The Rod of Moses

THE ROD
OF
MOSES
A DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST THE PRESENT AGE
Like the wind of morn imbibe the wish to blow,
For temper free is ever moving to and fro.
A thousand founts shall spring on path that you have trod,
Go deep in self and cleave the sea with Mosesʹ Rod.
DEDICATION TO
NAWAB SIR
HAMIDULLAH KHAN TO READERS
THE RULER OF BHOPAL
Your glass can never match the stony rock,
Unless of facts with care you take the stock.
What Time has done or shall do with the East,
Give proof of strength and strike a
None save a prince, like you, can know the
dreadful blow,
least.
When war is waging strains of harp
You own insight and what lies in my
forego.
mind,
The wealth of life is due to blood in veins,
Is not too hard for you to ken and find.
O man remiss! love pain, shun melodious
Accept from me this treasure of Spring
strains.
tide,
Whose roses in your hand shall fresh
abide.
The Rod of Moses 301
THE PROLOGUE ISLAM AND MUSSULMAN
(1) DAWN
In fane and shrine the self in slumber deep is The morn that shifts so soon tomorrow new,
sunk, Whence it comes is only known to few:
It seems that soul of East an opiate strong has The dark abode of being is shook by
drunk. morn,
If freaks of Fate with smile on lips you Which by Muslimʹs call to prayer is
can not face, born.
The secrets hid in firmament nʹre claim
to trace. NO GOD BUT HE
Your anguish sharp for Death you can not The secret of the self is hid,
keep at bay, In words ʺNo god but He alone.ʺ
Because you deem that self is merely made of The self is just a dull‐edged sword,
clay. ʺNo god but He,ʺ the grinding stone.
Time can conceal mishaps at all from An Abraham by the age is sought
you, To break the idols of this Hall:
Alas! your heart and soul are foul and The avowal of Godʹs Oneness can
are not true. Make all these idols headlong fall.
The straws and thorns of East to me have A bargain you have struck for goods
been assigned, Of life, a step, that smacks conceit,
For flame that burns in me is rash and All save the call ʺNo god but He,ʺ
unconfined. Is merely fraught with fraud and deceit.
(2) The worldly wealth and riches too,
Ties of blood and friends a dream
Iqbal, you sin because the throngs you tingle,
The idols wrought by doubts untrue,
Though keep aloof and seldom with them
All save Godʹs Oneness empty seem.
mingle.
The mind has worn the holy thread
Men wont to quaff extract from
Of Time and Space like pagans all
poppies drawn,
Though Time and Space both illusive
Have courage gained for deeds
ʺNo god but Heʺ is true withal.
requiring brawn.
These melodious songs are not
The birds, who spite of pinions rent were
confined
glad,
To Time when rose and tulip bloom
In nests, for azure sky now feel so sad.
Whatever the season of year be
You ought to be deprived of songs of
ʺNo god but Heʺ must ring till doom.
morn,
Many idols are still concealed
Deserve to miss delight and feel forlorn.
In their sleeves by the Faithful Fold,
I am ordained by Mighty God
To raise the call and be much bold.
SUBMISSION TO FATE
The Quranic teaching that did bring
The Moon and Pleiades within human
Is now explained in manner strange,
’Twixt man and world to cause a breach.
302 Collected Poetical Works of Iqbal
Their mode of work has changed It is rooted deep in fibres of my heart.
entire, Iqbal devoid of skill and craft though be,
Before the freaks of Fate they bow: Through every vein of thought can fully see.
They had a say in what God decreed, The frenzy in your breast is shorn of
But Muslims have now fallen low. glow,
What was so evil has by steps This heart illuming point you ought to
Put on the shape of good and fine: know.
In state of bondage, as is known, Intellect leads a man from God astray,
The shift of conscience is quite sure. Philosophy from grasping facts keeps away.
Dumb strains produced by calm and
ASCENSION serious thought
A mote endowed with strong desire for flight Slay zeal for active life and achieve not
Can reach the Sun and Moon with effort aught.
slight. True faith and creed give strength to earthly
If chest of partridge fire and zeal emit, life,
My friends, in fight with hawk it can acquit. Abraham and Prophetsʹ Seal guide to face its
Ascension means to gauge a Muslimʹs strife.
heart, Aliʹs son, you are deceived by
The Pleiades are the target of his dart. Avicennaʹs thought,
No wonder, meanings of Najm from Give ears to what the Holy Prophet
you hide, taught.
On Moon depends your oceanʹs ebb You can not see the path you have to
and tide. tread,
So choose a guide from tribe of Quraysh
ADMONITION TO A PHILOSOPHY instead.
STRICKEN SAYYID
THE EARTH AND THE SKY
If your self had not been debased and lost,
Bergson, his spell on you would not have cast. Perhaps the part of year that Spring you
Hegelʹs shell is quite devoid of gem deem,
that gleams, In othersʹ view destructive Autumn it may
His talisman merely web of fancy seem!
seems. The worldly affairs one pattern donʹt
Manʹs need is how this earthly life to brace, retain,
He yearns that self may last ʹyond Time and So pilgrim wise, think not of loss and
Space. gain!
To have a life steadfast is his desire, The thing you take for sky of earthly tract,
He seeks some rules to guide his life Perhaps is soil of some other world in fact!
entire. THE DECLINE OF THE MUSLIMS
The source, that gloom dispels, spreads light
around, Though wealth and gold provide
Is worship call at morn with clarion sound. The worldly needs of man
I am by breed a pure and trite Somnati, But what faqr can bestow
Ancestors mine were both Lati and No wealth or gold eʹer can.
Manati. If youth of nation mine
You hail from Hashemite Prophetʹs race, Were jealous of their creed,
My origin from Brahmans I have to trace. My qalandarʹs state wonʹt mind
Philosophy is my bodyʹs essential part, Alexanderʹs might indeed.
With ease you can divine The mystics, who were keen their faith to
To some thing else is due: spread,
Penury can not cause Are silent now and thought for them a dread.
Decline of Muslims True. Alas! the state of bondage deprives of
Wealth has played no part zest,
To bring my worth to light Slaves tread the beaten path and
My faqr this spell has cast, relinquish quest.
The share of wealth is slight. The jurists are helpless to such extent
Canʹt change themselves but would change
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah]
Quranʹs content.
KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE How sad, the jurists canʹt shift their
outlook,
Knowledge said to me, Love is madness;
But would prefer to change the Holy
Love said to me, Knowledge is calculation—
Book!
O slave of calculation, do not be a bookworm!
These abject slaves opine and cling to creed
Love is Presence entire, Knowledge nothing
That Holy Book is full of flaws indeed.
but a Veil.
They think it incomplete for this fact
The universe is moved by the warmth of Love; Because it fails to teach the slavish tact.
Knowledge deals with the Attributes, Love is
a vision of the Essence;
THANKS CUM COMPLAINT
Love is peace and permanence, Love is Life Though unwise, thanks to God I must express
and Death: For bonds with celestial world that I possess.
Knowledge is the rising question, Love is the My songs fresh zeal to hearts of men
hidden answer. impart,
Kingdom, faith and faqr are all miracles of Love; Their charm extends to lands that lie
The crowned kings and lords are base slaves apart.
of Love; In Autumn my breath makes birds that chirp
Love is the Space and the Creation, Love is in morn,
Time and Earth! Imbibe much joy and feel no more forlorn.
Love is conviction entire, and conviction is the O God, to such a land I have been sent,
key! Where men in abject bondage feel content.
The luxury of destination is forbidden in the [Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah]
religion of Love; DHIKR AND FIKR
Fighting the storms is permitted, but the
comfort of the shore is forbidden; These are all a wayfarer’s search posts
Lightning is permitted to Love, Harvest is about whom the Quran says: He taught all the
forbidden. names.
Knowledge is the child of the Book, Love is The achievements of Rumi and ‘Attar are
the mother of the Book. stations of dhikr;
the computations of Bu ‘Ali Sina pertain to
[Translated by the Editors] the station of fikr.
IJTEHAD To measure time and space is the station of
fikr,
There is no place in Ind wherefrom to learn to recite: Exalted be my Lord, Most High is the
The tenets that the Muslim Faith concern. station of dhikr.
They are devoid of zeal for godly acts,
And are not wont to seek its basic facts. [Translated by BASHIR AHMAD Dar]
MULLAH OF THE MOSQUE
I do not wonder if KNOWLEDGE AND RELIGION
To God you find approach:
Learning whom God has made
You know not rank of man
The mate of heart and sight,
For which you need reproach.
Like Friend of God can break
Your worship is devoid
With ease all idols bright.
Of grandeur, charm and grace:
Cosmos and life are one,
Your Call to Prayer at morn
The world is one and same
Leaves cold and does not brace
The tale of old and new
DESTINY Is merely false and lame.
A blossom can not thrive
Oft men who donʹt deserve get might and In meadow full of trees,
main, Unless some drops of dew
Anon a Personʹs gifts ungraced remain. Ally with pleasant breeze.
Perhaps some rules of Logic are That ken is vision dim,
concealed, In which the wise manʹs lore
Mishaps that lie in wait are not And sight that Moses viewed
revealed. Keep apart and merge no more.
There is a fact that all of us can know,
World annals much light on this matter throw. INDIAN MUSLIM
Fate keeps its eye on what the nations do,
Brahmans dub him as foe to native land,
Like two‐edged sword can riddle through
The English call him beggar on the other
and through.
hand.
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] The code of prophet born in Punjab
says,
ONENESS OF GOD ʺThis ancient Muslim owns many
Tauhid has been a living force in the days pagan ways.”
bygone; what is it these days? Merely a topic When and whence the call to truth shall
of theology. rise,
If its glory doesn’t make the darkness of “My humble heart is feeling much
character radiant, surprise?” 2
Muslim cannot judge his elevated position.
WRITTEN ON THE OCCASION OF THE
Chief of warriors, I have witnessed your
array; their sheaths are devoid of the sword BRITISH GOVERNMENTʹS PERMISSION TO
of Say: He is Allah. KEEP SWORD
Ah! Neither mullah nor faqih envisages the
O Muslim, did you ever think or feel
fact that unity of thought without unity of
What is meant by piercing sword of steel?
action is imperfect.
It is the first hemistich of this verse
What is a nation, or how to lead it?—What
That Godʹs Oneness shows in form so
clue these leaders of prayers could have of
terse.
that!
My anxiety for the second half is greater
[Translated by Dr. Mohammad Riaz] 1 though,
May God the sword of faqr on you bestow
If Muslim true can get this sword in hold
1 The last couplet, “What is a nation,…could have
of that!” has been translated by the present editors,
since it did not occur in Dr. Riaz’s translation. 2 The quotation is from a Persian source.
He is Ali the Lion of God, or Khalid bold. ’Gainst poison works with speed,
And proves a source of much relief.
FAQR AND MONARCHY
JIHAD
Faqr goes to War unequipped, unarmed with
This is an age, our canonist’s new dictum
glee,
Assures us, of the pen: in our world now
It deals dire blows, if heart of sins is free.
The sword has no more virtue.—Has it not
Its defiance and unrest, ever on
reached
increase
Our pious oracle’s ear, that in the Mosque
Give tale of Moses and Pharoah fresh
Such sermonizing nowadays has grown
release.
Rhymeless and reasonless? Where, in a
O zealous faqr, you will get your grandeur old,
Muslim’s hand,
The Frankish soul is stained with greed of
Will he find dagger or rifle? And if there
wealth and gold.
were,
Ecstatic Love forbids control of heart
Our hearts have lost all memory of delight
Without breeze the petals do not part.
