Qudrat Ullah Shahab

Shahab was born in Gilgit on 26 February 1917. His father, Abdullah Sahib, belonged to the Arain tribe of Chamkaur Sahib village, district Ambala, and was a student at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College and a protégé under the supervision of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Abdullah Sahib later migrated from Aligarh and settled down in Gilgit.[3] Shahab first rose to prominence when, at sixteen, an essay he penned was selected for the first prize in an international competition organized by the Reader's Digest, London, and, in 1941, for being the first Muslim from Jammu and Kashmir qualifying for the Indian Civil Service.[4] He later moved to Karachi, Pakistan, after the separation of the sub-continent and took charge as Under-Secretary (Import and Export), Ministry of Trade, of the newly-formed independent state. He also served as the first Secretary General (later the position was renamed as Chief Secretary) of Govt. Of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Qudrat Ullah was deputy commissioner of Jhang. He was behind many government schemes launched for the benefit of writers and intellectuals.[1][5]

Shahab himself published in English and Urdu languages for contemporary newspapers and magazines of Pakistan Writers' Guild, founded at Karachi in January 1959.[6][5]

Shahab's essay "Maaji" poetically outlines the simplicity of his mother and the relationship that his parents shared, detailing migration, governorship, family dynamics, and death in a short chapter.[7]

He is best known for his autobiography Shahab Nama.[1][8]

The real disclosure came in the final chapter of Shahab Nama that alluded to an out-of-world personality whom he used to call Ninety[9] as his spiritual guide. After Shahab Nama published, which was actually after Shahab's death, Mufti wrote his autobiography, Alakh Nagri, and openly discussed the hidden traits of Shahab's life. Mufti wrote in the foreword of the book:

Since Shahab has opened his own secrets in the last chapter of Shahab Nama, I find no reason not to share experiences which I witnessed about the mysticism of Shahab"

— English translation of the original text in Urdu

Mumtaz Mufti made him the subject of his autobiography Alakh Nagri and later dedicated another book Labbaik. Bano Qudsia, a veteran Urdu writer, wrote a book Mard-e-Abresham on Shahab's personality. A collection of essays about Qudrutullah Shahab has been compiled in a book, Zikr-e-Shahab.[8]

Resting place of Shahab at Islamabad Graveyard H-8

Shahab died on 24 July 1986 in Islamabad and is buried in H-8 Graveyard, Islamabad, Pakistan.[1][5]

On 23 March 2013, Pakistan Post issued a stamp with denomination of Rs. 15 under the "Men of Letters" series in the honour of Qudratullah Shahab.[10]

• Shahab Nama شہاب نامہ – autobiography (1986)[2][11]
• Ya khuda,یا خُدا – novel[1][11]
• Mān̲ jī, ماں جی – short stories[2][1][11]
• Surk̲h̲ fītāh, سُرخ فِیتہ – short stories[2][1][11]
• Nafsāne, نفسانے – short stories[1]
• Shahāb nagar, شہاب نگر – literary miscellany[11]
• Pathans – an essay about Pashtuns

• Qudratullah Shahab's grave from Daily Times
• Book Review of Shahab Nama in English.
• Listen to ShahabNama by Qudratullah Shahab