Annemarie was born on April 7. 1922 in Erfurt Germany. She
was a professor at Harvard University from 1967 to 1992. At the age of 19, she
received a doctorate on “The position of the caliph and the Qazi in late Medieval
Egypt” from the University of Berlin. She taught History of Religion at Ankara
University from 1954 to 1959. She was the first non-Muslim woman to teach in Turkish
language. She was awarded a doctorate degree from University of Marburg,
Germany on “History of Religions”. After retirement from Harvard University,
she returned to Germany in Bonn until her death in 2003. Despite her love for Islamic cultures, she remained a devout Lutheran
all her life.
She taught
generations of students in a unique style; with her eyes closed reciting long
passages of mystical poetry from memory. She could speak Arabic, English,
German, Turkish, Urdu, Persian, Punjabi and Sindhi.
She published more
than fifty books and hundreds of articles on Islamic literature, mysticism and culture.
She translated Persian, Urdu, Arabic, Sindhi, and Turkish poetry and literature
into English and German. Her consuming passion was Sufism, the mystical branch
of Islam.
For her work on
Allama Doctor Muhammad Iqbal, the “Thinker of Pakistan”, Islam and Sufism, the
Government of Pakistan awarded her “Sitara-e-Imtiaz” (Star of Excellence) and “Hilal-e-Imtiaz”
(Crescent of Excellence).
She was also awarded
13 other honors by Germany, Netherland, Turkey, Egypt, Uzbekistan, and
Pakistan.
The following are some
of the prestigious books she had written:
And Muhammad is His Messenger, Gabriel’s Wing (Iqbal’s
Baal-e-Jib reel), Mohammad Iqbal-Poet and Philosopher, Islamic Names, A Dance
of Sparks (Ghalib’s Poetry), Deciphering the Signs of God, The Life and work of
Rumi, Islamic Calligraphy, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, Islam: An Introduction.
In one of her books
titled “Karbala and Imam Husayn in Persian and Indo-Muslim Literature” she
wrote, “Sacrifices are a means of reaching higher and loftier stages of life;
to give away parts of one’s fortune, or to sacrifice members of one’s family,
enhances one’s religious standing; the Biblical and Qur’anic story of Abraham
who so deeply trusted in God that he, without questioning, was willing to
sacrifice his only son, points to the importance of such sacrifice. Iqbal was
certainly right when he combined, in a well-known poem in “Bal-Jibril” (1936),
the sacrifice of Ismail and the martyrdom of Husayn, both of which make up the
beginning and the end of Karbala.” It is equivalent to the verse of Allama
Iqbal in his book “Baal-e-Jibril”, “Ghareeb o Sada wo Rangeen Hai Dasaatn e
Haram * Nehayat Iski Husain Ibteda hai Ismail”
She further said in the book, “God has kept the ecstatic
lovers like Husayn and Mansur in the place of gallows and rope, and cast the
fighters for the faith, like Husayn and Ali, in the place of swords and spears:
in being martyrs they find eternal life and happiness and become witnesses to
God’s mysterious Power.
She went on, “Iqbal
then goes on to show how the Khilafat was separated from the Qur’anic
injunctions and became a worldly kingdom with the appearance of the Umayyads,
and it was here that Husayn appeared like a raincloud, again the image of the blessing
rain which always contrasts so impressively with the thirst and dryness of the
actual scene of Karbala.” She also refers to the Sindhi poet Shah Abdul Latif,
Mir Anis and Mirza Dabir in connection with Marthia.”
Because of her love, adornment and
respect for the Ahl al-Bayt, she requested in her will that the famous Golden
Saying of the Commander of Faithful Imam Ali (a.s.) “People are sleeping, they
will awake after their death” be carved on her tombstone, and it was complied
with. The photo of her tombstone may be seen on WIKIPEDIA.
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