Majeed Amjad facts for kids

Majeed Amjad (Urdu: مجید امجد) (born June 29, 1914 – died May 11, 1974) was a famous Urdu poet from Pakistan. People often called him a "philosophical poet" because his poems were deep and thoughtful. Some of his ghazals (a type of poem) were even turned into songs by different Pakistani singers.

About Majeed Amjad's Life

Growing Up

Majeed Amjad was born on June 29, 1914, in Jhang. This was a small town in the Punjab province of Pakistan. His grandfather taught him when he was young.

Later, he studied Arabic and Persian at a local mosque. After that, he started first grade at a government school. He did very well in his studies. He got his Matriculation certificate from Islamia High School in Jhang.

Two years later, he finished his Intermediate exam. He also did well in this exam at Government College, Jhang. He then moved to Lahore for more education. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1934 from Islamia College, Lahore.

Working Life

After college, it was hard to find jobs, even for educated people like Amjad. He went back to Jhang and started working for a weekly newspaper called Arooj. He was the editor of this newspaper until 1939. He also published his own stories and poems regularly.

When World War II began, he wrote a poem against the British Empire. It was printed on the front page of Arooj. Because of this, he had to leave the newspaper.

After that, he found a job as a clerk. This was at the Jhang District Board. In 1944, the government created a department to manage food and clothing supplies. He passed an exam and joined this department. He worked there until he retired in 1972.

During his job, he lived in many towns across Punjab. These included Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), Gojra, Muzaffargarh, Rawalpindi, Arifwala, Lahore, and Montgomery.

In 1939, he married his cousin, who was a school teacher. However, they had different ideas and later divorced. Amjad spent his last 28 years in Sahiwal. His former wife stayed in Jhang. He passed away on May 11, 1974, in Farid Town, Sahiwal. He was buried in Lolly Shah Graveyard in Jhang.

Majeed Amjad's Poetry

Amjad's first book of poems was called Shab-e-Rafta. It was published in 1958. He even wrote a poem as the introduction for it. This book was published by Naya Idara in Lahore. It was the only collection of his poems published while he was alive. He wrote many poems throughout his life.

After he passed away, his unpublished poems were kept safe by Javaid Qureshi. He was the deputy commissioner of Sahiwal at the time. In 1976, Javaid Qureshi and others published a second collection of his poems. It was titled Shab-e-Rafta Ke Ba'ad.

It wasn't until 1989 that a complete collection of his works was published. An Urdu critic named Khawaja Muhammad Zakariya edited it. This collection was called Kuliyat-e-Majeed Amjad. Samira Gilani has also written several articles about Majeed Amjad's poems. These articles were published at the universities of Tehran and Punjab.