Hilal Naqvi

• Name — Hilal Naqvi • Birth Name — Hilal Naqvi • Born — 18 February 1950 • Birthplace — Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan • Occupation — Teacher, Research Scholer, Poet • Genre — Research, Poetry • Subject — Literature

Syed Hilal Raza Naqvi was born on 18 February 1950 in Rawalpindi. His father's name was Syed Muzammil Hussain Naqvi. At the age of seven, Hilal Naqvi moved to Karachi with his family and completed all of his education here. He graduated from Siraj ud Daula College, Karachi which was established by Raja Sahib Mehmood Abaad. Then he did M. A. in Urdu from Karachi University in 1973. Later, in 1985 he also gained PhD degree from Karachi University. His PhD thesis was "Twentieth century and modern Marsiya."

Hilal Naqvi started his career in 1974. He was appointed as a lecturer of Urdu department. He has served in many colleges as Govt College Chotaki, Sindh, Siraj ud Daula College, Karachi, Govt. Islamia College, Karachi, Govt. College Gulshan e Iqbal Karachi. He also has been Head of Urdu Department in Govt College Gulshan e Iqbal Karachi. Currently, he is working as a visiting Professor of Pakistan Studies Department of Karachi University where he is playing the role of a supervisor and instructor for the students of M.A and M.Phil in Urdu. Hilal Naqvi lives in Karachi and he has visited Norway, Oslo, Canada, Arab Emirates, India and many other countries at invitation for delivering lectures at Risai Adab and reciting his Marsia Nau Tasneef.

Hilal Naqvi started his poetry with Ghazal in 1967. Later his interest expanded to other forms of poetry as well. So, basically he is a poem writer. He became famous because of adopting a new style in marsiya writing. He used the third line of stanza free from following qafia of other three lines. Hilal Naqvi is one of the very authentic poets of Jadeed Marsia Nigari. Listening the Marsiya by Josh Malih Abaadi inspired him for marsiya writing. So he wrote the first marsiya in 1970, when he was a student of B.A. He presented the marsya to Josh Malih Abadi for correction. Josh has called him his very first student in one of his letters. Dr Hilal Naqvi was also a student of Naseem Amrohvi Sahib who guided him on his journey of writing Marsiya. Dr Hilal Naqvi has also written many Ghazals, Poems, Rubayaats and free verses. He is a critic of all the literary work of Josh including his Marsiyas. He has written more than six books about Josh.

Hilal Naqvi's very first marsiya was Maqtal o Masha’al. The academic, artistic and divine power of this work can be judged well by Ahsan Farooqi's review when he says that this musaddas (a genre of Urdu poetry in which each unit consists of 6 lines stanzas) is not only an addition in the many forms of modern poetry but like Musaddas-e-Haali, it is also a criticism of contemporary time, though such anticipation is far beyond Haali's approach but can be found in Iqbal's Musaddas as Shikwa – o – Jawaab-e-Shikwa. Josh Malih Abadi in his work has appreciated the revolutionary and universal message that Hilal Naqvi conveys in his Marsia. "I appreciate him for breaking the tradition in the field of Masiya writing. His work did not incite tears but awakening. For him, Hussain (AS) is not confined as a leader of any specific sect or group, but he is a guide for the whole universe."