In death. To one whose nerves falter at even
An infidel cut down, who would exclaim ISLAM
‘Die like a Muslim!’ Preach relinquishment
Of such crusades to him whose bloody fist The fire and light of ego both
Menaces earth! Europe, swathed cap‐a‐pie The soul of Muslims together bind;
In mail, mounts guard over her glittering The fire of self is light for life:
reign Godʹs existence brings before the mind.
Of falsehood; we enquire of our divine, It fortifies the things of life,
So tender of Christendom: if for the East It is the cause of all display:
War is unhallowed, is not war unhallowed Though Nature always hides this soul
For Western arms? And if your goal be truth, From eyes of mankind far away.
Is this the right road—Europe’s faults all If Muslim Faith offends the West,
glossed, Let West in its own anger burn:
And all Islam’s held to so strict an audit? This faith is known by other name,
To ʹJealous Faqrʹ now we must turn.
[Translated by V.G. Kiernan]
AUTHORITY AND FAITH
ETERNAL LIFE
Autocrats like Alexander and Genghis,
Have trampled men beneath their feet, Life is a like a shell and ego like a drop of
Not once but hundred times so far, April shower—
They brought man down from honoured seat. It is unbecoming a shell if it cannot turn the
The annals right from history’s dawn drop into a pearl.
The message eternal bear as such, If the ego is self‐preserving, self‐creating and
“O man, with insight great endowed, self‐sustaining,
The wine of might is dangerous much.ʺ Then it is possible that even death may not
Before this quickly flowing flood make you die.
That spreads to all the tracts with speed: [Translated by M. Munawwar Mirza]
Art, insight, intellect and science,
Are carried along like straw and reed. KINGSHIP
Divorced from faith, a poison strong, The lofty states of faqr are known to few,
When propped by faith and true belief, The faqr that brings the soul of Quran to view.
When selfhood sees its sway and upper MYSTICISM
hand,
This exalted state the folk as kingship If angelic art and celestial lore
brand. The ills of Muslims can not cure,
This rank gives verdict of a Muslimʹs worth, Worthless they are and of no use,
And makes him vicegerent of God on earth. Of fact so true you must be sure.
You have got bondage as a fit reward, Your reveries deep and rapture sweet,
For you have failed to keep on faqr a Your worship at the midst of night,
guard. If fail to keep a watch on self,
Prostration made like moon his forehead Are useless quite and have value slight.
shine, The intellect can cast its noose
Alas! the Franks have snatched that essence On the Pleiades and the Moon;
fine. If heart is bʹreft of love for God,
Your stars have lost their pristine glow It is not a worthy gift and boon.
and sheen If wit incites a man to say
That made them rivals of Sun and ʺNo God but Heʺ it brings no gain:
Moon so keen. It. has no worth at all I think,
Unless affirmed by heart and brain.
THE MYSTIC No wonder great that my discourse
With distraction unbound is fraught:
Your eyes are fixed on miracles that amaze,
If it wonʹt spread like rays of morn,
But world of events strange attracts my gaze.
It means such talk has value naught!
No doubt, the world of thought is
strange and queer, [Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah]
But worlds of Life and Death more odd
appear.
ISLAM IN INDIA
A call to you is sent by World of Chance, Only identity of thought
Perhaps you may transmute it with your Keeps the Faith thriving—
glance. Doctrine by whose means schism is brought
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] Is impious striving;
And only the strong hand is fit
DAZZLED BY EUROPE To guard the creed:
Let no‐one trust man’s native wit
1
To serve such need.
Your light is only Europe’s light reflected: But that strength, preacher, we shall not
You are four walls her architects have built, Find in your hand muster;
A shell of dry mud with no tenant soul, Go, and recite in some cool grot
An empty scabbard chased with flowery gilt. Your paternoster—
2 And there concoct some new Islam,
Whose mystic kernel
To your mind God’s existence seems Shall be a tame submissive calm,
unproved: Despair eternal!
Your own existence seems not proved to —In India, if bare leave be deigned
mine. His prayer‐prostration,
He whose self shines like a gem, alone exists; Our dull priest thinks Islam has gained
Take heed of it! I do not see yours shine. Emancipation.
[Translated by V.G. Kiernan] [Translated by V.G. Kiernan]
GHAZAL REVELATION
A heart devoid of love is dead, Poor intellect canʹt be fit
Infuse fresh life in it again: To be your guide in life:
It is the only cure for folk If led by guess and doubt
Who suffer from some chronic pain. Disruption may get rife.
Your zeal infirm and weak,
Your sea is full of calm and rest
Unlit your thoughts by light:
Is it repose or magic art?
It is too hard to illume
No sharks and storms disturb your sea,
Your lifeʹs dark dismal night.
Intact its coast in every part!
’Twixt actions good and bad
You are not intimate with laws Itʹs hard to draw a line,
That rule the spheres that spin around: Unless life undertakes
The twinkling stars do not disturb Such subtle points to define.
The calm which in your heart is found!
DEFEATISM
The dormant spark that buried lay
In my extinguished clay since long The mystics of the present age
Has set afire your bed of reeds, Are devoid of warriorʹs rage:
Assuming form of morning song! The claim that they are rapt with wine
Of ’Last and turn from Code Divine!
That man can only see in full The jurist has such bent of mind
The world of future and the past, That makes to monkish mode inclined,
Who has the luck to be endowed with In Holy Wars take rock‐like stand,
With my glance so pert and fast! They are just combats hand to hand.
THE WORLD Manʹs flight from conflicts of life,
Or escape from its heat and strife:
The diverse hues of world I can descry, If these not be abject defeat,
Here stone and gem, there moon and starry What else is then a mean retreat?
sky.
My insight also gives this verdict clear, HEART AND INTELLECT
These are hills, river, earth and sphere. Clay‐made man and angelic hosts
Of facts so true, I strive to hide not aught: All are swayed by wit and mind:
You are, all else a trick that eyes have Naught lies beyond the reach of wit,
wrought! Bestowed by God benign and kind.
PRAYER Its lasting grandeur holds the world
In perpetual chains that do not break:
In different garbs and various masks The heart alone some courage shows
The idols reappear in every age: And full of rage at wit can shake.
They e’er retain their youth and gloss
Though man has grown old on this stage. FERVOUR FOR ACTION
Prostration ’fore God you presume The mystic mode has naught except
As irksome, tedious, burden great; The inner changes of the heart;
But mind, this homage sets you free The talk of Mullah on his creed
From bonds of men, of might who Is merely piece of fiery art.
prate! The poetʹs song of zeal bereft,
Is dead and struck with frost!
To outward eyes he seems awake,
Though in thoughts completely lost!
Alas! my eyes do not behold Is precious more than gems in mart.
The holy knight whose fervour high As good as dead is science and art,
May cause his blood to seethe and boil Which took not birth from bleeding heart!
In veins that lend such might to thigh.
GODʹS MEN
THE GRAVE
That man alone is brave and free,
A dervish feels no rest at all Whose stroke is full of main and might;
Beneath the mound of clods and dust: That man is coward through and through
Though abysmal dark the grave, Who leans on guile and tricks in fight.
Its rigours yet bear he must. From creationʹs Immemorial Dawn
In dark and dismal depths of grave Free born men own a bent of mind,
Silence of skies a man can sense, Qalandarʹs traits donning cloak and
But there he can never find crown,
Environs free and space immense. Such distinctive marks in them we find.
The spark lies hid within their clay,
THE RECOGNITION OF A QALANDAR Which the world to itself takes;
A Dervish bold proclaims with main and Transforms it as if by a smell
might And world—illuming sun it makes.
My guidance take, tread path quite straight This life is free from ugly taint
and right! That makes men round the fane to tread:
Beyond your might and nerves my O God! the faithful and pagan all
tumults lie, Have worn on shoulders sacred thread.
With caution great by qalandarʹs
THE INFIDEL AND BELIEVER
dwelling hie!
The help of skiff and guide I do not need, Thus Khizr to me did speak
If you are swollen brook, come down with Last day on river banks.
speed! ʺAre you in search of cure
Has not my takbir broke your charm? For venom spread by Franksʺ?
Revoke, if show of courage does not I know a subtle point
harm! Which like the sword is keen:
A dervish holds the reins of time like Is cutting, burnished, bright
steed, And owns a peculiar sheen.
He brings sun, stars and moon to book A heathen gets distinct
with speed! By getting lost in life
Whereas a Muslim true
PHILOSOPHY Keeps ’bove its brawl and strife.
The thoughts of young both masked and plain
THE TRUE GUIDE
From qalandarʹs eyes canʹt hid remain.
I know your states for I too crost, The sedent nations of the East,
These tracts in times which now are Or active dwellers of the West;
past. Are inmates of such dungeons that
The wise ʹbout words do not quarrel, Were built by them with zeal and zest!
He heeds not shell who seeks the pearl. The priests who guide the Christian
Men crazed with love of God possess, church,
Wit that from spark the flame can And elders who maintain the Shrine,
guess. Lack newness of discourse and speech,
An import complex confirmed by heart, Bereft are they of actions fine.
Experts in statecraft practise still FATE
The same antique guile and wily tricks (SATAN AND GOD)
No flights of fancy the bard can claim
To ideals low and mean he sticks! SATAN
It is time that the expected Guide Oh God, Creator! I did not hate your
May soon appear on worldly stage; Adam,
His piercing glance in realm of thought That captive of Far‐and‐Near and Swift‐
Would cause a violent storm to rage. and‐Slow;
And what presumption could refuse to
BELIEVER You
IN THE WORLD Obedience? If I would not kneel to him,
The cause was Your own fore‐ordaining
A man whose faith is firm and strong
will.
Is soft as silk in friendly throng:
In skirmish between wrong and right GOD
Like sword of steel, he stands to fight! When did that mystery dawn on you?
The skies are his inveterate foes Before,
His war with them e’er onward goes: Or after your sedition?
Though Muslim true of clay is born
From earthly bonds still he is torn. SATAN
To hunt the sparrow and the dove After, oh brightness
He does not like and does not love: Whence all the glory of all being flows.
He much aspires his noose to cast
On angels great and hold it fast. GOD (TO HIS ANGELS)
See what a groveling nature taught him
IN PARADISE
this
The angels of this thing are sure Fine theorem! His not kneeling, he
That a Muslim can allure; pretends,
But Maids of Eden do complain, Belonged to My fore‐ordinance; gives his
From society he does oft refrain. freedom
Necessity’s base title;—wretch! His own
MUHAMMAD ALI BAB Consuming fire he calls a wreath of smoke.
Before assembled Muslim priests, [Translated by V.G. Kiernan]
Bab made a speech with apt remarks;
That fellow could not read aright INVOCATION TO THE SOUL OF
ʹSamawatsʹ with its syntactic marks. MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM)
The scholars smiled with contempt
The bonds that in past, like bundle knit
At stupid error that he made.
The Faithful Fold, have now been split!
He said with courage and aplomb,
O God sent Guide, let Muslims know,
They knew not his spiritual grade:
What to do and where to go?
The verses of the Holy Book
The Arabian Sea is quite bereft
By desinential marks were bound;
Of stir, there rise no waves and crest;
They were ransomed and set free
The tempest that in me is hid
For sake of guidance true and sound.
Has no place to spread and skid!
