Before the Partition of India, Allahabad was a remarkably fertile and respected center of Indian literature. It was a time when the Progressive Movement was taking firm root, and in an intellectual and literary city like Allahabad, new ideas and revolutionary tendencies were clearly taking shape. Mushairas, literary gatherings, and journals gave Urdu literature a new direction, one in which themes such as social justice, the struggle for freedom, and human equality became prominent. Literature was no longer confined to aesthetic expression alone; it had become a resonant voice of social and political consciousness. Writers in Allahabad’s atmosphere turned the pen into a weapon and made literature an effective means of public awakening.

Abdul Hamid Qamar Ruini was born on February 4, 1936, in Allahabad, India. His father, Muhammad Baqreedi, was a simple yet dignified man, while reliable information about his mother is not available. He belonged to a middle-class family with a refined intellectual taste, where learning, culture, and civility were held in high regard. Qamar Ruini had two brothers, Majeed and Zubair, and a sister whose name is not recorded. The household environment was simple yet strong in terms of moral training, and this atmosphere nurtured humility, ethical balance, and graciousness in his personality.

Abdul Hamid Qamar Ruini was a renowned Naat poet, writer, editor, and researcher. A systematic study of his life and literary services, especially his contribution to Naat literature, makes it clear that he did not limit Naat to emotional devotion alone. Instead, he treated it with intellectual awareness, scholarly integrity, and artistic dignity, thereby granting Naat a lofty and respected status in Urdu literature. Naat poetry has always been a sensitive and sacred genre in Urdu, yet in every era only a few poets have been able to elevate it beyond pure expression of devotion and shape it with a sense of intellectual responsibility. Qamar Ruini stands as a bright reference in this tradition. His personality was multidimensional. He was a poet, prose writer, editor, researcher, and mentor all at once. The Partition of the subcontinent, the experience of migration, economic struggle, and literary perseverance added depth to his thought, which is clearly reflected in his Naat poetry and critical approach.

During the turbulent circumstances of Partition, Abdul Hamid Qamar Ruini migrated to Pakistan. This migration was not merely a geographical shift but a turning point in thought and the foundation of a new life. The experiences of alienation, insecurity, and the struggle to find a place in a new society gave extraordinary depth to his poetic consciousness. These experiences later appeared in his Naat poetry in the form of intellectual maturity and creative dignity.

In 1948, he came to Pakistan from India for the first time. Two years later, he returned to India to meet his mother and came back to Pakistan in 1950. He then stayed in Karachi for some time, where he completed his graduation in Urdu. Later, he moved to Rawalpindi and carried forward his practical and literary life. At the age of twenty-eight, he married Nasira Qamar and spent nearly twenty-four years in a calm and harmonious married life. After his wife’s death in March 1988, he did not remarry and devoted the rest of his life to worship, study, and literature. He had three sons, Muhammad Zia-ul-Qamar, Zeeshan Qamar, and Miraj-ul-Qamar, and three daughters, Firdaus, Rizwana, and Ayesha. Despite household responsibilities, his bond with literature never weakened. Instead, he consistently made his scholarly and literary engagement an essential part of his life.

Qamar Ruini’s literary inclination became evident at an early age. After migrating to Pakistan, he found an environment that allowed his abilities to flourish. Initially, he experimented with various literary genres, but soon he adopted Naat as his true identity and life’s purpose. After migration, he became associated with the daily newspaper Parwaz, where his writing skills not only earned him recognition in literary circles but also gave new dignity to Naat literature. For him, Naat was not merely an expression of devotion but a great trust, whose demands he fulfilled with exceptional care at the levels of word, thought, and reference. This is why his Naat poetry is held in respect and esteem by serious readers. His work reflects love for the Prophet, moral purification, practical guidance from the Prophetic biography, and the collective issues of the Muslim Ummah. He regarded Naat not as an escape from reality but as an effective means of self-reform and social reform. His language is simple, fluent, and dignified, marked by restraint from exaggeration, intellectual balance, and semantic seriousness. While remaining connected to tradition, he did not ignore modern consciousness, and this blend makes his style distinctive and credible. In the Rawalpindi School, which reflects the poetic, literary, and cultural history of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, his creations represent this harmonious blend of tradition and modernity that has made this school a respected literary reference.

