How to Read Iqbal? by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (Draft of Paper to Be Presented at the Iqbal Academy, Pakistan, Lahore: April, 2004)

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How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (Draft of paper to be presented at the Iqbal Academy, Pakistan, Lahore: April, 2004)

Givenasmalltwistofinflection,thequestionmayvery easilybeunderstoodtomean:How can onereadIqbal?The implicationwouldbethatheissuchanuninterestingpoet,how couldonereadhimbychoice?Itistruethatsuchaquestion wouldnotbeaskedbysomeonewhohastheslightestfeelfor theUrdulanguageandtherhythmsofitspoetry.Foreventhe dullestofIqbal’spoemsringsandreverberatesnotjustinthe outerearbutdeepinone’spsycheandsetsup vibrationsof pleasureinone’ssoul.Buttheproblemariseswhenoneismade toreadIqbalnotforpleasure,butforprofit.ForIqbalisalsoa politician’spoet,areligiousthinker’spoet,andaphilosopher’s poetandmuchmorebesides.Iqbalhasearnedalotofpraise andnotalittleblameaswell,forbeingoneotherofthethings mentioned by me above. Itisaninteresting,thoughsadfactofliterarycriticism thatpoliticsseemsnevertohaveleftpoetrytoitsowndevices. Politicianslovetomakeuseofpoetry,butarewiseenoughto leavealonepoetslikeShakespeareandGoethewhomtheycan’t exploitfortheirownpurposes.Literarycriticsarelesswise.They trytoreadpolitics inpoetslikeShakespeareandKeatseven whodidtheirbestnottoprofessanypoliticalcreedandwho made their poems apparently incapable of yielding interpretations that could be converted into political currency. ThatIqbalshould havearoused interestandeven devotionamongpoliticiansand politicalandreligiousthinkers allovertheMuslimworld,andparticularlyinthoseMuslim countriesthatweretryingtocometotermswiththemodernage andhadbeenundercolonialdominationformanylongyears,is How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi quitenatural.ForIqbal’spoetryhasstrongovertonesof modernityandmakes seriouseffortstofindwaysoffruitfully negotiating thepostcoloniallandscapeinsocietyandpolitics withoutlosingwhatheregardedas fundamentalelementsof Islamicreligiousthoughtandsociopoliticalidentity.Hewasalso passionatelyconcernedwiththehistoricrealityofIslamandits losteffectscouldberevivedandperpetuatedinthemodern world.Suchaprojectwasboundtoappealto,andhaveusesfor theMuslimpoliticianaswellastheMuslimsocialpolitical reformer and activist. IntheUrduworld,Iqbalwas andevennowisoften knownbytwoappellatives: sha’ir-emashriq (PoetoftheEast), and hakimulummat (Physicianofthe[Muslim]People,or, Philosopherofthe[Muslim]People.)Itmightinterestingtonote herethatthelaterappellative(hakimulummat )usedtobeandstill isalsoappliedforMaulanaShahAshrafAliThanavi(1863/4- 1943)oneofthetwomostinfluentialSufisandreligious reformersandmentorsoftheMuslimcommunityinSouthAsia duringthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury.Thanaviwasnot muchinterestedinpolitics(thoughhefavouredJinnahandthe MuslimLeague)buthisinfluencecanbeeseenandfeltinthe socialandreligiouslifeofSouthAsianMuslimseventoday.Even thepoliticallifeofMuslimsespeciallyinPakistan,shows Thanavi’s influence through the ulema of that country, particularlythoseoftheDeobandiSchoolwhohaveastrong presence in Pakistan today. Afewmorepointsareworthnotinghereaboutthese appellatives: Iqbal,thephilosopher-activist,politicalandreligious thinker,activeinpoliticsthoughnotafull-timepolitician,was seenbytheMuslimcommunityofSouthAsiaasperformingan ongoing,melioristroleintheMuslimsocietyofhistimewhich wasqualitativelythesamerolethatwasbeingdischargedby AshrafAliThanavi,practicingSufi-intellectual,andreligiousand socialreformer.Thatistosay,hisstatusaspoetnotwithstanding, Iqbalhadanotherniche,ormanyotherniches,inthepolitical lifeandsocietyofthesubcontinent.Butwhatwaslostinthis assessmentwasthefactthatwhateverotherstatusIqbalenjoyed hadbeenconferredonhimbecauseofhisstatusaspoet.Soany literaryconsiderationofIqbalcouldignore,sofarassucha proceedingwaspossible,thephilosophicalorpoliticalcontent of his poetry but could not ignore its literary content. Tobesure,both sha’ir-emashriq and hakimulummat are nowfallingintodesuetude,moreinIndiathaninPakistan.That is,literaryandevennonexpertcirclesdonotnowusethese appellativesfreely.ButthereasonforthisseemstobeIqbal criticismperhapsbelievesitselftohavegrowninsophistication andsubtlety,andtheseappellativesdoseemsimplisticifnot