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] Caravan has left the tramp alone,
But mount or food he does not own:
Where can the singing cameleer go,
Who rides on hill and waste to and fro! FAQR AND MONKERY
O Soul, whom God for message chose!
This secret hid to me disclose: Perhaps your faith is so much quaint and
Some light on this problem throw, queer,
Where may the guard of Godʹs portents For faqr and monkery same to you appear.
go? Faqr has a loathing great for monkish
ease;
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] Its boat is ever tossed by stormy seas.
He yearns to put to test his frame and soul,
THE WAY OF ISLAM
Display of self is his main aim and goal.
What, shall I tell you then, is a Muslim’s life? Its life like touchstone acts for Cosmos
Ecstasy’s summit joined with profoundest vast:
thought! It knows what will perish and what
Even its setting flames like a rising sun; will last.
Single its hue, yet manifold age by age; Ask it if things on which your eyes are bent,
Neither with those times sharing their scorn Are real or merely riot of hue and scent!
of virtue. Since Muslim true of faqr has been bereft,
Nor with times past their bondage to myth No Salmanʹs Faith or Solomonʹs awe are
and magic, left.
Firm on eternal verity’s bedrock standing—
Here is true life, no airy conceit of Plato! GHAZAL
Love, that the Spirit harbors, of loveliness A restless aching heart that throbs with Love
Mingles amid its elements with Iran’s Is my lifeʹs only stock and hoard.
Beauty of mind, Arabia’s inward fire. Your joys of life consist of wealth and gold
[Translated by V.G. Kiernan] That worldly Science and Arts to you
afford.
GUIDANCE
The marvel wrought by thinkers wise and
What Guidance signifies you wish to know, sage
Insight, like me, may God on you bestow! Consists of problems stiff that thought
He is true guide and teacher of your provoke:
age, Mount Sinai, Pharoahʹs rout and Mosesʹ Staff
Who can with present fill your mind Are miracles worked by those who God
with rage. invoke.
By showing the face of Friend in looking
I have conferred a Muslimʹs name on you
glass,
For sake of courtesy, custom and routine:
May make your life more onerous and crass.
Though your breath is quite bereft of heat
He may make your blood seethe with
Of Reckoning Day that shall emit blazing
sense of harm
sheen.
And on faqr’s whetstone may to sword
transform. My vest is torn to shreds and pieces since long
Such guidance means revolt ’against And this is due to my mindʹs frenzy great:
Lustrous Creed Your mind is still intact and sound,
That makes the Muslims bow to kingly Wherefore impute the blame to me and
breed. slate?
You ought to keep your words within control,
If you seek the bounteous glance of guide:
When you talk with those who insight own,
Be courteous much, by conduct nice abide. REVELATION AND FREEDOM
That nation cannot come to shame at all, With zeal and fervour man is fired:
Nor shall eʹer come across or face disgrace, By looks of man by God inspired!
Whose youth are blessed with pluck and The intense heat his breath imparts,
courage great, A blaze in park and orchard starts!
And guard with zeal the prestige of their The mode of hawks the thrush displays,
race. The birds that chirp change mode and ways!
Such man rapt with Godʹs Love can
RESIGNATION
raise,
The twigs and boughs this subtle point Low‐born to rank of Jam and Parwiz!
explain God save from revelations of a thrall,
That sense of surrounding wide to plants is Like Genghis, he leads to nations’ fall!
plain.
The seed is not content with dwelling SOUL AND BODY
dark, Since times antique the mind of man
It has a craze to spire from earth like In complex problems is involved:
spark. What is the source of clay‐born man
Donʹt bar the path to deeds for Natureʹs And how the soul has been evolved?
claims, Pain, anguish, glee and rapture sweet
Submission to Will of God has different aims. Are spiritual states that man must face:
If there is pluck for growth, the suburbs What is of much worth, cup or wine,
suffice; Is knotty point you wish to trace?
O man, the world is wide, if you are wise. What binds the words and their import,
What links the body and the soul?
UNITY OF GOD
It wears the cloak of its own ash
The subtle point in Godʹs Oneness hid Just like the burnt refuse of coal.
With ease in words we can explain;
But what about your mind unsound LAHORE AND KARACHI
That brims with myths and idols vain? For Muslim true, death has no dread
The Elder of the Shrine has traits To realm of souls, he straight is led.
That smack of juristʹs faith and creed: Donʹt ask the rulers of this land
Much thirst for view ‘No god but He,’ To grant blood price for martyred
Among his fellows cannot breed. band.
None can appraise the glee one gets, Their blood is precious and divine
When war is on ’twixt good and bad: Like precincts of the Holy Shrine.
He who canʹt inflict deadly blows Alas! the Muslim has forgot
And strokes in war is never glad. The lesson that to him was taught.
Observations made by free born men He was ordained to cry to none
In world with marvels so replete; Save to God Unique and One.
To those who own the glance of thralls
None can such wonders ʹfore them PROPHETHOOD
repeat. A gnostic, revivalist, jurist or
A dervish holds a loftier rank Expert in Prophetʹs maxims I do not claim:
Than a monarch who wears a crown; As such a prophetʹs rank and state
There is no cure for such a man, In terms precise I canʹt proclaim.
Who, like paupers, has sunk down. Despite these things I always keep
On Muslim lands my watchful eye:
To me are known the secrets hid And may they all by Faith abide!
In depths of this azure sky. Restraint and order you must teach
In present age, so full of dusk To shun conceit you ought to preach.
I have beheld this fact so stark Those who blow on glass in West,
That peeps like bright and full grown moon Have taught the youth repose and rest:
From sky that wears the mantle dark. Let them imbibe to bear the shocks,
The seer, inspired by God, who fails And cut the stones and hew the rocks.
To prompt to deeds of might and main, The foreign Yoke that ran for periods
Is just akin to leaf of hemp long,
That makes oblivious to loss or gain. Has drained the blood of heart, so
strong;
ADAM Think of some cure, panacea or aught
The talisman wrought from mud and clay, To bring to end their sight distraught.
Whom we give the name of man, In fits of frenzy strong and great
Is mystery known to God alone, Of mysteries, God I start to prate:
Its essence true we can not scan. Bestow on my distracted brain
Since Creationʹs Early Morn began Some recompense for this pain.
Time is engaged in constant flight,
THE GUIDE
Has tried to leave its trace on man,
But has not met success e’en slight. A nationʹs life gets much prolonged
If you do not get much disturbed, By lofty aims and ideals high:
To you this truth I may unroll If dwellers here some zeal possess,
That man, Godʹs image, on the earth They can explore the heights of sky.
Is neither frame of clay nor soul. The Frankish Sage by guile and skill
New lease of life to nation gave:
The path for birth of Superman
MAKKAH AND GENEVA By valour great he strove to pave.
To Guideʹs concept you seem averse,
Contemporary era witnessed tremendous
Too fed up with this thought appear:
contacts among the nations;
This view for Muslims has the weight
The unity of mankind, however, remained
That for Cathay has musk of deer.
concealed.
If man alive puts on the shroud,
Western polity advocates division among the
Must we take that ass for dead:
nations;
Or tear to pieces small and shreds
Islam pleads but for unification of humanity.
His shroud and cast away the threads?
Holy Makkah has sent a message to Geneva:
Ought there be unity of mankind or unity A MUSLIM
among the nations?
A Muslim true gets grandeur new
[Translated by Mohammad Riaz] With momentʹs change and every hour:
By words and deeds he gives a proof
TO ELDER OF THE SHRINE
Of Mighty God, His reach and power.
O Shaykh, who tend the Holy Shrine, To rout the foes, to grant them reprieve,
Discard these monkish modes of thine: Do pious deeds and show great might:
Grasp what morning songs denote, Are four ingredients that make
What aim or end I would promote. A Muslim Devout who shuns not fight.
May God preserve the youth you With Gabriel trusted and steadfast
guide, This clay‐born man has kinship close:
A dwelling in some land or clime PREACHING OF ISLAM IN THE WEST
For himself Muslim never chose.
This secret yet none has grasped Through all the Western politeia
That Muslim Scripture reads so sweet: Religion withers to the roots;
Practising rules by it prescribed, For the white man, ties of blood and race
Becomes its pattern quite complete. Are all he knows of brotherhood—
The Faithful acts on aims and ends A Brahmin, in Britannia’s sight,
That Nature keeps before its sight: Ascends no higher in life’s scale
In world he sifts the good and bad, Because the creed of the Messiah
In future shall judge wrong and right. Has numbered him with its recruits;
While dealing with friends and mates, All Britain one day might embrace
He is dew that thirst of tulip slakes: Muhammad’s doctrine, if she would,
When engaged with his foes in fight, And yet the Mohammedan, luckless wight,
Like torrent strong makes rivers shake. Be left as now beyond the pale.
The charm of Natureʹs eternal song
In Muslimʹs life, no doubt is found:
Like chapter Rahman of the Quran, NEGATION AND AFFIRMATION
Is full of sweet melodious sound.
It could have never borne fruit and foliage in
Such thoughts that shine like lustrous stars
the space lit up with light,
My brain, like workshop, can provide:
If from the dark recesses the seed had not
You can select the star you like,
moved on: 3
So that your Fate this star may guide!
In life we begin with no and end with yes;
PUNJABI MUSLIM When no is divorced from yes it becomes
destructive.
A newborn faith invokes his taste,
A nation which does not pass from no to yes
Adopts with zeal but leaves with haste.
Is undoubtedly on the brink of death.
In search for truth he takes no part,
As disciple stakes both head and heart. [Translated by BASHIR AHMAD Dar]
If comments’ snare some hunter set,
From nest on bough would drop in net.
TO THE AMIRS OF ARABIA
If Amirs of Arabian lands
FREEDOM
Donʹt take it for a slur or slight:
The right of thinking free, a Muslim owns, This Muslim from the land of Ind
Is gift or God which canʹt be checked by May speak with vigour great and might.
frowns. Who were the people whom at first
He can transform the Shrine to Magian Godʹs apostle preached kinship close?
fane, Division amongst them was infused
Can deck the Shrine with Frankish By men like Bu Lahab and such foes.
idols vain. Their existence does not rest at all:
Can make the Holy Book the sport of boys, On borders long and deserts vast
And can with ease devise new faiths like toys. Arabian lands subsist because
In India queer and odd the farce you see, Of blessings of Arabiaʹs Prophet Last.
The Faith is captive, but the Muslims free.

3 Two lines, “It could never…not moved on” have
been provided by the editors since the translator
had left these out.
DECREES OF GOD
EDUCATION AND
This problem is not hard to solve
O man, endowed with insight great: UPBRINGING
Whʹr to obey dictates of God,
Or submit to decrees of Fate.
GOAL
The Wheel of Fate spins hundred times
Within the twinkling of the eye; SPINOZA
He, who follows freaks of Fate, On life is fixed the gaze of persons bright,
Anon is down and anon is high. What is life? Presence, being, joy and light!
Herbs, vegetables and minerals alike
Adhere to what Fate pre‐ordains: PLATO
But Muslim true obeys laws of God, A wise man knows that ʹfore death he
All else abhors and much disdains. must bow,
In pitch dark night, life, like spark, soon
DEATH
loses glow.
If self of man perfection gains
Both life and death deserve not any heed,
Devoid of rest his heart remains:
The self of man is ego’s goal and need.
Even in the niche of grave
Presence and Absence he must brave. [Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah]
The Moon and stars shine like a spark,
MODERN MAN
For moments few and then the dark:
The rapture caused by egoʹs wine Love fled, Mind stung him like a snake; he could
Is as eternal as things divine. not
If your ego is ripe and mature, Force it to vision’s will.
