The matter of my name
The matter of my name, dear reader, is a rather curious one.
My beloved mother held a fondness for the name "Javed".
After my birth, my father, in his custom, took me to his spiritual guide for a blessing,
who, in his wisdom, suggested, "His name should follow the way of us dervishes.
Call him 'Kako Shah'.
I foresee that kings shall come to seek his counsel."
My younger aunt, for many years, resided with my mother.
Both my father and mother held her in high affection.
She had a son, elder to me by three years, christened by her as "Rafiq".
Inspired by this, she was rather insistent that my name be "Shafiq".
She would hear no other suggestion.
Some days hence, my elder aunt came to see me, and she said,
"I had christened him 'Kaka Muhammad' from the start! Now, what is to be done?"
The household found an elegant solution - to embrace all names suggested.
Thus, as long as the elders lived, they addressed me by their preferred names.
When the time came for my school admission, my father was absent,
occasionally traveling for months to the khaanqaah of his spiritual guide in Kotli Mughlaan.
In his stead, a dear family friend whom we affectionately called "Uncle" took the responsibility.
The same school was chosen for me where my cousin Rafiq studied.
As Uncle was penning down my name, he inquired about it, to which I listed all.
He was deeply perplexed as to how to come to a decision.
He looked to Rafiq for counsel, who simply stated, "At our home, he is just called 'Shafiq'."
After some contemplation, Uncle inscribed that very name into the school's register.
When I came of age, I developed a fondness for the name my mother had chosen,
but what to do of the school register?
Upon discussing with my revered teacher, Mr. Muhammad Sadiq,
he opined, "Changing the name at this juncture might be arduous.
You are passionate about poetry. My suggestion is to adopt 'Javed' as your nom de plume.
I shall write your name as 'Shafiq Ahmad Javed'.
If 'Shafiq' displeases you, you might as well use 'Javed Ahmad' as your literary name."
This proposition pleased me immensely.
Friends and acquaintances had already been addressing me as "Javed".
Hence, by my college years, I became known by this very name.
When the occasion arose to procure identification cards and passports, this name was inscribed.
Likely when I was in the ninth grade, I travelled to Lahore to partake in a cousin's wedding.
There, I had the privilege of residing with my esteemed elder uncle, Mr. Muhammad Latif Khan, for a fortnight.
He held an unparalleled affection for my grandfather, Mr. Noor Ilahi.
Day and night, he would regale me with tales of how in the village,
my grandfather was regarded as a reformer.
Due to his benevolence, piety, and wisdom, villagers would seek his counsel for disputes
and would accept his judgments without contest.
These tales deeply moved me, so much so that I would constantly contemplate about
my grandfather, even dreaming of him for nights on end.
"On this occasion, I had the esteemed opportunity to meet Mr. Maqbool Anwar Daudi,
the illustrious author of religious books much revered by our family, both elders and the young.
His name was Daudi due to our village's name 'Daud'.
Although my father’s full name was indeed Mohammad Tufail Junaidi,
sometimes certain happenstances arrest one's attention quite abruptly.
After meeting Mr. Daudi, it dawned upon me for the first time that perhaps
an appellation similar to his should be appended to my name.
In one's youthful days, whimsical desires like these often take root in the mind.
This thought preoccupied me day and night.
One day, upon discussing this with my father, he suggested,
in the spirit of emulating Mr. Maqbool, to add 'Daudi' to my name.
He then opined, "Had you pledged allegiance to our sheikh,
'Junaidi' could have been an option."
My desire was to inherit a name from my grandfather.
Based on tales I had heard from my uncle, he was the ideal I aspired to.
When I pondered over this ancestral connection,
words like 'Noori' and 'Muslahi' came to mind, but they didn't resonate with my taste.
Amidst these considerations, two distinguished guests visited our abode.
It was customary for my father to host travelling mendicants, physicians,
and ascetics for months on end. These guests arrived in a similar vein.
One was my father's elder brother, Ghulam Rasool Wahshi,
and the other, a scholar and ascetic named Abdullah.
Mr. Wahshi was a splendid writer, having penned his sheikh's book 'Laila Majnun'
in his own hand, often reciting from it and elucidating the mystical secrets therein.
Mr. Abdullah had a keen interest in the history of pre-Islamic Arabia,
regaling my father with its tales. I would sit in their gatherings for hours,
listening intently to their discourses.
In one of these sessions, Mr. Abdullah narrated a tale about
the ancestral forebears of the Banu Ghamid tribe, who centuries ago
had resolved a matter and subsequently became renowned as 'Ghamdi',
a title symbolizing his role in reconciliation.
and the words ghamad al-amr were thereafter used in the sense of aslaha l amr in Arabic.
He informed that this tribe is called Ghamidi because of this very connection.
This immediately struck a chord with me, reminding me of
the very duties my grandfather performed.
When this new expression came to light, my heart was filled with immense joy.
Upon discussing with my father, he too approved.
In the rural environs of Sahiwal district where I resided,
such a name would have been a subject of jest.
Hence, I began writing with this name much later but decided then and there
that this term would become a part of my identity.
The joys of childhood, youth, and early adulthood are truly peculiar.
Upon reflection, it's astonishing to consider what once held
monumental significance in one's knowledge, practice, and thoughts.
The happiness I felt upon discovering this name, linking me to my grandfather,
is something I cannot articulate even today.
How times change; now, even the most momentous of matters fail to stir such emotions.
How meaningless some things become with age:
Each day brings tales of a new world,
But the stories of youth remain forever etched."