Afghan Cultural & Literary Council

Negaristan Farhanghi Afghan
Afghan Cultural & Literary Council

A community of writers and poets preserving Afghan literature — publishing and celebrating Dari and Pashto poetry and prose for the diaspora and generations to come.

2014 Established
Afghan Writers Poets and Literary Contributors
Dari & Pushto Poetry and Literary Works

About Negaristan Farhanghi Afghan

Negaristan-e Farhanghi Afghan (نگارستان فرهنگی), known in English as the Afghan Cultural and Literary Council, brings together writers and poets who have published many books of Dari and Pashto poetry and literature.

Negaristan-e Farhanghi Afghan was founded in 2014 by Mr. Iqbal Rahbar Tokhi, AbdulRashid Binish, Najia Karim Qayoumi, Fareed Shirzai Wardak, Samad Nesari, and Fahim Soha. The organization began under the leadership of Iqbal Rahbar Tokhi, a well-known poet and writer who has published many books.

Over the years, dedicated intellectuals have joined in many events, including Najia Rasa Hajizada, and Wakil Mateen, a recognized poet of Pashto literature.

Negaristan-e Farhanghi Afghan has held successful remembrance events honoring Ghulam Nabi Ashqari (Sufi Ashqari) and Hamid Mohmand (Hamid Mashokhil) — both celebrated poets of Afghanistan. Mr. Wakil Mateen presented an extensive reseach on Hamid Mohmand Mashokhil and his literary service.

Negaristan-e Farhanghi Afghan held a seminar and celebration of the life of Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi in April 2017. The event was inclusive of a research presentation and a visual report of a trip to Mawlana Balkhi's tomb in Konya, Turkey by Fareed Shirzai Wardak, along with articles and poetry recitation by many other personalities.

در این خاک، در این خاک، در این مزرعه پاک

به جز مهر، به جز عشق، دگر تخم نکاریم

شما مست نگشتید و زان باده نخوردید

چه دانید چه دانید که ما در چه شکاریم

English translation

In this earth, in this earth, in this pure field,

We sow no seed but kindness and love.

You have not grown drunk; you have not tasted that wine—

What do you know, what do you know of the hunt we are in?

— Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi

In 2018, the organization held elections and elected Fareed Shirzai Wardak as President. He has led Negaristan-e Farhanghi Afghan tirelessly since then, guiding its literary programs and community outreach.

As a chapter of the Afghan Diaspora Center, Negaristan Farhanghi Afghan connects poets, writers, and literary audiences within ADC's national network while preserving Afghan heritage through the written word.

Dari Literature
Pashto Poetry
Published Authors
Cultural Heritage
Literary Community
Diaspora Connection

Organization Information

Name (Dari) Negaristan Farhanghi Afghan (نگارستان فرهنگی)
English Name Afghan Cultural and Literary Council
Founders (2014) Iqbal Rahbar Tokhi, AbdulRashid Binish, Najia Karim Qayoumi, Fareed Shirzai Wardak, Samad Nesari, Fahim Soha
Founding Leader Mr. Iqbal Rahbar Tokhi
President (since 2018) Fareed Shirzai Wardak
Board of Directors Fareed Shirzai Wardak, Iqbal Rahbar Tokhi, Najia Karim, Najia Rasa Hajizadah
Established 2014
Phone 1 (925) 478-2600
Office Hours Monday – Friday, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Afghan flag colors paint splash — Negaristan Farhanghi literary heritage banner for Afghan Diaspora Center

Full poems from the Afghan literary tradition — shared here to celebrate Dari and Pashto letters.

Gul Pacha Ulfat — Pashto poet and scholar
Featured Poem

Gul Pacha Ulfat

1909–1977 • Laghman • Pashto

له سپیرو خاورو به پورته بیا ګلان شی

معطر به په وږمو بیا دغه جهان شی

په هوا کې به ښکاره نوی مرغان شی

تحول په زمانه کې څرګندیږی

English translation

From bright horizons, flowers will rise again;

Fragrant along the pathways, this world will bloom again.

New birds will appear in the air;

Transformation through time will be revealed.

— Gul Pacha Ulfat

Iqbal Rahbar Tokhi — Dari poet and founding leader
Featured Poem

Iqbal Rahbar Tokhi

«دعای دست شکسته» • Founding leader • Negaristan-e Farhanghi • Dari

نه زبان شکوه گشوده ام، به تو راز دل ز کجا رسید

که سرشک من زمژه گذشت، چو نگاه تو به حیا رسید!