Your life from Death becomes secure: He tracked the orbits of the stars, yet could
Deathʹs angel may earthly frame contact, not
But can not harm your soul, in fact. Travel his own thoughts’ world;
Entangled in the labyrinth of his science
BY GRACE OF GOD, RISE! Lost count of good and ill;
Though change so great has swept the world, Took captive the sun’s rays, and yet no
There is no need to grieve or smart: sunrise
The same the earth and same the skies, On life’s thick night unfurled.
By Grace of God, rise! Play your part!
EASTERN NATIONS
The same hot blood runs in your veins
That raised the cry ʺThe self is Trueʺ Reality grows blurred to eyes whose vision
By Grace of God, rise! Play your part! Servility and parrot‐ways abridge.
And go in quest of ventures new. Can Persia or Arabia suck new life
Donʹt mourn or weep for scattered brain, From Europe’s culture, itself at the grave’s
It is a spell that Franks have cast: edge?
This charm with case you can remove,
Act, act, anew and leave the past!
AWARENESS
He, who predicts the Fate of man,
And keeps his gaze eʹer fixed on sky:
Such man is unaware of fact
That rank of self is very high.
Those who perceive this fact so clear Does not drop gasping on the ground:
That dome of sky that spins around, If unwearied it remains on wings,
Has not the height as self of man. From huntersʹ dread is safe and sound.
ʹBout world have formed an opinion
sound.
THE TESTAMENT OF TIPU SULTAN
They are aware of all those things If you traverse the road of love,
That charm and repel the human sight: Donʹt yearn to seek repose or rest:
To them alone this fact is known If Layla be your companion close
What blackens heart, what renders bright. That litter shun with great contempt.
O streamlet, onward flow and get
REFORMERS OF THE EAST
Transformed to torrent strong and
Your vinteners have despaired me much, deep:
Like Samri, they can cast a spell: If bank is eʹer on you bestowed,
With empty bowls to East have come, Abstain, flow on with mighty sweep.
What they would do is hard to tell. Donʹt lose your bearings in this world
No lighting new can ever flash Because with idols it is full:
In lap of clouds that float in sky: The assemblage here can cast a spell,
Of lightning old, their sleeves are void, Disdain, or strings of heart shall pull.
How can they gain a status high? Gabriel on Creationʹs Early Morn,
A piece of useful counsel gave:
He bade me not accept a heart
WESTERN CULTURE Enchained by mind of man like slave.
Untruth conceals in various masks
The Western culture depraves both heart and
But Truth and God are both unique:
vision,
There canʹt be pool ʹtwixt good and bad—
Because the soul of that culture is no longer
This fact is known from times antique.
chaste.
With a corrupted soul one cannot expect GHAZAL
To have a clean conscience, high thinking and
I donʹt belong to Faris or Hind,
refined tastes.
To Iraq or Hijaz donʹt trace my breed:
[Translated by Munawwar Mirza] The self to me this much has taught
Spurn both the worlds and pay no heed.
OPEN SECRETS
You are a heathen in my view
A nation whose youth are endowed
The same to you may seem my creed
With self as strong and hard as steel:
To count the breath, your faith and goal,
No need of piercing swords in war
While melting breath my job and deed.
Such people brave can ever feel.
The world of Pleiades and the Moon Your change, no doubt, is good and well,
By natural laws is chained and bound; And so your change of Muslim creed:
Whereas the world in which you dwell This Faith is meant for men, like hawks,
Owns insight, will and mind much It suits not pheasantsʹ quivering breed.
sound. Such passionate Love of God and craze,
What do the quivering waves imply, In wilds and wastes has not caught my
Save enormous zeal and zest for quest? sight,
What lies concealed in mother shell Whose magic force and rapture great,
Is gift of God Who knows it best. The faults of reason may set right.
The hawk is never tired of flight,
A poet must neʹer keep aloof THE LIFE OF SELFHOOD
From noisy fretful stream of life
The bard, who shuns the facts and truths, If the self is alive, even poverty is kingship:
Canʹt make the nation face its strife. The prestige of the penniless is not inferior to
that of Sanjar and Tughral.
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] If the self is alive, the endless ocean is
fordable;
AWAKENING
To a live self the stones of a mountain are soft
The Truth‐seeking man whose self has like silken cloth.
awakened A live crocodile is free when encircled by
Is like a sword which is cutting and brilliant. water,
To his keen eye is visible While a lifeless crocodile is enchained even by
The power to show what is latent in every atom. the wave in a mirage.
To him you cannot be compared:
[Translated by Sir Abdul Qadir]
You are the slave of the heavens while he is
their master. GOVERNMENT
You have not yet developed even a desire for
the shore; My talk makes Shaykh and Mullah show
He has grasped the secrets of the deep wrath undue,
through the purity of his soul. 4 Though disciples can put up with what is
true.
[Translated by Sir Abdul Qadir] That race is soon deprived of glorious
deeds,
UPBRINGING OF SELFHOOD
For talk on Being and Attributes hatred
If self is bred with perfect care, breeds.
Such force and strength it can acquire This cosmos old is wrought in such a cast
That handful dust of man with ease That tavern, saki and flask donʹt for eʹer last.
Can set untruths and wrongs afire. That nation has the right to luck in life
This is the mystery we ascribe Whose youth for honey take worldly
To Moses in every age and clime: blows and strife.
He tended the sheep in wilds and learnt
From Shoaib to toil and mode sublime. INDIAN SCHOOL
About the self here have no talk, O bard,
FREEDOM OF THOUGHT
Because with schools such sermons donʹt
Free thinking can bring ʹbout the ruin accord.
Of those whose thoughts are low and mean: Much good that birds that chirp may
They donʹt possess the mode and style not descry,
Of though that may be chaste and clean. The modes of hawk, its state and rank
If thoughts are raw and immature so high!
No good accrues to man in least: A free manʹs breath can match a subject year,
The utmost that such thoughts can do How slowly moves the time of serfs, is clear!
Is change of wan to state of beast. The free perform such deeds in span of
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] breath,
But slaves are every instant prone to
sudden death.
4 “To him you cannot be compared,” and the last The thoughts of persons free with truth are lit,
two lines “You have not even…of his soul” have But thoughts of slaves do not own sense a bit.
been provided by the editors since they were not
translated by Sir Abdul Qadir.
A slave has craze for marvels wrought The self of Indians is extinct,
by guides By pinions cleft is made distinct
Himself a wonder ʹlive, his memory For they are pleased with prison life,.
fresh abides. To break the bars they wage no strife!
This is the training that befits them well, Demise of self has made divine,
Painting, music and science of plants as Who keeps a watch on Holy Shrine,
well. To sell the robes that pilgrims don,
On sale proceeds he lives upon.
UPBRINGING
HONOURED GUEST
Existence and knowledge both are poles
apart, The minds of those who go to school,
Life burns the soul, whereas lore makes it In thoughts quite fresh and new are clad:
smart. Alas! there are such people few
Joy, wealth and power all, to lore are Who draw a line ʹtwixt good and bad.
due, Perhaps some luminous thought may flash
How irksome that to self it yields no Across the inmost part of heart
clue! For such inspiring thoughts one must
No dearth of lettered men, ah few! provide Set some recess in heart apart.
The bowl with wine of gnosis like true guide.
The ways of teachers donʹt expand the
MODERN AGE
heart, Wherefrom a man can find
Matchstick canʹt light to electric lamp Ripe thoughts in present age?
impart. The weather of this park
No ripeness can presage.
FOUL AND FAIR
The seats of learning give
Just like the stars that shine in azure sky, The mind of pupils scope:
Thoughts have short span of life and soon But leave the thoughts of youth
they die. Unlinked by thread or rope.
The realm of self has its ups and The love of God is dead
downs, By unbelief ’mong Franks:
Even here, the Fair and Foul exchange Through lack of link in thoughts,
their frowns. East shackles wears on shanks.
If self has reached the height, its acts are
fine,
Debased, its deeds as good one canʹt A STUDENT
define.
God bring you acquainted with some storm!
DEATH OF THE EGO No billow in your sea break in foam,
And never from books can you be weaned
Devoid the West of inner light,
Which you declaim, not comprehend.
Her soul is struck with deadly blight
The loss of self has made the East [Translated by V.G. Kiernan]
A leper, for germs befitting feast.
EXAMINATION
The Arabs have lost their former zeal,
Their souls are shrunk, they can not Thus mountain stream to pebble spake,
feel; “This lowly state for height you take.
Iraq and Persia are bereft You are tread upon and suffer deal,
Of bones and veins and naught is left! How nice! my need the rivers feel.
You never clashed against a wall, GHAZAL
Donʹt know, a stone or glass to call.ʺ
That man alone in life shall find
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] To aim and end a certain sign:
Whose eyes in pitch dark night can see,
THE SCHOOLS
And like the eyes of panther shine.
This age that’s with us is your angel of death,
The slaves can get repose and rest
Its bread and butter cares catch your soul’s
In world confined by Time and Space;
breath.
But men of high and noble birth
Your heart recoils from shock of combat; life
Havenʹt leisure in worldly race.
Is death, that deadens in men the joy of strife.
Learning estranged you from such exaltation The progress great that West has mad
As would not let man’s mind desert its Has bedazzled your eyes a deal:
station; May Prophet guard your precious sight,
A falcon’s eyes were yours by Nature’s right, To vouch him God did Najm reveal!
Slavishness left them only a poor wren’s sight,
These revels do not last for long,
And the schools hid from them those
Like guests they stay for a breath or so;
mysteries
The bowls of wine that glint like stars,
That yield to hill’s and deserts still assize.
Are soon deprived of gloss and glow.
The books have marred your taste and zest
NIETZSCHE To such a great and vast extent,
That breeze of morn has also failed
The subtle point that God is one, To give you clue of rose and scent!
The German sage could not perceive:
Clear sight and mind are both a must, RELIGION AND EDUCATION
So that this point one may conceive.
I know the modes of those who guide the
The flights of fancy, like a dart,
creed,
Can hit the dome of azure sky:
Though lacking truth, of vision boast indeed.
He casts his noose on moon and sun
The teaching that the English have
That seem so far above and high.
devised
Although his natural bent of mind
ʹGainst faith and ties has great intrigue
From stains and blemish is quite free;
contrived.
His soul this dormant fact betrays,
That race is doomed to bondage and much
He yearns for life replete with spree.
pain,
TEACHERS Which justice for its ego canʹt attain.
The faults of one man Nature can reprieve,
If you desire to breed such ruby which is red, But groups for crimes no pardon can
Donʹt beg light of sun that from course has receive.
fled.
The world is trapped by traditions old TO JAVID
and hoar,
(1)
Preceptors helpless quite, can do no
more. The present age destroys the faith and creed,
Those who deserved to lead the modern Like pagans has a bent of mind indeed.
age, The threshold of a saint is higher far
Have worn out brains and others hold the Than court of worldly king or mighty
stage. Czar.
It is a period full of magic art, That ʹneath the roof I cry, complain and
With spell so strong all play their part. groan.
The fount and source of life is parched In speaking truth I am much bold and
and dry, frank,
No more the wine of gnosis can supply. In eyes of men I hold a lofty rank.
