Adil Najam
To me, the 23rd of March is a day to reflect on the message of Mohammad Iqbal, just like the 14th of August is to ponder on the legacy of Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
We, as Pakistanis, have not really been kind to the legacy of either man. We turned both into idols. And once we convinced ourselves that these were ‘supermen’ we conveniently absolved ourselves of the responsibility to learn from – let alone emulate – either. We are fond of celebrating but incapable of incorporating either the actions of Mr. Jinnah nor the thoughts of Mohammad Iqbal.
After all, once we turned Mr. Jinnah into the ‘Quaid-i-Azam’ and conferred near-divine status on him it became all too easy to say that we, mere mortals, could not be expected to act in the way – or even on the principles – that he did. His blemishes were to be denied, not just because we hold him in reverence but also because to acknowledge them is to accept that maybe ordinary – even flawed – human beings can stil have principles worth following. We have done the same to Iqbal. Because his the ‘the’ Allama, he is to be put on a pedestal. His work read with respect and honor; to be savored, but not really to be understood. Certainly not to be questioned, and absolutely not to be allowed to influence that we do. After all, he is an Allama; and we are not.
The Allama-ization of Iqbal, just like the Quaid-i-Azam-ization of Jinnah has been a disservice to both. For ultimately it has turned these two giants into mere statues; the iconography of the ‘Allama’ and the ‘Quaid’ have enabled us to turn them into dieties of reverence while at the same time distancing ourselves – if not outright disowning – the thought of the first and the actions of the later.
We at ATP have been rather remiss in not paying enough tribute to Mohammad Iqbal. This is a mistake I have been wanting to rectify. Today, the eve of Pakistan Day is a good time to begin doing so. The events and the idea behind the 23rd of March owes more to Iqbal than anyone else. And as a first offering of tribute to Iqbal I offer you this wonderful video. I found it on YouTube:
I do not really know who produced it although for some reason the voice sounds familiar. The selection of poetry as well as the pictures are excellent. Indeed, I wou urge you to focus on both. The pictures are not the ones you usually see of him and many of them evoke a humanness that is lost in many of our ‘official’ portraits on the man. But also focus on the ideas. This is a work less known that, say, Shikwa and Jawab i Shikwa, but it has ideas that are so contemporary that he may as well have been talking about the events of last week. For example:
anpay watan meiN houN kay ghareeb-ud-diyar houN
Darta houN daikh daikh kay iss dasht-o-dar ko meiN
His love to Persian language is evident in his works and poetry. He says in one of his poems:
گرچہ اردو در عذوبت شکر است
garche Urdu dar uzūbat shakar ast
لیک پارسی ام ز ہندی شیرینتر است
lék Pārsī-am ze Hindi um zabandi shairbintar ast
Translation:
Even though in sweetness Urdu* is sugar – (but) My Persian is sweeter than Hindi*
Iqbal’s letter to Daily Times London;
Image of the letter; http://i38.tinypic.com/29z7mn9.jpg
Clebs like Iqbal are not available these days.He was a very passionate man,his work was outclass and luxurious as well.
Pkis
Most of us, poetry lovers or others, have read Allama Muhammed Iqbal at least some of him somewhere. To many he remained hard-to-understand philosopher poet. Iqbal has written pure poetry too which is equally remarkable. I like Dr Iqbal, one my favourite poets. I find his poetry the most interesting, most intriguing and most touching. It leaves an indelible mark on reader’s mind. I vitalize his style also his gift for conciseness and frugality.
Aflaak se aata hay naloon ka jawab akher
kartay hain khatab akher, uthtay hain hijab akher
ahwal-e-mohabbat main kuch farq nahe aisa
soz-e-tab-o-tab awal, soz-e-tab-o-tab akhir
huwaida aaj apnay zakhm penhan karkey choron ga
lahoo ro ro ke mehfal ku gulistan karkay choron ga
jalana hay mujhay her shama dil ko soz-e-penhan se
teri tareek raaton main charaghan kar ke choron ga
This is the poetry of Iqbal very much in the usual sense. Looks like the great influence of traditional style of poetry exercised over Iqbal’s mind. This appeals to the lighter mood. Simplicity combined with reasonable depth..Isn’t it beautiful?
