Shahab Nama is one of the most interesting autobiographies I have ever read. It is a fantastic read, which unfortunately was never translated into English.
Shahab Nama is the story of Qudrat Ullah Shahab, a Pakistani Bureaucrat who served in the Indian Civil Service before partition and volunteered during the famine of Bengal in 1943. Later, he served as the Ambassador of Pakistan to the Netherlands in 1962 and also the Secretary of Information and Education. He was an eminent writer and contributed to various newspapers and magazines in both the Urdu and English languages. A commemorative stamp bearing his picture was also issued in 2013, honoring the important writers of Pakistan.
I love this book because of its eloquence. The language is beautiful, and the words are written in a simple manner. This book takes you back to earlier times when happiness could be found in small things and people mattered more than their status.
شہاب نامہ اردو ادب کی سب سے اہم خودنوشت سوانح عمریوں میں شمار ہوتی ہے۔
One of the recurring themes in Shahab Nama is the interplay between everyday life and spiritual experiences. Shahab often writes about episodes where the boundary between the rational and the mystical blurs: dreams with prophetic significance, uncanny coincidences, and the deeper sense of God’s presence.
The beginning of the book talks about his life, career, and everything around, which in those times was so simple that it’s hard to imagine the same joys in this century. It’s the second part that mesmerizes the audience. It follows his spiritual journey. Gates are opened to discussion on parapsychology. We read about his relationship to God, which he refers to as “Ninety”. It is an out of this world, no words can describe kind of relationship. His spiritual journey has a feeling of “sukoon” or inner peace.
His seamless flow between the mundane and the metaphysical is one of the memoir’s emotional strengths.
Written at a time when patriotism was real and people believed, it brings out hope and love. Shahab Nama was published after the death of Qudrat Ullah Shahab and reflects both the personal and political evolution of a man deeply woven into Pakistan’s administrative fabric, as well as his spiritual awakening in later life.
Shahab Nama, till today, remains an important piece of Urdu literature and the most-read Urdu book in Pakistan.
Over the years, Shahab Nama has become a classic of Urdu literature, a staple in discussions of memoir and autobiography. Many readers and scholars regard it as one of the finest Urdu autobiographies for its scope, sincerity, and literary style.
It also has a cross-generational appeal: younger readers reread it to glimpse the personal side of Pakistan’s early years, while older readers often return to it for its nostalgia and insight.
“شہاب نامہ صرف ایک آدمی کی کہانی نہیں، یہ ایک عہد کی روح ہے جو پاکستان کے خواب اور حقیقت کے بیچ سانس لیتی ہے”
If you can read and understand Urdu, I highly recommend getting your hands on this book.
