Ustad Hashem was born and brought up in an extremely musical family. Several of his close family members, including his brothers and his father are/were also famous musicians in their own right.
Ustad Hashem mastered many different traditional Afghani and Indian instruments, but his greatest passion was for the tabla, his mastership of which was supreme.
Following the Russian invasion of Afghanistan he had to flee his home country and emigrated to Germany where he died in 1994, murdered by one of his former students for reasons unknown.
Ustad Hashem left many important compositians, following closely Classical Indian style, but with clear Afghani elements.
See also: Music of Afghanistan