Notes on Iqbal: Jawab-e-Shikwa

Notes on Iqbal

Warning: This is not a scholarly blog on Iqbal. Rather, this is blog is for those who like me, may have heard of Iqbal but never really understood what all the fuss was about.

Knowledge of Urdu while helpful is not necessary.

My aim is to introduce Iqbal to you much the same way my mom introduced him to me in our kitchen before I started going to school.

She would recite poems from Iqbal while I she made breakfast for the family. She would then translate all the difficult words in easy Urdu. Then recite the poem again, thereby decoding Iqbal for a five year old.

I plan to do much the same, except I will attempt to provide you with English words, which I feel, are close enough to the original Urdu or Persian words. Please note, I am not claiming to translate the words or the verse. That I feel is a task for a linguist scholar, which I am not.

My goal is to convey the broad meaning of what I think Iqbal is saying. Through this blog, I hope to share with you the passion, the thought, and the beauty of Iqbal's poems and verses.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Jawab-e-Shikwa: Selected Verses 2

Munfe-ut aik hai iss Qaum ke , Nuksan bhi aik
Aik hi sub ka nabhi(sm), den bhi, edema bhi aik

Harm-e-Pak bhi, Allah bhi, Quran bhi aik
Kuch baree baat thi hootay jo musalman bhi aik

Firqah bundee hai kahin aur kahin zaatein hein
Kiya zamaney mein panupney ki yehi baatein hain?

Meaning of selected words.

Munfe-ut: Benefit, gain

Punupney: To flourish or become successful.

The gain and loss of this nation is one
The Prophet(sm), the religion, the faith is one

The Kaaba, the Allah, the Quran is one
Is it too much to ask that all Muslims be one?

Divided into clans here and casts there
Is this any way to flourish in this world?

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Jawab-e-Shikwa. Selected Verses

Haath Bayzoor hein Illhaad se dil Khoogar hein
Ummati Baais-eh-Ruswai-eh Paighumber (sm) hein

Buut-shikan Ooth ga-yeh baaqi jo rahay Buut-gar hein
Tah Ibraheem (sm) Pidur aur Pisir Aazr hein

Who bhi din thay keh yehi Maya-e-Raanai tha
Nazish-eh-Moasum-eh-Gul-e-Lala-e-Sehraa-ee tha

Jo Musalman tha Allah Ka Soada-ee tha
Kubhi Mahboob tumhara yehi Harjaa-ee tha

Kisi Yukjaa-ee say Ub Ehday Ghulami kar lo
Milat-e-Ahmad(sm) ko maqami kar lo

Illhaad: Kufur, Denial of Allah
Khoogar: Habitual
Buut-Shikan: One who destroys Idol
Buut-Gar: One who makes Idols for worship
Pidur: Father
Pisir: Son
Maya-e-Raanai: Reason to be proud of
Lala-e-Sehra-ee: The Muslims at the beginning of Islam
Yakjaee: Unity
Ehday Ghulami Start believing in Allah