“It is not by stepping into his shoes that we continue the journey, but by keeping the spirit of his thought in our hearts that does so”

As a seeker, the love for great Sufi Saints and their work was embedded in the mind of
Muhammad Saleem Sethi, inherited this from his elders. The reading and reciting of Islamic mystical Poetry of the Persian classical literary tradition was a common practice within the old families of Peshawar City. To the older generation, Persian was like a second language that reveled in reciting and quoting couplets from the great masters. Muhammad Yunus Sethi his father was a distinguished and knowledgeable Rumi Scholar. Having heard couplets of Attar, Rumi, Saadi, and Hafiz from the early days, for Saleem the journey continues.

Born on March 23rd, 1956, he studied at St. Mary’s School Peshawar and later went to Burn Hall Boarding School in Abbottabad. After graduating from Gordon College Rawalpindi in 1976, he accompanied his family to Tehran in 1977 where his father was posted in the Embassy of Pakistan. During his stay there, he worked as a Language Instructor (English) at the Iranian AirForce Training Centre for a couple of years and also witnessed the unfolding of the Islamic revolution in Iran during 1979. He joined the Pakistan Audit & Accounts Service in 1980 and served in various positions at the Ministry of Finance in the Federal Government and the Provincial Governments of Baluchistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir. He has a Master in Development Administration from Western Michigan University, the USA, and a Diploma in Budgeting and Finance from the Kennedy School of Government. He also has a Masters from National Defence University and remained a member of the Directing Staff (faculty). He served as Senior Advisor on the Executive Board at IMF, Washington. He retired in 2016 as a Federal Secretary.

Encouraged by Mazhar ul Islam a friend of his father and a renowned writer, Saleem Sethirevived his interest in understanding the Masnavi e Manaví and compiled versified translations of selected Masnaví. Jalaluddin Rumi then led him to his own Master Fariduddin Attar. He has since published the following two books:

1. Raz-i-Nawai Rumi, published by Lok Virsa in 2019, Islamabad
2. Mantaq ut Tair, Published by Sang-e-Meel Publications in 2021, Lahore