Accessing Muslim Lives

In the same way that a broken film projector fails to display the full image on the screen, these blind impressions of the beginning [of my life] hardly remain on the forgotten shelf of my memory. How strange it is! …

The Urdu text above corresponds to the excerpts provided below, as well as those published in the companion volume.

City life in Damascus

Two-horse carriages can be had very cheaply here, and can also be found at any time. …

We left for India on 6 January by Viceroy of India.  We were commanded to arrive at ship one day prior to departure, so that the ship can leave whenever appropriate. Due to war, there were lots of problems in …

In the last weeks, my husband had to visit Holland for government related work. I also accompanied him. Holland is a small country in Northern Europe, and for the last two centuries it hasn’t played a prominent role in European …

Travelling from Lake Geneva to Zurich

We left Territet on the 1 p.m. train. We had to change trains in Lausanne. Lausanne is a very beautiful city. This is the city where the peace conference of the Turko-Greek war was …

January 1, 1935

Thanks be to God on high, by whose mercy the year 1934 today came to a happy close, and the year 1935 began. I offer my ardent prayers for an excellent year ahead. May God accept them. …

In Medina
Now it was time for us to travel to the holy city of Medina. My heart was bursting with happiness. When the dawn of that blessed day arrived, we went down the stairs of the chambers we were …

A tourist ticket from Bombay to London on the Chusan cost Rs. 1055. The weight of this ship on the P&O line was 24,000 tonnes. Its color was white and it seemed new and extremely grand and up to date. …

The original essay appeared in two instalments in Tehzib-e Niswan (Lahore) (23 and 30 March 1899).  It was then published with a biographical introduction by the journal’s editor, Muhammadi Begum, in a book entitled Hayat-e Ashraf (Lahore: Imambara Sayyida Mubarak …

The original Urdu text corresponding to both the excerpts below and those available in the related published volume are available above.

Life Aboard Ship

Gulf of Aden, 14 March 1934: At about 10 o’clock, when I returned to my …