REVIEW

The present work, writings of a prominent sufi saint of the 20th Century, Hazrat Syed Muhammad Zauqi Shah (RUA), were partly published in 1949, under the title "Mazamin-e-Zuaqi" at a time when sub continent was still recovering from its division into two states of Pakistan and India. Both countries are now celebrating their 50 years of independence and we thought it was appropriate to re publish this book with the major addition of Zauqi Shah Sahib’s letters to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, which provide a glimpse of previously unknown aspects of the Pakistan movement, namely the enthusiasm and role of Sufis in the creation of Pakistan.

Written by a recognized Sufi master par excellence, this book carries the breath of fresh air and such timeless relevance that it could very well have been written today. For instance while writing about democracy in his essay, “Goal of Pakistan” he says:

"Take the instance of that ridiculous absurdity known by the high sounding name of DEMOCRACY which, in fact, has either no meaning at all or has a heterogeneous multiplicity of meanings. Just scrutinise calmly and dispassionately what the term means forgetting, at least for a while, what you and others already think of it. Etymologically it means "Rule of the people for the people by the people". In practice, it may mean rule of fifty one percent over forty-nine, or rule of a smaller number over a larger majority. It may also mean illiterate, ill-bred, unqualified ignorant nobodies imposing their obnoxious rule over superior, intelligent, honest and better-qualified people who are always fewer ill numbers. The whole thing from start to finish is a fraud. Very often, it is an unfair attempt on the part of a clique to wrestle power and rule ill the name of a people. The very idea of the same people playing simultaneously a dual role' of rulers and ruled in the same state is fantastic in the extreme. Various devices resorted to during electioneering campaigns to influence public opinion and canvass public support and sometimes even to buy votes still further turn the entire institution into a sinister instrument of grabbing power. When a thing like that becomes a basis for an entire administrative machinery and when similar things form ingredients of a particular culture the merits and demerits of that culture can easily be assessed. It is not very encouraging to observe that a system of government fraught with potentialities of so much mischief has enamoured a greater part of the world to such an extend that an approach to any other alternative has become almost impossible”

We hope that readers would find this work in many ways unique as it covers a broad spectrum of issues in multiple realms of politics, history, religion and spirituality. This made our task of selecting the title of this book a bit difficult, and the one we had finally chosen reflects our desire to highlight a rather curious aspect, namely that of a Sufi writing to and supporting Jinnah, in total contrast to the opposition that Jinnah received at the hand of some esoteric religious scholars of the sub continent.

Editors
Mansoor Hashmi
Syed Tahir Maqsood.

Paperback 0.45" x 8.3" x 5.45", 182 pages, US$ 5.00