His novels were characterised by a blend of mystery, adventure, suspense, violence, romance and comedy, achieving massive popularity across a broad readership in South Asia.
[2][4][1] His ancestors were Hindus of the Kayashta community, specialised in the fields of education and administration, who converted to Islam many generations ago.
After the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, he began writing novels in the early 1950s while working as a secondary school teacher and continuing part-time studies.
After completing the latter, having attracted official attention as being subversive in the independence and post-independence period, he migrated to Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan in August 1952.
[4] In the period from 1960 to 1963, he suffered an episode of severe depression and spent some time in the psychiatry ward of a hospital, but recovered, and returned with a best-selling Imran Series novel, Dairrh Matwaalay (One and a half amused) which was published in India by the to-be -Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
After completing his Bachelor of Arts, he started writing short stories, humour and satire under various names such as "Siniki (Cynic) Soldier" and "Tughral Farghan."
Ibne Safi's novels – characterised by a blend of adventure, suspense, violence, romance, and comedy – achieved massive popularity by a broad readership.
In cities around India and Pakistan, one can find discothèques, bars, nightclubs, and hotels named after venues found in Ibne Safi's novels.
"Dhamaka" was produced by Muhammad Hussain Talpur, based on the Imran Series novel Baibaakon Ki Talaash (Urdu for (In Search of the Outreageous).
The film featured a rendition of a ghazal by the singer Habib Wali Mohammed, "Rah-e-talab mein kaun kisi ka", which was written by Ibn-e-Safi.
The Bollywood screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar was greatly inspired by Ibn-e-Safi's Urdu novels, which he grew up reading as a child.
[13] In 2011, Blaft Publications in association with Tranquebar released four more novels, this time from the Jasoosi Duniya series, translated by the highly acclaimed Urdu critic Shamsur Rahman Faruqi.
[3][1][10] List of his non-series work Novels (Note: Most of the English translations of Urdu poetry and titles are literal and do not capture the true essence of the language.