Sufi Pashto poet Johar Adnan passed away at the age of 65 on Sunday in his home in Akhaund Ahmad Landi after a brief illness. His death has deeply saddened literary circles, scholars, and his admirers, who have described it as a significant loss to Pashto Sufi traditions and Pashto literature.
Adnan was buried the same day in his ancestral graveyard, with local poets, writers, and fans attending his funeral to pay their respects. He is survived by his widow, four sons, and four daughters.
Born in 1960 in Akhund Ahmad Landi, Johar Adnan, also known as Johrarullah, only received formal education up to the 6th grade. Despite this, he continued to study and became proficient in Pashto, Persian, and Arabic. His early life was marked by family struggles, and during his teenage years, he was imprisoned. It was there that he began composing poetry.
Adnan’s work drew influence from classic Pashto poets like Rahman Baba, Khushal Khan Khattak, and Hamza Baba, as well as Persian Sufi traditions. Much of his poetry was believed to have been lost, but some of his most powerful works were recovered and published under the title Ramz (The Secret) in 2022.
In addition, young research scholar Abbas Khalil conducted a detailed study of Adnan’s work, titled Johar Adnan: Fun Au Shakhsiat (Art and Works of Johar Adnan). This research received wide acclaim from literary communities in both Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Professor Hanif Khalil also praised Adnan’s poetic legacy in his research, describing him as a devoted Sufi poet with vast scholarship. Khalil noted that his poetry reflected a mix of classic and modern Pashto themes, including romanticism, Pashtun nationalism, and spiritualism.
Shahab Aziz Arman, another poet, hailed Johar Adnan as an inspiration for young poets.
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