born as an Israelite in Egypt. A prophet in Christianity, Judaism, Bahai and several other Abrahamic religions, he is the most mentioned Prophet in the Quran, especially in a Surah (33). He was
Jalaluddin Mohmmad Rumi
Jalaluddin Mohammad Rumi (1207-1273), generally known as Rumi, was born in 1207 in modern-day Afghanistan. His father was called the Sultan of Scholars. Forced to flee, due to the invasion of the Mongols in Central Asia, Rumi’s father shifted to Karaman
Yad-e-Bayza
In Arabic, “yad” means hand and “baiza” means the shining one. Apart from the magical staff that God had offered to Musa (Moses), he was also given the great gift of a shining hand. For this, he was asked to take his hand inside his clothes and touch