2 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi naïve.Butareasonfortheirdecliningpopularitywiththe commonreadercouldbethatheisnotallthatexcitedwith Iqbal’sroleas hakim,and mashriq alsohasgrownnowincommon perceptiontomeanmorethanwhatitdidfiveorsixdecades ago. The“East”in sha’ir-emashriq (PoetoftheEast)wasnot seenassubsuminganythingmorethanthesubcontinentand maybeAfghanistanandIran.Similarly,the“Poet”heredidn’t meansomethinglikea“Poet parexcellence”.Itrathersignifieda poetwhosepoetrypresentedandrepresentedthepolitical, intellectualandmaybeevenspiritualaspirationsofthe“East”. Yet,insomesenseIqbalwasalsoseenasthePoetoftheGreater East,thatisAsia.PerhapsIqbalalsosawhimselfasthePoetof theEastand sha’ir-emashriq seemedtoseeinGoethethePoetof theWest(sha’ir-emaghrib),thatis,Europe.Itwasforthislatter reasonthatIqbalcomposed Payam-eMashriq (MessageFromthe East,1923)justasGoethehadsenthisgreetingstotheEast (Iran,inthiscase)throughhis West-ostlicherDivan (Divanofthe EastandWest,1819).Iqbaldescribedhisbookonitstitlepage as“Responseto theGermanPoetGoethe”andwroteinthe Preface: Thepurposeof Payam-eMashriq is…topresentbefore the[people’s]eyesthosemoral,religiousandreligio- nationaltruthswhichrelatetotheinnereducationofthe individuals and peoples.1 ThusIqbalgaveadvanceintimationofhispoetic intentiontothereaderanddesiredthepoemsof Payam-eMashriq tobereadprincipallyifnotsolelyasdidactic-philosophical documents.ThisdidnothelpthecauseofIqbalthepoetandled theuninitiatedstudenttobelievethatthepoemsweresomething likeSana’iGhaznavi’s Hadiqah,whichBrownecharacterized (wrongly,inmyopinion)asthedullestpoemeverwritten.Thus the title “Poet of the East” easily flowed into “Physician/Philosopherofthe[Muslim]People”.Itwouldbe wrong to say that Iqbal connived at this result, but it is quite right tosaythatIqbaloftenprofessedalackofinterestinhispoetry qua poetryandthisencouragedmisreadingsof hispoetry inasmuchasattentionwasconcentratedonIqbal’sphilosophical andreligio-politicalmessagesoastoresultinanearexclusionby literarycriticsofhispoeticcontentandpracticalsuppressionof hisclaimtobetreatedaspoet,aclaim,onemightsaythatis embedded almost everywhere in his poetry. ThedetrimentaleffectsofthissuppressiononIqbalthe poetcanbedemonstratedbyquotingfromtwoimportantworks ofliterarycriticismonIqbal,bothwrittenfromnearlyopposing pointsofview. Aperiodof alittlemorethanfourdecades

