Tragicomedy and Ambivalence: Dogs as a Lens on Muslim Society in Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi's Works
This paper examines the representation of dogs in the literary corpus of Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi, one of the foremost humor writers in the Urdu literary tradition. Drawing on Yusufi’s four major books, Charagh Talay, Khakam Badahan, Zar Guzasht, and Aab-e-Gum, the study traces the multifaceted role of dogs in his fiction, situating it within the broader context of Islamic attitudes toward dogs and the impact of British colonialism on Muslim sensibilities in the Indian subcontinent. The paper argues that Yusufi employs dogs not merely as comic devices but as complex cultural signifiers that illuminate colonial mimicry, class aspiration, and the tension between Islamic jurisprudential attitudes toward dogs and the Westernized sensibility of the educated Muslim elite. The analysis also places Yusufi’s corpus within the growing field of human-animal studies and Muslim literary traditions.
-
Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi, Dogs, Urdu Literature, Human-animal Studies, Colonialism, Islam
-
(1) Hafiz Abid Masood
Assistant Professor, Department of English, International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan.
Cite this article
-
APA : Masood, H. A. (2026). Tragicomedy and Ambivalence: Dogs as a Lens on Muslim Society in Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi's Works. Global Sociological Review, XI(I), 82-92. https://doi.org/10.31703/gsr.2026(XI-I).08
-
CHICAGO : Masood, Hafiz Abid. 2026. "Tragicomedy and Ambivalence: Dogs as a Lens on Muslim Society in Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi's Works." Global Sociological Review, XI (I): 82-92 doi: 10.31703/gsr.2026(XI-I).08
-
HARVARD : MASOOD, H. A. 2026. Tragicomedy and Ambivalence: Dogs as a Lens on Muslim Society in Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi's Works. Global Sociological Review, XI, 82-92.
-
MHRA : Masood, Hafiz Abid. 2026. "Tragicomedy and Ambivalence: Dogs as a Lens on Muslim Society in Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi's Works." Global Sociological Review, XI: 82-92
-
MLA : Masood, Hafiz Abid. "Tragicomedy and Ambivalence: Dogs as a Lens on Muslim Society in Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi's Works." Global Sociological Review, XI.I (2026): 82-92 Print.
-
OXFORD : Masood, Hafiz Abid (2026), "Tragicomedy and Ambivalence: Dogs as a Lens on Muslim Society in Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi's Works", Global Sociological Review, XI (I), 82-92
-
TURABIAN : Masood, Hafiz Abid. "Tragicomedy and Ambivalence: Dogs as a Lens on Muslim Society in Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi's Works." Global Sociological Review XI, no. I (2026): 82-92. https://doi.org/10.31703/gsr.2026(XI-I).08