The shrines are empty of such saintly folk, A son can not acquire his sireʹs renown,
Whose glance good manners taught with Unless His grace by Mighty Lord is shown.
single stroke. Nizami, the poet great of Persian
The house, your presence illumes like a tongue,
lamp, Gave counsel wise to son who still was
Has mystic trend in veins and bears its young:
stamp. “On occasions where your greatness must
If essence of Godʹs Oneness be in heart, prevail
The lore of Franks can cause no harm or Your lineage there wonʹt be of much
smart. avail.ʺ
On rose twigs chirp, for long there do
(3)
not rest,
In selfhood you must seek your home The days and nights a Muslimʹs toils enhance:
and nest. Both creed and rule are like a game of chance.
A man is ocean that is vast and free, Men drunk with zeal for deeds
Its every drop is like the boundless sea. nowhere are found,
If peasant is not charmed with life of The rest are fond of talk with idle
ease, sound.
A seed can yield a thousand‐fold If you have courage great and ample force,
increase. Seek such faqr which in Hijaz has its source.
I donʹt sit like sluggards and indulge in This brand of faqr such virtues great
play, can grant
It is time for your craft and skillʹs display. That make man, like God, free from
every want.
(2)
His hawk‐like status can spread general death
If heart with love of God is not replete, Of sparrows, pigeons all in single breath.
The life of man remains quite incomplete. The glance of mind by its means burns
If quarry is wise acute and bold, and blazes
It can not be trapped by hunters old. Without collyrium begged from
The Fount of Life in wordly life is found, Avicenna and Rhazes.
Provided you have a thirst quite true and If temper of Ayaz is free from every slavish
sound. trend,
Your envy for Faith is mystic course Like Mahmud can win grandeur which hasnʹt
indeed, end.
For growth of faqr a lot of zeal you Your worldʹs Sarafil has neither taste
need. nor zeal,
My darling son, I see no chance at all He canʹt blow trumpet nor can skill
That hawk will like to turn a pheasantʹs thrall. reveal.
There is no dearth of goods, called Its glance a world‐wide tumult can inspire,
verse or rhyme, In obscure mode sets right the things entire.
There are hundreds of poets much A warrior who can this Jealous Faqr
sublime. attain,
My reach and might in world is this alone
Without sword and lance great Heartʹs mirror, but is blear.
conquests he can gain. When zeal and zest for sight
It sets the faithful free from need and exceed their greatest height,
want, Thoughts soar to highest point
Beg God that such faqr to you He may And soon are out of joint.
grant. That vernal drop of rain
The state of pearl canʹt gain
If destined not to dwell,
In lap of mother shell.
Retreat is blessed state
ʹBout self gives knowledge great:
Alas! this state divine,
WOMAN Isnʹt found in fane or shrine.
WOMAN
THE FRANKISH MAN
The picture that this world presents
To solve this riddle thinkers have much tried, From woman gets its tints and scents:
Their efforts all so far it has defied. She is the lyre that can impart
No doubt, to womanʹs faith and Pathos and warmth to human heart.
conduct clear, Her handful clay is superior far
The Pleiades and moon do witness To Pleiades that so higher are
bear. For every man with knowledge vast,
This vice in Frankish way of life we find, Like gem out of her cask is cast.
Men fools and blind, canʹt read a womanʹs Like Plato can not hold discourse,
mind. Nor can with thunderous voice declaim:
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] But Plato was a spark that broke
From her fire that blazed like flame.
A QUESTION
EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN
Ask the wise men of Europe, who have hung
Their ring in the nose of Greece and I know quite well that one despoils,
Hindostan: While other is like candy sweet:
Is this their civilization’s highest rung— I can not give a verdict true
A childless woman and a jobless man? Which needs of Quest can fully meet.
I like to make no more remark
And earn the wrath of present age:
VEIL Already the sons of modern cult
ʹGainst me are full of ire and rage.
Great change the lofty spheres have met, The insight owned by woman can
O God! the world has not budged as yet. This subtle point with ease reveal:
In man and wife is no contrast, Constrained and helpless, wise and sage,
They like seclusion and hold it fast. With knotty point they can not deal.
The sons of Adam still wear the mask, It is an uphill task to judge
But self hasnʹt peeped out of the casque. What is more precious, lends much
SOLITUDE grace:
Emancipation for fair sex or aught,
Much greed for show and fame Or emerald‐wrought superb neck‐lace?
Has put this age to shame:
The glance is bright and clear,
PROTECTION OF THE WEAKER VESSEL
LITERATURE AND FINE
A fact alive is in my breast concealed,
He can behold whose blood is not congealed. ARTS
To wear a veil and learn new lore or
old,
RELIGION AND CRAFTS
Canʹt guard fair sex except a person
bold. Music, religion, politics, knowledge, art
A nation which canʹt see this truth divine, Have all in their possession matchless pearls.
Pale grows its son and soon begins decline. They emanate from the mind of a creature
made of dust,
EDUCATION AND WOMEN But higher than the stars is their abode.
If Frankish culture blights the motherly urge, If they protect the ego, they are life itself;
For human race it means a funeral dirge. If they cannot, they are mere magic and false
The lore that makes a woman lose her tales.
rank People have come to grief under the sky
Is naught but death in eyes of wise and Whenever their religion and their literature
frank. Have been divorced from egohood.
If schools for girls no lore impart on creed, [Translated by M. Hadi Husain]
Then lore and crafts for Love are death
indeed. CREATION
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] New worlds derive their pomp
From thoughts quite fresh and new
WOMAN From stones and bricks a world
The spirit of man can display its self without Was neither built nor grew.
obligation to another, The firm resolve of those,
But the spirit of woman cannot fully reveal its Who depths of self explore,
self without another’s help. Transforms this stream to sea
Her desire is the secret of her fever of sorrow: That has no marge or shore.
Her existence is full of fire with the wish to The fellow same is lord
create. Of freaks of fate and strife,
Here is the fire which opens the secrets of life; Who with eʹery breath he draws
That is the heat which sustains the struggle Creates an eternal life.
between to be and not to be. The death of self has made
I too feel sad about the oppression of women, The lands of East effete:
But this knotty problem cannot be resolved. Men who Godʹs secrets share
In these realms are deplete.
[Translated by the Editors] 5
The air of waste gives out
The smell of friendship deep
Perhaps there may be some
Who may my company keep.
MADNESS
Poets and priestly class denote and show
The shops of those who blow the glass.
What pity! the mad frequents the wilds and
lanes
5 Based on a translation by Sir Abdul Qadir.
To smash these shops, this way he does not VISION
pass.
Few know that madness can with ease The Spring has come with tulips wild,
display They seem like carvans on the move:
A myriad crafts, accomplishments and The youth, their charm and ecstatic joy
skill, Of colossal worth and value prove.
Provided one can completely wean it of The sea that has no bound or marge,
The wastes and deserts, from gorge and And azure sky that seems so high,
hill. When pitch dark night has upper hand,
The concourse as well as the air of school They gleam and glint like stars in sky.
Accord with it and tickle its sense of joy: How nice the bride‐like moon appears,
As lonely site and haunt for him arenʹt While touring sky in van of night!
must, At morn, the sun presents a scene
At school he never feels cast down or coy. Much grand in sky so blue and bright.
One must have eyes to see these sights
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] Which vie with each in bloom and grace:
For Nature is not wont to sell
TO MY POEM
The charm appearing on her face.
I must complain of your self‐flaunting airs—
My secrets, when you go unveiled, lie bare. MIGHT OF ISLAM MOSQUE
Instead of floating like a truant spark, Now naught remains in Muslimʹs breast,
Seek out the fastness of some glowing heart! His heart devoid of glint and glow:
[Translated by V.G. Kiernan] He avowed with zeal ʹNo God but He,ʹ
But dead and cold the zeal for show.
LITERATURE The Muslimʹs state has so declined
Now Love from mind must take the lead, That Nature fails to know at sight,
By God bestowed on human race: Because the slavish acts of Ayaz
To dear oneʹs lane it must not go Have put Mahmudʹs high rank in
And bring with haste on head disgrace. plight.
Love must infuse new soul in old You have withstood the ruin of Time
Poetic moulds and change their course, And kept your ground as firm as rock.
Or break the chains of antique soul, Constraint has turned the Muslims weak,
Set it free from mimetic force. You put them all to shame and shock.
The worship of such Muslims suits
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] Your structure immense and so vast,
Who with one breath that God is Great
PARIS MOSQUE
Find truth and lies away cast.
What should my eyes, but an architect’s The Muslimʹs breast is quite bereft
Nimbleness, see in this shrine Of previous heat and ardour strong:
Of the West? It knows nothing of God. His blessings, worship are devoid
Mosque?—the Frankish illusionists Of innate heat and fret since long.
Have smuggled into the carcass His call to prayer is devoid
Of a shrine, an idol‐hall’s soul! Of lofty tones and grandeur great;
And who built this palace of idols? O God, let this be known to him,
The same robbers whose hands have turned Will you let him ʹfore you prostrate?
Damascus into a desert.
THEATRE (3)
Your beingʹs sanctum gets A shameless ray as proud as houriʹs glance
From self its inner light: Bereft of rest, like mercury eʹer at dance,
Save zeal and firm resolve Implored the sun to let it spread its
Naught can make life eʹer bright. light
Its rank is higher than Till every mote of East grows lustrous
The Pleiades and the moon: bright.
Your essence and its gifts The dark surroundings of Hind it wonʹt forsal
Are egoʹs greatest boon. Till natives sunk in slumber do not wake.
God save that alien self The hopes of Orient on this region
Seek shelter in your shrine! hinge,
The creed of idols shun, The tears that Iqbal sheds on it
Donʹt desecrate house divine. impinge.
Forgetfulness of self The moon and Pleiades get light from this
Imports the height of art, land,
But with the loss of self Its stones are costlier than gems of purest
Both joy and warmth depart. brand.
It has produced men who hid sense can
RAY OF HOPE see,
The sun conveyed this message to its rays With utmost ease can cross the swollen
ʺWhat wonder great, the change of nights and sea.
days! The harp whose music warmth to gathering
You have been rambling since aeons in lent
space, The plectrum alien is with force quite spent.
But hate among men is increasing pace. The Brahman guards the fane and
To shine on sand affords no pleasure sound, sleeps at gate,
Nor peace, like breeze in making flowerʹs The Muslim in mosqueʹs niche bewails
round. his fate.
Be lost in fount of light that gave you Donʹt shun the East, nor look on West with
birth, scorn,
Forsake the park, the waste, the roof Since Nature yearns for change of night to
and earthʺ. morn.
(2) HOPE
The rays rise from every nook of space, With courage great a war I wage
Make haste to take the sun in fond embrace. ʹGainst evils of the present age:
Loud roar persists, there canʹt be light I do not bear a fighterʹs name,
in West, To chieftainship I lay no claim.
For smoke makes West enrobed in able I am not conscious ʹbout this fact
vest. If it is verse or other tact:
Though East is not bereft of inner light, God has bestowed on me since long
Yet quiet of tomb prevails like Celestial His praise, reflection, charm and song.
Height. The flood of light that makes its show
O sun that light the world keep us in On true and faithful Muslimʹs brow:
mind, With grandeur same is quite replete
Hide us in breast so bright and kind. That fills beingʹs soul and makes complete.
You do not call it unbelief,
No less it is than disbelief: GHAZAL
That truthful man may get content
I With today, for change show no intent. O fearless wave, at bed
Donʹt grieve, for millenniums and aeons Of river gems are found.
more What are the gifts of coast?
Still lie ahead for man in store: There dust and thorns abound.
