A Glimpse at the History of Pashto and Pashtunkhwa

Professor Habibi was the son of Mullah Abdul Haq Akhundzada, granson of Mawlawi Abdul Rahim Akhundzada and the great grandson of Mawlawi Habibullah, famous as the Kandahari Researcher. The eminent scholar, Habibullah Akhundzada, also know as Habo Akhundzada Kandahari, opened the first society for erudition and education in the city of Kandahar during the 19th century and he nurtured hundreds of students. He wrote 33 books in Pashto, Dari and Arabic. Unfortunately most of his writings are lost due to unforseen circumstances or are not in use anymore. A few of his works can be found in Haidarabad, Daccan, Peshawar, the National Archives of Afghanistan and in the private library of the late Professor Abdul Shukur Rashad. His scholarly work ushered in a period of scientific and literary renaissance.

From his youth Professor Habibi was engaged in writing and research. His last work is the Discovery of the Shahnama (Book of Kings) Before the Mongol Period. He conducted research on Dari, Pashto and Urdu literature, linguistics, bibliography, especially related to ancient Khorasan and present day Afghanistan, Iran and India and historical geography until the end of his life. During his lifespan of 74 years Professor Habibi wrote 117 books and booklets and over 500 historical and literary articles.