Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد ابن بطوطة) (born February 24, 1304; year of death uncertain, possibly 1368 or 1377) was a Berber^[1] Sunni Islamic scholar and jurisprudent from the Maliki Madhhab (a school of Fiqh, or Sunni Islamic law), and at times a Qadi or judge. However, he is best known as a traveler and explorer, whose account documents his travels and excursions over a period of almost thirty years, covering some 73,000 miles (117,000 km). These journeys covered almost the entirety of the known Islamic world, extending from present-day West Africa to Pakistan, India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and China, a distance readily surpassing that of his predecessor, near-contemporary Marco Polo. 

IBN BATUTA

Famous traveler IBN BATUTA came to Amroha in 741H, 1340 M, in the period of sultan Mohammed Tughlak, he stayed in Amroha two months, he wrote in his memories “It’s a small beautiful city” Amroha has bread some important people in the subcontinent namely the poet Musafi; the film director Kamal Amrohi (first cousin of Rais Amrohvi). The difference in spelling their names was always a matter of great irresolvable dispute between the two; poet Jon Alia (younger brother of Rais Amrohvi); Eqbal Mehdi, Sadaquein. Apart from these, Amroha can boast of great mothers who have raised great sons.

Allama Jon (also rendered into English as Jaun and Joan) Elia (Urdu: جون ایلیا) (December 14, 1931 - November 8, 2002) was a notable Pakistani Urdu poet, philosopher, biographer and scholar of Indian subcontinent. He is widely praised for his unique style of writing. He is the brother of renowned journalist and psychoanalyst Rais Amrohvi and poet Syed Muahmmad Taqi, and husband of famous columinst Zahida Hina. He was a man of letters, well versed in Arabic, English, Persian, Sanskrit and Hebrew.

Life

Jon Elia was born in December 14, 1931 in an illustrious family of Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. He was the youngest of his siblings. His father, Allama Shafiq Hasan Elia, was deeply involved in art and literature and also an astrologer and a poet. This literary environment modeled him along the same lines, and he wrote his first Urdu couplet when he was just 8.

His preoccupation in those days were his imaginary beloved character, Sophia, and his anger was directed at the English occupiers of the united India. He used to do dramatic presentations of the early Muslim period, and hence his knowledge of Muslim history was recognized by many. According to him, his early poetry reflected the dialogue nature of stage drama.

A close relation of Elia's, Syed Mumtaz Saeed, recalled that Elia also went to Syed-ul-Madaris in Amroha, a Madressah (Koranic school) affiliated with Darul Uloom, Deoband. "Jon had a way with languages. He could learn them effortlessly. Apart from Arabic and Persian that he had learnt at the Madressah, he acquired great proficiency in English and a smattering of Hebrew."

During his youth, the united India was involved in a Muslim-Hindu feud, which led to the partition of the country on religious lines once British rule ended. Being a Communist, Elia was averse to the idea, but finally accepted it as a compromise. Elia migrated to Pakistan in 1957, and made Karachi his home. Before long, he became popular in the literary circles of the city. His poetry, which bears ample testimony to his wide-ranging reading habits, won him acclaim and approbation. Poet Pirzada Qasim said: "Jon was very particular about language. While his diction is rooted in the classical tradition, he touches on new subjects. He remained in quest of an ideal all his life. Unable to find the ideal eventually, he became angry and frustrated. He felt, perhaps with reason, that he had squandered his talent."

 

 

 

Syed Muhammad Mehdi Rais Amrohvi (or Raees Amrohvi)(b. 1914 - d. 1988) was a noted scholar, poet and psychoanalyst of Pakistan.He was born on September 12, 1914 in Amroha India, in a notable family of scholars. Almost all the members of his family were poets. He migrated to Pakistan on October 19, 1947 and settled in Karachi.
He was famous for his unique style of Qatanigari (Quartain writing). For many decades he penned quatrains every day for Pakistan's largest daily newspaper Jang. He also supported the Urdu language and the Urdu speaking people of Pakistan.
He penned a number of books on metaphysics, meditation and yoga. He also tried to produce a standard Urdu translation of the Bhagavad Gita. He was assassinated on September 22, 1988.
His important poetical works include:
" Alif
" Masnavi Lala-e-Sehra (1956)
" Pase Ghubar (1969)
" Qattat - I (1969)
" Qattat - II (1969)
" Hikayaat (1975)
" Ba-Hazrat-e-Yazdaan (1984)
" Malboos-e-Bahar (1983)
" Aasaar (1985)
Apart from the above poetry collections, he also authored many books on various subjects viz. Metaphysics, Psychology and Spiritualism.
" Muraqabah
" Ma'badun-Nafsiyaat (Parapsychology)
" Nafseyaat-o-Mabaad-an-Nafseyaat (3 vols)
" Ajaib-e-Nafs (4 vols)
" Le Sans Bhi Ahista (2 vols)
" Jinseyaat (2 vols)
" Aalam-e-Barzagh (2 vols) & " Hazraat-e-Arwah

Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi (Urdu: سید صادقین احمد نقوی), also often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash, was a world-renowned Pakistani artist, best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a painter. He is considered as one of the finest painters and calligraphers Pakistan has ever produced.

Personal Life

Birth name: Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi Born: 1930; Died: February 10, 1987 (Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan)

Nationality: Pakistani Field: Calligraphy, Painting, Murals Movement: Islamic calligraphy.

Sadequain was born in 1930, descending from a family of calligraphers. In late 1940s he joined the Progressive Writers and Artists Movement. His true talent was discovered by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy who brought Sadequain into the limelight He also spent some time in Paris augmenting his skills.Sadequain received much praise for his calligraphic style, which is widely considered iconic by many critics of South Asian art.Anwar Sadequain was the only student of Sadequain, who completed Art work after his death at Frare Hall. Frare Hall was renovated by Sadequain and art work at the roof of Frare Hall was the gift from Sadeqauin and Anwar Sadequain to the City of Karachi

Multilingual Calligraphy

Sadequain was responsible for the renaissance of Islamic Calligraphy in Pakistan since late 1960s.[4] He transformed the art of calligraphy into eye-catching expressionist paintings.

His calligraphy was endowed with divine inspiration giving it a dimension of time and space. He carried the script with a flourish in all directions, giving it the power of space, vigor and volume.[5] Before Sadeqain, few painters had experimented with the medium in Pakistan. But Sadequain is commended for bringing calligraphy into a mainstream art form, as most of the known Pakistani artists have followed Sadequain and calligraphic art now dominates the art scene. Sadequain also painted classical literature from the poetic verses of Ghalib, Iqbal and Faiz. He belonged to the school of thought which enriched realism with lyricism.

Sadequain wrote thousand of quartets and published them. His works have been openly and widely copied, an irony since the artist himself hardly ever sold his works in spite of offers coming from the royals and the common public. As an example, his masterpiece rendition of Sureh-e-Rehman has been copied widely by many known painters of the modern era.