Najeeba Arif

Prof. Dr Najeeba Arif is an eminent scholar, creative writer, critic and researcher. Her major field of specialization is Archival Research. She has discovered, edited and published about a dozen manuscripts of eighteenth and nineteenth century. She also founded the first Indexation Agency for the Urdu Research Journals at International Islamic University, Islamabad and has been the editor of renowned research journals of Pakistan. She has been invited to several universities in Europe and USA to present her research. Some of her works in the field of Criticism are of pioneer nature, including her research on the Impact of 9/11 on Pakistani Urdu Fiction and the Impact of Colonialism on Sirah literature in Urdu. Sufi literature has been another field of her interest. Besides her research in Sufi literature, she has translated ‘Qaseeda Burda Shareef’ from Arabic into Urdu verse as well as a voluminous book on Science, Mysticism and the Concept of Allah from English to Urdu. Her collection of Urdu poetry ‘Ma’ani se Ziyada’ won the Award of the Best book of the year in 2015. Her poetry is being taught at the Ankara University, Turkey. Her other creative works include a book of memoirs, titled ‘Raagni ki Khoj Main’, a collection of short stories ‘Meethay Nalkay’, a novel, ‘Makhota’, travel writings and light essays. She writes in Urdu and English and knows Persian, Arabic and Punjabi. She has authored 17 books and published more than 60 articles in national and international journals. Currently she is serving as the Chairperson of Pakistan Academy of Letters, Islamabad.