Qamar Ruini always encouraged new writers. He read their work with attention and affection and offered corrections with sincerity and integrity. His greatest quality was that he did all this without any compensation, because he believed literature to be a collective heritage that every writer is responsible to carry forward. He instilled confidence in novice writers, pointed out their weaknesses, and guided them to highlight their strengths. His approach was always compassionate and instructive, which helped new writers not only correct their mistakes but also improve their writing. Through this practice, Qamar Ruini assisted many young poets and writers in establishing their literary identities. He believed that a true teacher is one who recognizes the hidden potential in a student and shows the path to refine it. This is why many writers trained under his guidance hold prominent positions in Urdu literature today. Thus, Qamar Ruini was not only a researcher or poet but also a mentor and guide who devoted himself to others and considered serving literature his life’s mission. His tradition stands as a shining example for future generations that the true beauty of knowledge and literature lies in sharing it and nurturing new talent.

Below is an introduction and critical overview of some of Abdul Hamid Qamar Ruini’s important books.

Wilayat-e-Rasool
This is his most famous and distinguished Naat collection, for which he received the Presidential Award. It is considered a brilliant example of intellectual depth and artistic beauty in Urdu Naat literature. The poet does not present love for the Prophet as mere emotional attachment but connects it with intellectual awareness, moral purification, and practical guidance. The greatest strength of this book is that it treats Naat as a living and dynamic genre that offers not only aesthetic pleasure but also intellectual growth and spiritual elevation. Critics view it as a successful effort to elevate Naat from emotional devotion to an intellectually and academically grounded form.

Roshni Aur Saaye
A beautiful collection of quatrains that offers serious reflection on life, time, and various dimensions of human consciousness. The poet presents human contradictions, the harshness of time, the struggle between hope and despair, and the evolving dimensions of consciousness with keen insight. Within the brief yet comprehensive form of the quatrain, Qamar Ruini conveys profound ideas in simple and fluent language, demonstrating his artistic mastery and intellectual depth. The collection not only provides aesthetic enjoyment but also invites reflection on fundamental questions of life.

Bada-e-Khayyam
This book is an Urdu quatrain translation of quatrains attributed to Khayyam. The translator successfully adapts Khayyam’s thought and philosophical depth into the poetic temperament of Urdu. The translation is not merely literal but also literary and intellectual, allowing readers to experience the original flavor of Khayyam’s quatrains in Urdu. The book connects Urdu quatrains with world classical literature and introduces Urdu readers directly to Khayyam’s thought.

Urdu Rubai: Ahd Ba Ahd
A biographical and critical account of Urdu quatrain poets, tracing the journey from the beginning to the present era. Its importance lies in both research and history, as it presents the evolutionary history of the Urdu quatrain in a continuous narrative. By examining the quatrains and styles of poets from different periods, the book offers a clear picture of the genre’s artistic and intellectual development. It serves as a fundamental source for serious students and researchers of the Urdu quatrain.

Tazkira-e-Rubai Goyan-e-Farsi
A biographical account of Persian quatrain poets of the subcontinent. It provides a research-based overview of the Persian quatrain tradition and its development in the region. The book’s strength lies in offering an opportunity to understand the background of Persian quatrains in relation to Urdu quatrains, highlighting the literary connection between the two languages. It brings to light poets who were relatively lesser known in literary history, thereby filling a research gap.

Tazkira-e-Naat Goyan: Rawalpindi and Islamabad
An important research and biographical work in which Naat poets are introduced and their services critically reviewed. It is a fundamental source for understanding the evolutionary journey of Naat literature. The book analyzes poets’ work and styles while highlighting the continuity of the Naat tradition and its intellectual and artistic aspects. Through scholarly integrity and critical insight, Qamar Ruini preserved the achievements of Naat poets, making this book a milestone in the history of Urdu Naat literature.

Overall Assessment
Taken together, these works present a comprehensive picture of Qamar Ruini’s scholarly and literary stature. Bada-e-Khayyam brings global classical thought into Urdu. Urdu Rubai: Ahd Ba Ahd preserves the internal history of the Urdu quatrain. Tazkira-e-Rubai Goyan-e-Farsi highlights the subcontinental context of Persian quatrains. Wilayat-e-Rasool grounds Naat literature at an intellectual and research level. Roshni Aur Saaye explores existential questions through the quatrain form. Tazkira-e-Naat Goyan preserves the continuity of the Naat tradition. Together, these books form not only a valuable literary asset but also a comprehensive reference for serious readers and researchers of Urdu literature, establishing Qamar Ruini as an enduring and unforgettable figure.

