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Hali's dirge for the Muslims of India who, by the end of the nineteenth century, had become a rudderless Quom, is required reading for all those who wish to understand the underlying spirit of Islam, especially today when Islam has become a great enigma for the world. The whiplash of Hali's 294 six-line verses struck deep at the Quom when the epic was first published in 1879. Since then the book has been a prized possession in every educated Muslim's home. Hali's message to Indian Muslims acquisition of knowledge and wisdom is the key to open prisons of backwardness and ignorance is as relevant today as it was then. Noted human rights activist Syeda Saiyidain Hameed is a direct descendant of Hall. Her family traces its origin from the renowned Sufi Khwaja Abdullah Pir-e-Heart, whose descendants come to India eight hundred years ago as teachers and scholars during the reign of Sultan Ghiasuddin Balban. Maulana Altaf Husain Hali came from that lineage and was the grandfather of the author's paternal grandmother, Mushtaq Fatima. Born in Srinagar, Syeda had her schooling in Mumbai and Delhi. She completed her BA (Hons.) from Delhi University and master's from University of Hawaii. She completed her doctorate from university of Alberta, Canada, where her husband, Dr S.M.A Hameed, was professor of business. After being away for twenty years, she returned to India in 1984 to try to find her roots. After extensive research, she wrote four volumes on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. She has translated Ismat Chugtai's The Quilt and Other Stories, as also the rubayis of poet-saint Sarmad, and a volume of writings by pioneer women Urdu writers. Syeda lives in Delhi and has three children Murad, Yavar and Ayesha.
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