The ever spinning heaven blue The temper of lightning flash
Is not devoid of planets new. That darts, my spark contains,
But still your bed of reeds
EAGER GLANCE
Is moist and sap retains.
Contents of soul this world can not conceal,
The age in which you live
For every mote has longing to reveal:
Is influenced by you:
The course of life somewhat distinct appears,
To spheres that ever spin,
If eager looks and sight become corn‐peers.
It can no way be due.
The members of a subject race
By dint of glance, its gloss and grace, I have come ʹcross in life
Have acquired the right and claim Men with such craze and pluck;
To rule and get renown and fame. They could darn with much ease
The glance has might to cause defeat, The rents produced by Luck.
It has the strength, its foes to beat: That man is toper fine,
We see through glance great charm and grace, Who owes, no debt to wine:
It brings the lovers face to face. Such men are very few,
Through self‐same glance my craze They raise no cry or hue.
imparts
To motes and their most inner parts, The East has taverns still
The wont and mode of wandering Where you can find such wine,
tramps, Which makes perception dull
Who pay no heed to need of camps. With grandeur gleam and shine.
If fervent glance and vision keen Men with vision bright
You have not met or ever seen; For West have hope so slight:
Your being is a source of shame The hearts of West arenʹt chaste
On heart, and sight can bring a blame. For actions good havenʹt taste.
BEING
TO THE ARTISTS O man, your stay and show beneath the sky,
Sun, moon and Jupiter shine their hour; Is short and brief, like spark, that parts from
Your self burns on, fed by Love’s power. flame:
Your creed knows nothing of race or hue: Who can make man detect this fact so clear
No credit in white or black, or blue! That being of man enjoys high rank and
Where selfhood droops, doubts fight ding‐dong; name?
Where it blooms—a world of verse and song! If craftsmanship of man is quite devoid
If your soul rot under slavery’s blight, Of gift and tact the self to form and
Your art an idolater’s soulless rite; frame,
If sense of your own greatness sway you, Alas! such art and music of the flute
Legions of men and Jinn obey you! Are naught but source of much
disgrace and shame.
[Translated by V.G. Kiernan] Schools and taverns can no morals teach
Save the fact that you do not exist: THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT
Learn ʹto beʹ for you too are a fact,
Besides, your ego thus shall long subsist. The quiet environs of this waste
Whose intense heat scalds the heart:
MELODY In forming only dunes of sand
Nature has displayed its Art.
Whence does the zest of liquor come
The grandeur of these pyramids
In mournful tune of hollow reed:
Puts lofty heavens to disgrace
Is its main‐spring the playerʹs heart,
What hand did build, design and
Or does it from the pipe proceed?
frame,
What is the source of heartʹs great might,
They seem attired in lasting grace?
Wherefore to rapture it is prone:
Set your craftsmanship quite free
How does it topple with a glance
From Natureʹs chains that bind it tight
The firm and mighty Achamenian
For men endowed with gift of craft
throne?
Arenʹt prey, of hunters need no fright.
Why does the heart bestow fresh life
On nations on verge of decline: CREATIONS OF ART
Why do its states have constant change,
Are points that no one can divine? The craftsmen by their tact have built
Why is it that in eyes of man Such works that Eden jealous make:
On whom God has bestowed a heart, The eyes endowed with sight can see
The realms of Syria, Rome and Rayy States hid that stir the heart and rake.
Are fake effects in the mart? There is no self nor usual change
The day the minstrel grasps this point Of morn and night at all is found
Which is hid in depths of heart, The Muslims have got rid entire
Take it for granted, you have traversed Of combats and shun such a round.
All the stages required by art. Ali! the infidel poor still
Pays homage to his idols old
BREEZE AND DEW Though their broken state he knows,
Yet on him they retain their hold.
BREEZE You are a corpse and your art
I could not find access to tracts The leader of your funeral rite
Where stars like pendent lamps do shine: In pitch dark bed‐room of the grave,
Tearing vest of tulips and the rose Of life the fellow catches sight.
Was main and foremost duty mine.
I feel an inner urge so great IQBAL
To bid farewell to home and depart: In Eden Sinai to Rumi told
For joyful songs of nightingale, That people living in the East,
No zeal or zest to me impart. Still eat their bread and beans from begging
O dew, Godʹs will has made you know cups
Full well, both park and heavens high: They have not made progress least.
What is more precious in your eyes, Hallaj relates that thus at last
The dust of park or dome of sky? A man in India has appeared,
Who with efforts firm and strong,
DEW
The webs that hid the self has cleared.
If thorns and straws of worldly mead
To cause a tension in you fail, [Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah]
Then bear in mind, this lonely park,
For heavenʹs dome is like a veil.
FINE ARTS Where does the cause or tumults lie?
He knows the world of requital well,
O people with observing eyes, His maxims with much wisdom swell,
A taste for observation is a good things, but “Opinion ʹbout world you can derive,
What good is observation if it does not see Adam dead, Satan still alive!ʺ
The inwardness of things?
The aim of art should be to generate RUMI
A vital flame that never dies.
Your half‐shut eyes still fail to see
What use is a mere momentary spark?
What subtle fact this life may be.
What good, O rain‐drop, if you do not agitate
Too meek to have a fondling will,
The bosom of the sea,
Devoid of qiam your worship still.
And are content to be
For songs of Rumi you havenʹt ears sharp,
A pearl lodged in a mother‐of‐pearl’s womb?
Snapped the strings of your selfʹs harp.
What good a breath of morning breeze,
Whether as poet’s verse or singer’s air, NEWNESS
If it can only make the garden wilt?
If you behold the world with gaze much
O never without miracles do people rise;
bright,
What good is art that does not have
Of you the sky may beg morning light.
The impact of the rod of Moses?
The sun may beg light from gleam of
[Translated by M. Hadi Husain] your spark
Your Luck may shine, from moonʹs
DAWN IN THE GARDEN
brow, mark!
FLOWER
The sea may swell with lustrous waves of
Perhaps you fancied gems,
My land is far off, sky‐herald! Put world to shame with art that from you
No, it is not far. stems.
You beg and borrow thoughts of othersʹ
DEW brains,
But only laboring wings Find approach to self, donʹt take much
Prove earth not far from heaven! pains!
DAWN
MIRZA BEDIL
Softly as morning, Is it a fact or delusion mere
Not trampling its dewdrop pearls, Which has been caused by erring eye:
Enter this garden. Do earth, hills, deserts vast exist,
Clasp hill and desert, yet still And is there any azure sky?
Catch in your hands the sky’s robe. Some aver that they do exist,
[Translated by V.G. Kiernan] Whereas some call their being untrue;
O God, it is very hard to find
KHAQANI To truth or falsehood certain clue.
Khaqani, the author of Tuhfatularaqain, Bedil resolved this tangled knot
Is dear to those who truths can scan. With so much skill and manner nice,
His wisdom is so sharp and keen, Though sages and wise men of the past
From truths he can remove the screen. To undo this skein had no device.
With world of meanings he is free: ʺIf heart of man were vast enough,
They dare not say ʺyou can not seeʺ. This mead would have retained no
Ask him what does this world imply, trace
Some wine has overflowed the brim, O God, you shall last and the cry
Because the flask had narrow space.ʺ ʺGod is Great,ʺ uttered with much force.
The song that jurists of the self
GRANDEUR AND GRACE Deem lawful in their mystic creed,
With Hyderʹs might and brawn Has been expecting since a long
I feel myself content A bard, who can acquit indeed.
I wish you joy of wit,
UNLAWFUL MUSIC
To you by Plato lent.
This is the charm and grace My remembrance lacks the warmth
In view of mine and sight And zeal that mystics oft attain:
That heavens too prostrate My thought is not a scale at all
Before much main and might. For deeds deserving need or pain.
Without great majestic height I wish that jurist of the town,
Grace is not of much use: Who knows the rules that Prophet
Song is mere puff of breath, taught
If rapture canʹt produce. And is adept at Book revealed,
I would not go to hell To my own point of view be brought.
Whose fire is dull and tame: If in the music or its strains
To suffer for my sins The message of decease is hid
I like a rearing flame. Such music of harp, reed and lute
In view of mine is quite forbid.
THE PAINTER
FOUNTAIN
The death of fancy is so widely spread
That men of Pers and Ind by Franks are led. To own the flow of brook
I feel sad that Behzads of modern time And meander on the earth
Have lost Eastʹs rapture sweet and joy In gaze of mine hasnʹt charm
sublime. And canʹt endow with mirth.
O artist, of your talents I can tell, O dear young man, divert
You know the ancient crafts and new so well. A bit aside your eye:
You have portrayed many a natural sight, The water of the fount
Display your self in Natureʹs mirror bright. By innate force surges high.
LAWFUL MUSIC THE POET
The bass and treble of minstrelʹs song In lands of East, the bed of reeds
Much joy to human heart imparts: For pipe, the breath of minstrel needs;
What is the use of pleasure that O poet, let me this much know,
Is eʹer on wings and soon departs? ʺIf you have breath in breast, or no?
That melodious song is still unborn If nationʹs self grows too much weak
And is concealed in heavenʹs breast, By chains of bondage and much meek,
Whose intense heat may transform It need not hear the Persian strains,
The solid stars to liquid form. For these will only add to pains.
A song that may have such results If flask of glass shines like the day,
Which set men free from grief and pain, Or is a pitcher made from clay:
And makes Ayaz break slavish oAnd learn Like sharpness of a sword of steel
like kings to rule and reign. To palate must its relish feel.
Perplexing maze of moon and stars There is no land or home on earth
May flop down, leave their course: Beneath this spinning azure dome,
Where one without great stress and In midst of surging throng,
strain He keeps aloof for long:
The thrones of Jam and Kai may gain. Like lamp, he lights the hall,
On Loveʹs way numerous Mounts Sinai But has not mate at all.
appear Faqr can like sun of morn
God manifests Himself so clear, With light the mead adorn:
May stage of Love for ever last Its speech is frank and free,
And may not come to end too fast! Though meanings tenuous be.
Its views vary with the rest,
It deems them right and best;
PERSIAN POETRY Its innate slates unknown
To mystics with renown.
The Persian Muse is mirthsome and heart‐
easing, NEW WORLD
No whetstone for the sword‐edge of the self.
Decrees of Fate are not concealed
Better the song‐bird of the dawn be still,
From man whose heart throbbing seems:
Than by her notes lull flowerland into
He sees the image of new World
languor.
In slumberous state, during dreams.
What use the patient axe that hews through
When prayer call at early morn
mountains
Transports him to Morpheusʹ domain,
Yet leaves Parvez and his proud throne
He tries to build the world beheld
unscathed?
With utmost might and utmost main.
This is an age, Iqbal, for craving flint:
The body of the dreamt of world
From all glass‐wares they show you, turn away.
Is made from his handful clay:
INDIA’S ARTISTS ʹʹGod is Great!ʺ his slogan shrill that can
The role of soul for new world play.
Their opinions bury love and enthusiasm,
In their dark ideas is the tomb of nations. INVENTION OF NEW MEANINGS
In their temples they carve symbols of death,
It is a gift by God bestowed
The art of such Brahmins is disgusted with
To coin fresh words with meanings new;
life.
Yet skilful artist must work hard,
They conceal high goals from view;
As inborn trend is owned by few.
They put the spirit to slumber and awaken the
It is the heat in masonʹs blood
body.
Who builds structures of various forms:
The senses of the poor Indian poets, painters
It may be Behzadʹs picture hall,
And literary writers are obsessed by woman.
