The Role of Dastan (Epics) in Science Fiction: An Analytical Study of Futuristic Innovations in Classical Urdu Prose (With Special Reference to Tilism-e-Hoshruba

Abstract

This research article explores the intricate and fascinating relationship between classical Urdu *Dastan* (romances/epics) and modern Science Fiction. While science fiction fundamentally relies on scientific rationalism, technology, and plausible extrapolation, classical *Dastans* are traditionally rooted in the realm of the supernatural, magic and metaphysics. However, a deeper textual analysis reveals that these tales often envisioned advanced technological concepts that mirror contemporary scientific achievements. The study highlights early motifs of science fiction found in canonical texts such as Bagh-o-Bahar Fasana-e-Ajaiab, and predominantly, Tilism-e-Hoshruba. It critically examines the celebrated intellectual Ashfaq Ahmed's viewpoint, who declared Tilism-e-Hoshruba as Urdu's first "Science Fiction.By decoding the allegorical layers of magic, the paper analyzes how classical writers like Muhammad Husain Jah and Ahmed Husain Qamar anticipated modern innovations such as robotics (mechanical humans), live monitoring (video calling/satellites via Tasht-e-Bilqis), voice recognition, biologica 'chemical warfare, and genetic cloning. The research concludes that due to the unavailability of scientific vocabulary in 19th-century colonial India, the imaginative foresight of these writers manifested through the terminology of magic, proving that classical Urdu epics successfully laid the earliest imaginative seeds of contemporary science fiction.