نرسیده کس به مقام من، که رسیده ام به حضور تو

نه گشوده لب ز برون در، که بگوشم از تو صدا رسید

یکی راه دوری حرم گرفت به هوای شوق رسیدنت

ز دعای دست شکسته ای، دل خسته ام بخدارسید!

ز قناعت من و شکر دل، گل راه من شده سنگ و گل

کف خشک دست تهی ما، ز مروتی به حنا رسید

تویی رهبری که ز لطف تو، دل روشنم شده است نصیب

که مقام و شوکت و شاعری، به تلاش منزل ما رسید!

English translation

I have not opened my tongue to speak—how then did the secret of my heart reach you?

That my tear crossed the threshold when your glance arrived with modesty!

No one has attained my station—yet I have reached your presence;

I have not opened my lips at the door—yet your voice reached my ear.

A path of distant sanctuary opened in longing to reach you;

From a prayer of broken hands—deliver my weary heart!

Through my contentment and grateful heart, the flower of my path became stone and clay;

Our empty, dry palms—from courtesy came to henna.

You are the guide—through your grace a bright heart has become my share;

That rank, splendour, and poetry reached our dwelling through striving.

— Iqbal Rahbar Tokhi

Ustad Mohammad Yousuf Kohzad — poet and painter
Featured Poem

Ustad Mohammad Yousuf Kohzad

«زخم ناسور» • 1935–2019 • Kabul • Dari

چه زیبا بود که دل‌های همه پاک از ریا میبود

حریم خانه دل، روشن از عشق خدا میبود

دعای خاکساران آبروی اغنیا می‌شد

اگر یک تکه نان خشک، در دست گدا میبود

اگر از گلشن وحدت گل امید میچیدیم

چرا این ساز یکرنگی، به کشور بیصدا میبود

زمین خانه خودرا، به خون خویش تر کردیم

چه کم می‌شد اگر در چشم ما، یک نم حیا میبود

تماشاگاه عالم گشته ایم از بی ثباتی ها

چه زیبا بود اگر لطف جهان بی مدعا میبود

اگر بیگانه را با دیده بیگانه میدیدیم

یقین دارم کلید خانه ما دست ما میبود

اگر دزدانه با نیرنگ، افسونم نمیکردی

چرا این خاک بی صاحب زیر پا میبود

اگر یک دل به حال بی پرستان وطن میسوخت

چرا یک‌زخم ناسوری به قلب آسیا میبود

چه زیبا بود به جای این همه نیرنگ بازی ها

اگر پیمانه دنیا پر از صدق و صفا میبود

اگر محراب تقوا سجدهگاه ما می‌شد

به جای دست خون آلود ما دست دعا میبود

به آتشخانه افغان دیگر بازی نمیکردی

اگر یک صفحه تاریخ من پیش تو وا میبود

بگو از من به آن ویرانه سازان وطن کهزاد

چه می‌شد یک دل آباد سوغات شما می بود

English translation

How fine it would be if every heart were pure of hypocrisy;

The sanctuary of the heart aglow with love of God.

The prayer of the humble would shame addiction itself,

If a single dry crust of bread lay in a beggar’s hand.

If from the garden of unity we gathered roses of hope,

Why did this one-note melody fall silent upon the land?

We soaked the soil of our own home in our own blood—

What harm if one drop of shame had moistened our eyes?

We have become a spectacle to the world through our instability;

How fine if the world’s grace had been without pretence.

If we had seen the stranger with a stranger’s eyes,

I am certain the key to our house would be in our own hands.

If you had not bewitched me with theft and trickery,

Why would this masterless earth lie trampled underfoot?

If one heart had burned for the homeland’s wingless souls,

Why would a festering wound pierce the heart of Asia?

How fine if, instead of all this game of deceit,

The cup of the world brimmed with truth and sincerity.

If the altar of piety had become our place of prostration,

Instead of our blood-stained hands, hands of prayer would rise.

You would not toy further with Afghanistan’s burning hearth

If one page of my history lay open before you.

Tell from me to those who lay waste to the homeland, O Kohzad—

What if one flourishing heart were your gift to take away?

