The Future of Civilization
By Syed Mohammad Taqi
Translated from the Urdu by Sumera Naqvi
Lightstone Publishers
ISBN: 978-969-716-298-7
205pp.

The event of Karbala has so captured the imagination of Muslims as well as all others interested in the history of Islam that numerous tomes have been written on the topic, approaching it from various angles.

Some view Imam Hussain’s valiant stand against the throne of Damascus as a historical epic; others examine it from a philosophical perspective; others still consider Karbala and the events that occurred on Ashura, 61 AH as a parable of metaphysical ishq [Divine love]. The Future of Civilisation, the English translation of philosopher and litterateur Syed Mohammad Taqi’s Karbala — Tehzeeb Ka Mustaqbil, falls within the philosophical category, with flourishes of history.

Taqi Sahib is not an unknown name in Pakistan’s intellectual history. A prolific writer and translator, he served as the editor of Urdu daily Jang for 25 years. The translation into English has been done by his maternal granddaughter, Sumera Naqvi, herself a senior journalist.

One may ask that, if so many works have been written on the events of Karbala, what would be the utility of the present work, especially in an environment such as Pakistan’s, where ‘everyone’ is presumably familiar with the background and aftermath of Karbala.

Perhaps, this presumption assumes too much, for the average reader — especially one who has not attended majalis or does not have an abiding interest in Islamic history, or may have only been exposed to sectarian views of history — may be unaware of the significance of this pivotal moment in Islam’s history, which has shaped attitudes towards various key theological issues linked to the earliest days of the faith. In that sense, the book brings the message of Karbala to the modern, English-speaking reader in fluid,........

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