Or house of wine where Hafiz charms.
[Translated by Jan Marek] Without resort to incessant strife
No skill or art completion gains:
THE GREAT MAN
If Farhad does not hew the rocks,
His contempt has no bound No sparks flash, dark his house remains!
His Loveʹs depth none can sound:
His wrath on men of God
MUSIC
Is tempered in manner odd. A song that fails to make your face
Nurtured in mimicryʹs gloom, Glimmer and glow with joy and glee,
To tread like sheep his doom; Shows that minstrelʹs blood is cold,
But he is much inclined His heart of heat and warmth is free.
To creative bent of mind. That player on the flute who has
A conscience much defiled, impure, Whereas plaints breed more guile and
With puff of breath can make a tune groan.
Replete with poison which hasnʹt cure.
I have visited the meads in East
And West, where tulips parks adorn; DANCING
But I have not beheld a park
To Europe leave the dance of serpent limb:
Where tulips have their collars torn.
The prophet’s power is born of the spirit’s
ZEST FOR SIGHT dance.
That breeds the craving flesh, the sweating
How lofty was that Chinese’s self
palm,
Who for crime was condemned to death.
This breed the race of pilgrim and prince.
On eve of his beheading, he
Asked headsman, ʺStop for a span of breath!ʺ [Translated by V.G. Kiernan]
He asked for stoppage many times,
For it was very pleasant scene:
He wished to see for moments few
The swordʹs great‐glimmer, glow and
sheen. POLITICS OF THE EAST
AND THE WEST
VERSE
I do not know the mysteries of poetry. COMMUNISM
This point, however, is clear from the nation’s
From wont and ways of nations all
history.
These facts so clear with ease I learn,
That poetry which is a message of eternal life
The Russians seem to be in haste
Is Gabriel’s song or Israfil’s trumpet‐call.
To gain the goal for which they yearn.
[Translated by M. Hadi Husain] The world is red tip with the modes
That arenʹt in vogue and are outworn;
DANCE AND MUSIC My intellect, that was tame and mild
The souls of Satan and Gabriel too Much pert and insolent has grown.
From verse derive effulgence strong, These mysteries which the greed of man
For dance and music both provide Had kept in veils of stuff so coarse
Pathos and rapture for the throng. Are step by step emerging now
A Chinese sage has thus disclosed And coming forth by dint of force.
The secrets implied in this art: O Muslim, dive deep in the Book,
ʺAs if verse is musicʹs soul Which was revealed to Prophetsʹ Seal;
And dance performs bodyʹs part.ʺ May God, by grace on you bestow
Politeness, for good deeds much zeal!
DISCIPLINE The fact concealed in words so far,
It is the mode of worldly men ʺSpend what is surplus and is spare,ʺ
Against the world to whine and groan; May come to light in modern age
It does not suit a dervish true, And make the meanings clear and bare.
By Fate‐inflicted wounds to moan. [Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah]
The wise old man explained to me,
This subtle point in closet alone:
That control on self daring shows,
THE VOICE OF KARL MARX EUROPE AND THE JEWS
Your chessmatch of research and erudition— Unbridled luxury, State pomp and pride,
Your comedy of debate and disputation!— Rich commerce; but to dwell inside
The world has no more patience left to watch That lampless breast all tranquil thoughts
This comedy of threadbare speculation. refuse.
What after all, sapient economists, Dark is the white man’s country with the
Is to be found in your biblification? grime
A comedy of your nicely‐flowing curves, Of engines, no valley that might see
A sort of Barmecidal invitation. Splendour descending on a burning tree;
In the idolatrous shrines of the Occident, A civilization sick before its prime,
Its pulpits and its seats of education, At its least gasp—leaving maybe
Greed and its murderous crimes are masked For caretakers of Christendom, the Jews.
under
Your knavish comedy of cerebration.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SLAVES
REVOLUTION
There are poets, there are scholars, and there
Death to man’s soul is Europe, death is Asia
are sages—
To man’s will; neither feels the vital current.
A nation’s days of slavery are not uneventful!
In men’s hearts stir a revolution’s torrent;
But every one of them—poor creatures!—has
Maybe our old world is nearing death.
a single goal,
FLATTERY Though each is unique in the ideas he
expounds:
The versed in this world’s business I am not, ‘Better teach the lion to take flight like a deer,
There are shrewd folk who always know So that the legend of the lion’s courage is
what’s what. forgotten!’
Swim with the tide, flatter Their Excellencies They seek to make the slaves feel at ease with
Of the new dispensation that commences! their slavery,
Would it be more vicarious, or—polite, Pretending to ‘expound and reason things
I wonder, to call an owl ‘the falcon of the out’.
night’?
[Translated by Mustansir Mir]
GOVERNMENT JOBS
BOLSHEVIK RUSSIA
One hermit’s eyes grew wet with watching
how you fell, Unsearchably God’s edicts move; who knows
Poor Muslim, under England’s spell. What thoughts are stirring up deep in the
God give you joy of those high offices, to taste world‐mind!
Whose sweets you laid your own soul Those are appointed to pull down, who lately
waste! Held it salvation to protect, the priests;
But there’s a thing you cannot, try as you will, On godless Russia the command descends:
disguise Smite all the Baals and Dagons of the Church!
From any knowing pair of eyes:
TO‐DAY AND TO‐MORROW
No slave is given a partnership in England’s
reign— No claim to the future, its joy or sorrow,
She only wants to buy her brain. Has he in whose soul no hot passion burns
now;
Unworthy the tumult and strife of tomorrow
That nation to whole will to‐day does not bow.
THE EAST TO THE EGYPTIANS
The poppy heard my song and tore her None other than the Sphinx, the Dread One,
mantle; lord
The morning breeze is still in dearch of a Of the secrets of old times, taught me this:
garden. Strength
Ill lodged in Ataturk or Reza Shah, That in one hour can swerve the fates of
The soul of the East is still in search of a body. nations
This thing I am may merit chastisement; Admits no puzzling intellect for rival,
Only—the world is still in search of a gibbet. Though many in each age are its
manifestations—
STATESMANSHIP OF THE FRANKS Now Moses’ rod, and now Muhammad’s
Thy rival, God! The Frankish statecraft is, sword.
Though none but rich and great join in its
ABYSSINIA
worship.
One sole Archfiend didst Thou from flame (18th August, 1935)
make: it
Those vultures of the West have yet to learn
Has formed from dust two hundred thousand
What poisons lurk in Abyssinia’s corpse,
fiends.
That rotting carcass ready to fall in pieces.
Civilization’s zenith, nadir of virtue;
MASTERSHIP In our world pillage is the nation’s trade,
Each wolf aprowl for inoffensive lambs.
The present age is really the same old age:
It is either the men of prayer or the politicians Woe to the shining honour of the Church,
who are in charge. Neither the miracles of For Rome has shivered it in the market‐place!
those men of prayer Sharp‐clawed, oh Holy Father, is the truth.
Nor the power of government is the reason
SATAN TO HIS POLITICAL OFFSPRING
for it
For centuries the people have been used to Enmesh in politics the Brahmin—from
slavery. Their ancient altars the twice‐born expel!
There is no difficulty about being a master The man who famine‐racked still fears no
When the people are entrenched deep in death—
slavery. Muhammad’s spirit from his breast expel!
With Frankish daydreams fill Arabia’s
ADVICE TO SLAVES brain—
The wisdom of the East and West Islam from Yemen and Hijaz expel!
Has taught me something that will prove The Afghan reveres in religion: take this
elixir to slaves: cure—
Whether it is religion or philosophy, poverty His teachers from their mountain‐glens expel!
or kingship – Iqbal’s breath fans the poppy into flame—
All take firm beliefs as their base. Such minstrels from the flower‐garden expel!
The words that a nation speaks are dead and
AN EASTERN LEAGUE OF NATIONS
its actions are futile
If its heart is bereft of firm beliefs. Conquered the waters,
Conquered the air—
[Translated by Mustansir Mir]
Why should old heaven
Changed look not wear?
Europe’s imperialists You have watched my lust for conquest and
Dreamed—but their dream dominion with a frown—
Soothsayers soon may But have you not knocked the brittle walls of
Read a new way! feeble countries down?
Asia’s Geneva To whose empires is that clever piece of
Let Tehran be— trickery so dear,
Earth’s book of fate new By which royal seats survive but kings and
Statues may see. kingdoms disappear.
We, the children of the Caesars, strove to
EVERLASTING MONARCHY water heath and sand—
A diver after pearls Nature made me, You could never bear to leave untaxed the
Though wary of the abysses of the State. earth’s most barren land!
Whomever its legerdemain may captivate, You have plundered tents of nomads of the
She sets a term to every monarchy; little wealth they own,
Farhad’s hill‐hewing labour still lives on, You have plundered peasants ploughlands,
Parvez’ conquering might is dead and gone. you have plundered crown and throne—
And that looting and that killing—in a
civilized way—
DEMOCRACY Yesterday you, you defended! I defend it now
to‐day.
A certain European 6 revealed a secret,
Although the wise do not reveal the core of [Translated by V.G. Kiernan]
the matter.
TUTELAGE
Democracy is a certain form of government in
which It is not hard to find in present age
Men are counted but not weighed. The place which needs cultureʹs angelic sage.
Where dice and drink are both by law
[Translated by Jan Marek]
forbid,
EUROPE AND SYRIA And women keep their bodies fully
hid.
This land of Syria gave the West a Prophet
Although my body has a deep restless heart,
Of purity and pity and innocence;
Yet forbearsʹ wont no disgust can impart.
And Syria from the West as recompense
Although deprived of schoolʹs
Gets dice and drink and troops of prostitutes.
beneficial fount,
MUSSOLINI On Bedouin’s wit and courage we can
count.
(To his rivals east and west) The wise ʹmong Franks this verdict
What, are crimes like Mussolini’s so unheard declare,
of in this age? Of culture Arab lands are fully bare.
Why should they put Europe’s goodies into [Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah]
such a silly rage?
Need the pot feel so indigent when the kettle COMPLAINT
wears a blot?
What is poor India’s fate ‐who knows? ‐ for
We are Culture’s twin utensils—I the kettle,
up till now
you the pot.
It has been a glittering jewel in some crown!
Its peasant is a corpse that some grave has
disgorged –
6 Iqbal’s footnote—Stendhal.
The corpse’s tattered shroud is still inside the ADVICE
ground; A Frankish Lord advised his son to seek
His soul and his body are in pawn: Such aim that is always pleasant, neʹer bleak.
Alas, neither the residence nor the resident If lionʹs temper is to lamb revealed,
survives! It will entirely make its blood
It is you who became the willing slave of congealed.
Europe: Much good if regal point remains in heart:
My complaint is against you, it is not against In dominating men sword plays no part.
Europe! Pour the self in cultureʹs acid strong;
[Translated by Mustansir Mir] When it becomes soft, mould it as you
long.
SECULAR POLITICS On this elixir’s efficacy you can count:
No truth from me can hide at all its face, To heap of dust can change a mighty
God gave me heart awake and wise, through mount!
grace. A PIRATE AND ALEXANDER
In my view statesmanship cut off from
creed, ALEXANDER
Is Satanʹs slave, has no qualms, but low Is your retribution shackles or cold steel?
breed. Your violence on high seas all sailors feel!