— Ustad Mohammad Yousuf Kohzad

Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil — calligraphic emblem
Dari / Persian 17th–18th Century Sabk-e Hindi Sufi & Mystic

Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil — میرزا عبدالقادر بیدل

1644–1720 • Born: Azimabad (Patna), Bihar, India • Died: Delhi, India

Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil is among the greatest poets who ever wrote in the Dari/Persian language, and the undisputed master of Sabk-e Hindi — the Indian style of Dari/Persian poetry known for its dense philosophical imagery, Sufi mysticism, intricate wordplay, and layered metaphor. Though born in India to a family of Central Asian origin, Bedil belongs most deeply to the hearts of Afghans and Tajiks, who have cherished and studied his verse for three centuries. Annual Bedil symposiums (محفل بیدل‌خوانی) are held in Afghanistan and Tajikistan to this day.

Bedil's central themes are hayrat (bewilderment before the divine), the mirror as metaphor for self and existence, the transience of life, and the unity of being (wahdat al-wujud). His language is deliberately complex — he believed truth cannot be reached by easy paths. A Sufi by spirit, he was never confined to any single school, leaving behind a body of work spanning six decades of creative life.

Major Works

  • Irfan (عرفان) — long mystical masnavi; his spiritual masterwork
  • Chahār Unṣur (چهار عنصر) — autobiographical prose blending memoir and mystical reflection
  • Muhit-e Azam (محیط اعظم) — a vast philosophical masnavi
  • Ṭilasmāt-e Hayrat (طلسمات حیرت) — Enchantments of Bewilderment
  • Ruqaʿāt (رقعات) — letters valued as prose literature
  • Divan (دیوان) — collected ghazals, qasidas, and rubais; the most widely read of his works

Verse — The Mirror (از دیوان)

آینه چون نقش تو بنمود راست

خود شکن، آیینه شکستن خطاست

When the mirror honestly shows you your true face — break yourself, not the mirror. To shatter the mirror is the error.

Verse — On Legacy (از دیوان)

ما که رفتیم از جهان آثار ما خواهد بماند

نقش ما بر صفحه‌ی دهر باقی خواهد بماند

When we depart from this world, our traces shall remain — our mark upon the page of time shall endure.

Afghan poets and scholars consider Bedil's mastery of Dari the highest pinnacle of the language. Negaristan-e Farhanghi Afghan honours this tradition and welcomes the addition of further verified verses from his Divan to this page.

Literary & Cultural Programs

Negaristan Farhanghi Afghan supports Afghan writers and readers through literary gatherings, published works in Dari and Pashto, and cultural programs that honor Afghanistan's rich poetic and literary heritage.

Dari & Pashto Poetry

Supporting poets and preserving classical and contemporary poetry in both Dari and Pashto — keeping the living voice of Afghan literature strong across generations.

Published Literary Works

Our members include writers who have published many books in Dari and Pashto — sharing stories, poems, and cultural knowledge with Afghan readers worldwide.

Writer & Poet Community

A fellowship of authors, poets, and literary enthusiasts united by a shared commitment to Afghan language, culture, and the written word.

Literary Gatherings

Readings, recitations, and cultural events that bring Afghan literature to life — celebrating the work of established and emerging writers in the community.

Poet Remembrance

Memorial gatherings honoring literary giants such as Sufi Ashqari (Ghulam Nabi Ashqari) and Hamid Mashokhil (Hamid Mohmand) — keeping the memory of Afghanistan's twentieth-century poets alive.

Diaspora Outreach

Connecting Afghan literary culture with diaspora communities through ADC — ensuring that books, poetry, and stories remain a bridge to home.

Join Our Literary Community

Connect with Negaristan Farhanghi Afghan — whether you are a writer, poet, reader, or supporter of Afghan literature in the diaspora.

Contact Negaristan Farhanghi Afghan

Get In Touch

Whether you are a writer, poet, literary supporter, or interested in partnering with our chapter as we join the Afghan Diaspora Center — we welcome your message.

President Fareed Shirzai Wardak (elected 2018)
Founding Leader Mr. Iqbal Rahbar Tokhi
Phone 1 (925) 478-2600
Established 2014

Support Afghan Literature — connect with Negaristan Farhanghi Afghan and help preserve Dari and Pashto poetry and prose for future generations.

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