Prof Ghulam Sarwar Qureshi - About 32 km towards Sunder on Multan Road, there is a white dome and an impressive mosque on the right bank. This is the eternal abode of Irfani Baba, who is one of the band of sincere and devoted men.
Irfani, whose name was Syed Wajeeh-us-Seema Irfani, was born in a small village, Lodhan, near Gojar Khan, Rawalpindi. He was a successor of some great religious scholars. Right from his early childhood, Irfani showed signs of spiritual awakening. After receiving his early education at his ancestral place, he left his home to quench his thrust of knowledge. He was mainly concerned on the guidance one can draw from the Holy Quran as its application remains true for all times since it is the Universal Book. Like every earnest and reverent student of the Quran, first he finished ‘Dars-i-Nizami’ in seven years instead of 14 and then proceeded with his study with an inward joy difficult to describe. His Urdu translation of the Holy Quran bears witness to it. It was completed in just 40 days, which is unprecedented.
Baba Irfani used to interpret the Quran in its real meanings and fully utilized the latest scientific knowledge to illustrate the Quranic verses. He was imbued with the spirit of probing into the mystic realities with latest interpretation. This reflected that he was thoroughly well-grounded in classical Arabic literature and was well aware of the finer intricate of language and its fresh idiom with its day-to-day application. Besides this, he was fully conversant with the languages and dialects of Indo-Pak. He was a keen student of philosophy and enjoyed a firm grip on Iqbal’s thought and philosophy. He was himself a great poet and has many publications to his credit. He started his career as a journalist and remained associated with ‘the ‘Inqilab’, ‘Zamindar’, ‘Nawa-i-Waqt’, ‘Afaq’, Radio Pakistan and PTV. He was considered as a spontaneous expert in translating from English, Arabic and Persian. In his early sixties, he paid a visit to Ajmer Sharif, which changed his life. His famous ghazal, sung by late Mehdi Hasan “Ghuncha-i-shoq Iaga hai khilane” symbolizes the spiritual inspiration from Khawaja Moin-ud-Din Chishty. Since then, he started voicing the Message to people from all walks of life. At a gathering, termed as ‘mehfil’, people listened to him for guidance. His talk was not a conventional preaching but he satisfied all by replying their queries from the Quran. He would talk for hours and hours when he discussed the practical wisdom of the Quran and the Sunnah.
Baba Irfani changed the hearts of people. He established his own traditions of fine living and good manners in general. He is no more with us physically, but his teaching is right before us. He left this world in April 1991. His 24th annual ‘Urs’ commemorates on 3-5 June every year.