Gharz nishat hay shughel-e-sharab se jin ke
halal cheez ko goya haram kartay hain
bhala nibhay ge teri hum se kyonkar ay waez
ke hum tu rasm-e-mohabbet aam kartay hain
ju be-namaz kabhi parthay hain namaz Iqbal
bula ke deer se mujh ku imam kartay hain
More of Iqbal.. simple and slightly coloured in mysticism. The thought is quie simiar to Ghalib’s where he talks ‘ada kia hay?’ ‘wafa kia hay?’
wohi asal makan-o-lamakan hay
makan kia shay hay? andaz-e-bayan hay
Khizer kyonkar batayay kia batayay
agr mahi kahey derya kahan hay?
Iqbal was a philosopher poet, not a pure poet and he freely borrowed ideas from different schools and systems in accordance with the demand of his poetry. One of them is the transformation of Nietzsche’s Ubermensch into ‘shaheen bacha’ and ‘mard-e-mouman’ but they carry Iqbal’s very own colour. Borrowing ideas does not mean that his thoughts are incoherent or entirely visionary, in point of fact his poetry is a historic product rooted in the intellectual climate of an age which witnessed the Indian war of independence and new era for Muslims of India. To write about the regeneration of the Muslim ummah in such an age was by no means a quixotic venture.
Preeshaan hoon ke meri khaak akhir dil na ban jayay
ju muskhil ab hay ya rab phir wohi mushkil na ban jayay
Why did we come into being.. See how Iqbal stabs on it..
tu shakh se kyon phoota, main shakh se kyon toota
ek jazba-e-paidai, ek lazat-e-yaktai
I read somewhere that AbdurRehman Bajnoori said that there are two divine books of India: The holy Vedas and Dewan-e-Ghalib. But no doubt Iqbal as a poet is the greatest after the mighty Ghalib, and as a thinker and philosopher among the very greatest. His poetry is pure inspiration, a thing of lightness, melody and grace. His ideas are incomparable. He remains a philosopher poet, the greatest that sub-continent or perhaps the modern East has produced. There is no doubt that Iqbal’s poems represent the highest achievement of philosophical poetry.
Iss kashmakash main guzri meri zindgi ke raatain
kabhi soz-o-saaz Romi kabhi paich-o-taab Razi
wi sher jis se larzta hay shabistaan ka wajood
hoti hay banda-a-mouman ke azan se paida
Below one is truly musical:
Na aatay humain iss main takrar kia the
magr waad’a kartay huay a’ar kia the
tumharay payami nain sab raz khola
khata iss main banday ke sarkar kia the
A beautiful ghazal..
Husn-e-kamel he na ho iss behejabi ka sabab
wo ju tha pardoon main penhaan khudnuma kyonkar hua
dhaiknay walay yahan bhe dhaik leetay hain tujhay
phir yeh wa’ada hashar ka sabr azma kyonkar hua
Parsash-e-a’amal se maqsad tha ruswai meri
warna zahir tha sabhi kuch, kia hua, kyonkar hua
mairy mitnay ka tamasha dhaiknay ke cheez the
kia batyaoon unn ka mera samna kyonkar hua
A unique way.. Iqbal’s way..
Mouman
(Dunya main)
Ho halqa-e-yaraan tu barashem ke tarah narm
rizm-e-haq-o-batil ho tu foulaad hay mouman
(Janat main)
Kehtay hain farishtay ke dilawaiz hay mouman
hooron ku shekayat hay ke kam-amaiz hay mouma
I am sorry for not writing more succinctly. It is difficult to show economy of words when writing about one like Iqbal.
Kind Regards,
Faisal Hanif
Guzergah-e-Khayal Urdu Forum
http://guzergah-e-khayal.groups.live.com/
Most of us, poetry lovers or otherwise, have read Allama Muhammed Iqbal at least some of him somewhere. To many he remained hard-to-understand philosopher poet. Iqbal has written pure poetry too which is equally remarkable. I like Dr Iqbal, one my favourite poets. I find his poetry the most interesting, most intriguing and most touching. It leaves an indelible mark on reader’s mind. I vitalize his style also his gift for conciseness and frugality.
Aflaak se aata hay naloon ka jawab akher
kartay hain khatab akher, uthtay hain hijab akher
ahwal-e-mohabbat main kuch farq nahe aisa
soz-e-tab-o-tab awal, soz-e-tab-o-tab akher
I’m opening this topic to share and discuss soft and less philosophical poetry of Dr Iqbal.
Let’s talk!