1 Payam-e Mashriq, 5th printing, Lahore, 1944, page kaf (=11).

3 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi separatesthetwo.ThefollowingisfromMajnunGorakhpuri (1904-1988),aleadingProgressivecriticofhistimewhowasalso wellknownforhisexpertiseinClassicalUrduandPersian poetry: Iqbal,despitehisoccasionalreactionariness,ancestor- worship,andoccasionallytakingaturninthewrong direction,seemstobetobeapoetofLife,Revolution and Progress.2 SalimAhmad(1927-1983)whomIholdinthegreatest respectandaffectionwasamajormodernpoetandcriticnoted asmuchforeruditionashisbrilliantwit.Hewrotehisbookon Iqbalwiththeavowedpurposeofrehabilitatingthestatusof Iqbalasapoet.HesummedupIqbalthepoetinthefollowing words: ThecentralprobleminIqbalisnorSelf-hood(khudi), nor love (‘ishq ), nor Action ( ‘amal ), nor yet Power and Dynamism(quvvatoharakat ),butratherasopposedtoall these,DeathisIqbal’scentralproblem.Thisisthe problemthatacquaintshisbeingwithatremorand upheavalthatshakeshiswholebeing.Hereliesthe foundationofthatpoeticexperiencewhichgeneratesthe poetic world that is peculiar to Iqbal.3 Needlesstosay,neithercriticdoesjusticetoIqbalbut themainpointisthatbothcriticsjudgeIqbalinnonliterary terms.Poetsofanearlieragearealmostalwaysatriskfrom misreading.ThisistrueparticularlyinthecaseofUrduwhose historysufferedamajorliteraryculturaldiscontinuityinthe middleofthenineteenthcentury. Contemporaryornear contemporarypoetsare rarelymisread.Moreoftenthannot theyprovokebafflementifnotresentment.hegreatProgressive criticEhteshamHusain(1912-1972)oncedescribedIqbalas“a bafflingfigure”becausehefoundunrecocilabledifferencesinthe philosophicalorpolitical positionstakenbyIqbal.But EhteshamHusain’sbafflementisnothingcomparedtothe systematicmisreadingsofIqbalthathaveresultedfromhis“art” beingstudiedseparately,ifatall,fromhis“thought”.Majnun GorakhpurimadenopretenceofjudgingIqbalonliterarymerits. HesatinjudgmentonIqbalasafellowdialecticiananda politicallycommittedstudentoflifeandliterature.Inthespace ofthespaceofthetenortwelveshortpagesthathedevotesto studyingwesterninfluencesonIqbal,MajnunGorakhpuri mentionsGoethe,Nietzsche,Hegel,Bergson,Wordsworth, Heine,Browning,Emerson,Idealism,Voluntarism,Activism, Leibnitz,Theoryofmonads,Dialectics,Marx,Life-force,Rudolf Eichen(Icouldn’tidentifyhim,butMajnunGorakhpuri 2 Majnun Gorakhpuri, Iqbal, Ijmali Tabsira, Gorakhpur, n. d. (circa 1946), p. 106. Capitals added by me, Urdu has no capital letters but the three words here seemed to cry out for capitalization at least in English. 3 Salim Ahmad, Iqbal, Ek S ha’ir, Lahore, 1978, p. 28. The capitalization here is again mine.

4 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi describesas“thefamous hakim (philosopher)ofEurope”)inthat order. SalimAhmadhasnosuchpretensions.Heisbyhis declaredintentionoutonademolitionmission.Hewants to read Iqbal as poet. He says: NinetypercentofallthathasbeenwrittenaboutIqbal sofarconsistsofcommentaryonandexplicationofhis thoughtandhistheories.Suchwritingshavetwo fundamentalfaults:Theydonot,asageneralrule, addressIqbal’spoetry.Theirotherfaultisthatthey presentIqbal’sthoughtasthingsthatarealreadythere, readytouse.Thislatterpointsneedsabitofelucidation. Iqbal’sthought(ifhisthoughtisatallsomethingseparate fromhispoeticpersonality)isapartofhisbeing….We cannotviewhisthoughtashavingexistenceoutsidehis being,andasifIqbalhasusedtheminthesamewayas we can use merchandise that we buy in the market.4 ApartfromthefactthathereSalimAhmadflies dangerouslyclosetoT.S.Eliot’sfalsetheoryof“feltthought”( whichIthinkherepudiatedlater),thepointtobenotedisin spiteofhisgoodintentionsSalimAhmadcan’tdomorethan indulgeinflightsofimpressionistic-phenomenologicalfancyin tryingtotelluswhyhethinksIqbal’s Masjid-eQurtuba isagreat poem: Gradually,wefindourselvesbeingsubmergedinIqbal’s experience….NowitisnotIqbal’sthoughtthatwegain acquaintancewith:wegodownintoIqbal’sheart,andin itsdepthswenowexperienceavitalityoflifethatwehad neverfeltbefore.Inthedepthsofourbeingwebecome morecapableoffeeling,moredisturbed,more alive. Nowthepoem’srhythmsbecometherhythmsofour blood.Andthepoem,percolatingdownfromourhead softensandmeltsourwholebeingandreverberateseven in the soles of our feet.5 Well,alittleofsuchwritingcangoalongway,butweare notnearertoanydemonstrablereasonwhy Masjid-eQurtuba isa greatpoem.If,indetermining“death”tobeIqbal’scentral concernandthereasonforhisgreatness(whichhedeniesisthe case with Masjid-e Qurtuba ), Salim Ahmad was being non-literary, hisrapturesover Masjid-eQurtuba leaveusalittleuncomfortable andpuzzledforhereheisbeingliteraryinasuperficiallybelles altruistic and not in any kind of critical mode. SalimAhmadisnotaloneinhisfailuretotackleIqbal’s greatnessaspoet.Inasomewhatuncharacteristicaccessof malice,orpique,orboth,SalimAhmadwroteinthebeginning