By quitting Church, Europe has freedom
gained: PIRATE
This statesmanship is like a giant unchained. Alas! Alexander, you deem it void of
When their eyes on some weak domain blame,
alight, Do men of same craft bear each other
Their Priests as vanguard act to wage the shame?
fight. Your craft is blood‐shed and my craft the
same,
We are both bandits, in diverse fields play
CIVILIZATION’S CLUTCHES the game!
Iqbal has no doubt of Europe’s humaneness: [Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah]
she
LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Sheds tears for all peoples groaning beneath
oppression; She’s been at her last gasp, poor wretch, for
Her reverend churchmen furnish her liberally days
With wiring and bulbs for moral illumination. (May telling ill news not bring ill news to
And yet, my heart burns for Syria and me!)—
Palestine, Yet though her fate seems sealed, the Church
And finds for this knotty puzzle no still prays
explanation— Her fate may be averted. Well, maybe
Enlarged from the ‘savage grasp’ of the Turk, After all the Old Man of Europe’s drab will
they pine, rally
Poor things, in the clutches now of A few days longer, with the devil for ally!
‘civilization.’
SYRIA AND PALESTINE In whom the love of high deeds burns and
forges
Heaven’s blessing on those brazen Frenchmen The nations and their laws; but that fire never
shine! Touches the bondman’s limbs, whose nights
Aleppo’s rare glass brims with their red wine. and days
—If the Jew claims the soil of Palestine, Stand still under an interdict. If our
Why not the Arab Spain? Some new design Prostrations are long‐drawn, why should you
Must have inflamed our English potentates; wonder?
This is no story of oranges, honey or dates. —God teach His ministers in India
POLITICAL LEADERS A way of worship that shall be to all
His people an evangel of new life!
On political leaders what hopes can we fix?
They are wedded to dust, in the dust play [Translated by V.G. Kiernan]
their tricks, TO THE PALESTINIAN ARABS
Their gaze always fastened on maggots and
flies, I know the fire that burns throughout your
A web like the spider’s their ladder to rise. frame,
That caravan’s happy whose chief is endowed The lands of world still fear its scorching
With thoughts light as angels’, and temper as flame.
proud. Your cure in Geneva or London you
canʹt trace,
[Translated by V.G. Kiernan] Wind‐pipe of Franks is gripped by
PSYCHOLOGY OF BONDAGE Jewish race.
I know that subject nations freedom gain,
The causes that make the nations sick If they would nourish self, display its
Are quite obscure, too vague and fine: main.
Although some man may try his best,
Yet cause in full he can’t define. [Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah]
The chiefs and guides of slaves have sunk THE EAST AND THE WEST
So low that it seems so much odd:
If mode of lions is presented to them, Slavery, slavishness, the root of our
They will see naught save guile and fraud. Disease; of theirs, that Demon holds all
If a Moses forms a secret league power;
With the Pharaoh of his time: Heart‐malady or brain‐malady has oppressed
For his nation such like‐Moses Man’s whole world, sparing neither East nor
Is curse, committing dreadful crime. West.
[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah] PSYCHOLOGY OF POWER
SLAVES’ PRAYER (The ‘Reforms’)
‘Why do your priests,’ said to me after This pity is the pitiless fowler’s mask;
prayers All the fresh notes I sang—of no avail!
A Turkish hero of the faith, ‘drag out Now he drops withered flowers in our cage,
Their genuflexions so?’—He little knew, as though
That free‐born Muslim, that plain warrior, To reconcile his jailbirds to their jail.
What kind of thing slaves’ prayers are! In this [Translated by V.G. Kiernan]
world
A thousand tasks lie ready for the free,
4
REFLECTIONS OF MIHRAB
This wily heaven, the moon and the sun
GUL AFGHAN Are all moving, fatigued and exhausted.
Like a lightning Alexander struck,
But met a sudden death!
1
Nadir plundered Delhi’s wealth:
My hills and dales! Where can I go, leaving Mere sword’s display and that’s all.
everything behind? Afghans remain and so are the mountains:
The dust and bones of my ancestors lie Sovereignty and kingdom are only God’s.
scattered here and everywhere. Need makes free men into servitors,
You had been the rendezvous of hawks and Need changes lions into foxes.
falcons since eternity, When faqr gains khudi,
Unaware of the rose and tulip, and songs of You become a king as well as I.
nightingale. The destiny of nations depends on a dervish
My paradise lies in serpentine roads: Who does not covet the favor of kings.
Your soil smells like amber and water shines
5
like crystal.
One accustomed to pigeons and doves can These schools and games, this continuing
hardly be like a hawk. uproar,
For the sake of body, how can I kill my soul? This spectacle of excessive delights hides ever
O my jealous faqr! Which would you prefer: new griefs.
Englishman’s robes or tattered clothes? That knowledge is a poison for free people,
Which ends in winning two handfuls of
2
barley.
Tribes have been ever fighting among O fool, there is nothing in letters and
themselves, philosophy,
In Heaven’s eyes, none of us is dear. Art and skill demand hard labor from you.
Dive deep into the self and don’t despair of A man of skill controls the working of Nature,
Time, His nights are brighter than mornings.
Its afflictions tend to strengthen you. Through his art, if he so wishes,
You alone shall be unique and incompatible Light can drip from the body of the sun as
in the world, dew.
If you accept whole‐heartedly the motto:
6
“None is associated with Him.”
He who creates in this world of Becoming,
3
Time revolves around him in all ages.
Your destiny can’t be changed though Don’t spoil your khudi through imitation of
prayers; others,
Maybe you are changed thereby. Protect it, for it is of incomparable worth.
If revolution takes place in your self, May the message of modernism be auspicious
Possibly this space and time may change. for the people
The same wine and the same tumult may Whose mental horizon does not go beyond
continue, nightly revelries.
The ways of the saki and the cup may change. But I fear this cry for modernism
You pray that your desire be fulfilled, Becomes a cover for Frankish imitation.
I pray that your desire be changed.
7 Those waiting for the bugle‐call are not ready
for the journey,
People of Rome and Syria have changed and
The pupil in schools looks alive; nay, he is
so have those of India;
dead;
You, the son of mountains! Learn to know
He had borrowed his breath from the Franks.
your khudi.
If you wish to nourish your heart
Learn to know your khudi,
You need only the stray look of a man of faith.
O careless Afghan!
10
Weather is favourable, water plenty and soil
fertile, That young man is the light of the eye of the
He is no true farmer if he does not work in the tribe,
fields. Whose youth is without blemish, and blow is
Learn to know your khudi, deadly.
O careless Afghan! In battles he is fiercer than wild lions,
In peace, he is like a beautiful Tartar gazelle.
If its waves don’t fret and fume, it isn’t river;
Nothing strange if his ecstasy is contagious,
If the winds are not violent, it isn’t storm.
A single spark is enough for a garden.
God has given him kingly pomp
O careless Afghan!
For his faqr has impetuosity and valour like
He who discovers himself in soul after a hard Ali’s.
labour, Don’t look down upon his poverty:
Is far better than kings and monarchs. This poor man has pride of place among us
Learn to know your khudi, all.
O careless Afghan!
11
Your lack of knowledge has saved the honour
The lamp that once lighted your nights
of all ignorant people;
Can again come to life and illumine your
The learned are bertering away their faith.
days.
The man lacking in spirit alone complains of
O careless Afghan!
the times,
8 Fate’s lancet is an antidote for the free man.
The crow cavils that your wings are ill‐ That young man is not fit for life’s struggle
looking, Who is lulled to sleep by bird’s songs.
The bat calls you blind and skill‐less. I am afraid of your childish nature;
But O falcon! These pariahs among the birds The sweet‐sellers of Europe are too clever!
of the desert 12
Are unaware of the nooks and corners of the
Secularism and Latin script! What a
blue heaven.
meaningless controversy!
What they know of the experiences of a bird
The panacea for the weak is: Naught is
Whose soul, while in flight, is all sight!
powerful except God.
9 Those interested in spirit are despaired of
Love is not by nature ignoble like lust; Europe;
You can’t expect flight of a fly from falcon’s The atmosphere there is pleasant but its deer
wings. is without musk.
The way of the garden can be changed thus: Khudi hardly becomes strong without
The nightingales should grow sick of their morning tears:
nests like a cage.
This arrow‐shaped tulip can well grow by the Otherwise, O believer, you are a warner and
riverside. bearer of tidings.
This old tavern, the world of smell and
16
colour,
Is the hunter of the unbeliever but the prey of It is death for the nations to be cut off from
the believer. the Centre;
O Shaykh, get these rich people out of the When khudi maintains this connection,
mosque! becomes powerful as God.
The niche is sour‐faced at their prayers! Faqr that complains of straitended
circumstances,
13
Savours of begging‐profession.
To me this world appears topsy‐turvy; Even today the man of God can show the
I don’t know what you feel about it. miracle
Every heart is experiencing a Resurrection, That can change a mountain into a mote!
Nothing strange if the young are feeling O true believer! Where art thou?
confused. Without your ecstasy, there is no joy in the
Old man of the harem, your morning prayers struggle.
Can hardly bring the dead to life without bold O Sun! Come out from behind the curtain of
exploits. the East,
These monasteries can’t help in the Adorn my hills with your purple‐coloured
development of the khudi, rays.
No spark can fall from half‐choked flames.
17
Without the boldness of an outspoken man,
Love is deceit and fraud; One man of certitude among millions
Love that enjoys power is the hand of God. Can set afire all old and young.
A wayfarer for whom the difficulties of the Seldom is born a man in this world
path Whose faqr can transmute earth into gold.
Are like traveling provisions, is scarce these Write your destiny with your own hand;
days. God’s pen has written nothing in your book
O man of the plains! Don’t be surprised; of fate.
Solitude of the mountains produces sense of This bluish heaven which people call sky,
self‐awareness. Is nothing if you are daring enough.
This world is mere story, that world is often It is sky if it is above your head;
sung about, If it is under your wings, it becomes earth.
True kingdom is to set aside both the worlds. 18
15 Sher Shah Suri has so well said:
The story of man is a witness to the truth: The distinction of tribes is the cause of all
O wayfarer! The way of faqr is not difficult. ruin.
Steel that develops the character of silk Waziris and Mahsuds are names dearest to
Ceases to be suitable for the sword. heart;
When faqr is not self‐reliant, it becomes God’s Alas! They feel no pride in being Afghans.
wrath, The Muslims of the mountains are divided
When it is self‐reliant, it is forerunner of into thousand tribes,
kingship. And every tribe has its own idol.
The Franks have made you forgetful of The same sanctuary is filled with Lat and
yourself, Manat;
May God grant you power to break them all.
19 20
True sight is not that distinguishes between The man of the desert of the mountains
red and purple, Alone can further the purposes of Nature.
True sight is not dependent upon the sun and He is the critic of the culture that casts spell
the moon. all around,
The destination of the believer is beyond the His faqr is the first step to kingship.
Frankish horizon; Why this beauty and charm, why that power
Take courage, it is not the end of your and majesty?
journey. The nightingale of the garden and the hawk
The taverns of the West are open for all: of the desert!
The ecstasy of the new learning is not a sin. O Shaykh! The atmosphere in the school is so
The exhilaration will lead you death pleasant,
If you do not have the burning of la ilah. But only in deserts are people like Faruq and
Will the great Sirdar listen to my feeble voice? Salman born.
I am only a dervish lacking in worldly The rapturous wine of a Muslim is as keen as
honour. a sword,
Its rival is hardly born after centuries.
[Translated by Bashir Ahmad Dar]

The Rod of Moses

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