Awaiting Publication
Original work: A collection of quatrains
Correct pronunciation: Guftagu

Qamar Ruini remained associated with the monthly Anjuman Faiz-ul-Islam for nearly five decades as an editor, performing his editorial duties with responsibility and consistency. This half-century of service testifies to his scholarly and literary commitment and represents a significant contribution to Urdu journalism and literary tradition. During his editorship, he maintained high standards and never compromised on literary quality, treating journals not merely as publishing platforms but as centers of intellectual and creative training. Under his editorship, magazines became training grounds for new writers, offering encouragement, guidance, and correction.

In addition, Qamar Ruini served for several years as a duty officer at Radio Pakistan Azad Kashmir. His association with radio, a powerful and popular medium, broadened his experience and connected him directly with public taste, literary trends, and social attitudes. Alongside his radio work, he also taught Urdu literature at Millat College, a responsibility he fulfilled not merely as a profession but out of deep interest and heartfelt attachment to Urdu literature. His contributions in both teaching and broadcasting further refined his intellectual and creative consciousness, bringing balance and breadth to his writing and Naat poetry. The most prominent aspect of his editorship was his insistence that literature should not be limited to entertainment or formal expression but serve as a means of social awareness, intellectual training, and moral reform. The articles, Naat poetry, and research papers published under his editorship possessed scholarly dignity and invited readers to think, understand, and act. This is why his editorship is regarded as a golden chapter in the history of Urdu journalism and Naat literature.

After visiting the Two Holy Mosques in 1995, a major transformation occurred in his poetry. He turned from ghazal to Naat, and gradually Naat became his primary identity. Although much of his work had been compiled, he did not hurry to publish it, often saying, “When the time comes, it will be published.” After returning, he regularly attended meetings of the literary organization Halqa-e-Arbab-e-Zauq. His Naat poetry grew to the extent that he himself felt that God wished his books to begin with this sacred genre. This state reflects a form of love for the Prophet that transforms heart and vision. Even years later, he would see Madinah everywhere, a feeling testified by his verses.

In Naat composition, he always prioritized propriety and caution. This restraint and excellence are the reasons for the acceptance of his work. His verses reflect this spiritual state.

Abdul Hamid Qamar Ruini was a humble, compassionate, and helpful person who devoted his life to literature and service to humanity. He proofread the work of novice writers without charge, highlighted areas for improvement, and offered sincere critical guidance. For him, the purpose of criticism was not to expose flaws but to provide training, guidance, and promote literary awareness. This is why many young writers under his mentorship gained confidence and established their identities in the literary world. His personality was marked by humility, grace, and a spirit of service, reflected in both his social conduct and scholarly contributions. His position in Urdu Naat literature is firm and respected. He elevated Naat beyond emotional attachment and treated it with intellectual dignity, semantic depth, and scholarly integrity. His writings established a strong literary tradition for future generations, which continues to guide serious readers and researchers. His influence extended beyond his books to the students, readers, and literary circles who benefited from his intellectual insight and moral training. Thus, Qamar Ruini was not only a great poet and researcher but also a mentor who made literature a means of serving humanity and reforming society.

Qamar Ruini passed away on March 27, 2008, due to a heart attack. His death was an irreparable loss for Urdu literature, leaving writers in deep grief and a profound sense of absence. Yet his scholarly and literary legacy remains alive, serving as a guiding beacon for future generations.

Within the limited time life allowed him, Qamar Ruini achieved a stature through his hard work, thought, and art that only a few writers attain. Had he been granted more time, he would surely have been counted among the greatest intellectuals of Urdu literature and the subcontinent, whose names are recorded in golden letters in history.

His memory and intellectual legacy continue to illuminate hearts, teaching that true life is the one that leaves light and guidance behind. He will always be remembered for his writings, critical insight, and social virtues, and his name will live on in the history of Urdu Naat literature with seriousness, dignity, and intellectual maturity.

Five decades of service introduced new dimensions to Naat literature and provided a strong foundation for Urdu journalism and research. His books, editorship, and critical vision gave Urdu literature new direction and established Naat as a living, dynamic, and intellectually grounded genre. This is why Qamar Ruini will always be remembered with respect and dignity, and his personality will remain a guiding light for serious readers and researchers in the times to come.

Thus, he was not only a great poet and researcher but a permanent reference and an unforgettable asset in the history of Urdu Naat literature. His light will continue to offer direction and solace to future generations. May God elevate his ranks, illuminate his grave with light, forgive his shortcomings, and make his Naat services a lasting charity and a source of guidance and peace for generations to come. May the fragrance of his words continue to perfume hearts, and may his memory remain a treasure of faith, love for the Prophet, and literature for the Muslim Ummah.