4 Salim Ahmad, Iqbal, Ek S ha’ir, p. 19. 5 Salim Ahmad, Iqbal, Ek S ha’ir, p. 105.

5 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi ofhisbookthat“mostofthosewhowroteonIqbalhavebeen personswhomUrduliteraturedoesn’trecognizewithmuch honourorrespect.”6 Thisisnotquitetrue,forAl-eAhmadSurur (1911-2002)amonggreatestofUrducritics,wroteextensively aboutIqbalandhewasmostlyconcernedwithIqbalthepoet. Yethisproblemwashisinabilityorunwillingnesstomake sustainedandfocusedtextsofliterarycriticism.Hiseclecticism obligedtohimtolookatallpossibleaspectsofapoem,however briefly. Thus the reader was leftwith a multiplicity of impressions.Onereasonforhisnotcastingasearchinganalytical eyeonIqbal’spoetrywasgeregardedthenotionofIqbal’shigh poeticstationasagiven,assomethingneednotbeelaborated toomuch.Thisofcoursewasnotthecase,especiallynotinthe post-1947worldwhenintheyoungpeople’seyesmanytruths hadturnedouttobeillusions,muchgoldofscienceand philosophyhadbeenshowntohavebeenthebasestdross,and thesensibilityofthe“thirdworld”wasundergoingaserious changeinthefaceofseriouschallengesandinroadsbythe postcolonial cultural and economic imperialism. Atsuchatimeinourhistory,manyofus foundit difficulttoaccepttheloftyself-assuredtoneofIqbal’spolitical andphilosophicalvoice.Itwas,afterall,thevoiceofaperson whoforallhiswisdomandsagacityanduncannyabilityto predictthemoralandculturaldeclineoftheWest,hadn’tactually seenthesecondworldwar,didn’tknowabouttheatomicbomb andHiroshima,couldn’tevenhaveconceivedofthehorrorsof tyrannyandgenocideinPalestineandAfghanistanandBosnia andIraqandelsewhere.ThusIqbal’spropheticvoicefailedto carry conviction, if taken on its own. Thingsmighthavebeendifferentifourliterarycritics hadrisentotheoccasionandtoldusthatIqbalwasatrulygreat poetanderearethereasonsforhisgreatness,nevermindthe factthathis“message”andhiscertaintiesseem slightlydated andhis“philosophy”soundssomewhatsimplistic.Hisglory beginswithhispoetry,evenifIqbalmayhaveoccasionallylapsed intodenyingthathewasapoetintheconventionalsense.7

6 Salim Ahmad, Iqbal, Ek S ha’ir, p. 18. 7 InaletterdatedJanuary3,1919,IqbalwrotetoSyedShaukatHusain,“Poetrynessinmypoemshasbut asecondaryplace.Idon’tatallhaveaspirationstobecountedamongthepoetsofthisage.”Inaletter datedMarch16,1919,IqbalwrotetoMaulanaGirami,“It’sawonderthatpeopleregardmeapoetand pressmetosaymypoemstothem,althoughIhavenothingtodowithpoetry.”On3Aprilofthesame yearhewrotetoMaulanaSyedSulaimanNadvi,“Theaimofthispoetrycomposition[ofmine]isneither poetry[asliterature]nor[thepleasureof]language.”SeeSyedMuzaffarHusainBarani,Ed., Kulliyat-e Makatib-eIqbal,Vol.II,Delhi,TheUrduAcademy,1991,pp.43,67,78.ThelettertoSyedShaukat HusainwasinEnglish.Idon’thavetheEnglishoriginalbeforemeandhavetranslatedbackfromthe UrduversioninBarani’sbook.AnothertranslationexistsinShaikhAtaullah,M.A.,Ed., IqbalNamah, Majmu’a-eMakatib-eIqbal, Vol.II,Lahore,1951,p.254.Inthistranslation,thewordtranslatedbyme as“poetryness”is she’riyat,whiletheBaranitexthas sha’iri whichstrictlymeans“poetry”butcanbe translated as “poetryness”, given the proper context. Anyway, there are other instances where Iqbal clearly

6 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi Unfortunately, our literary critics were apparently so overwhelmedbythe“Poet-Physician-PhilosopheroftheEast andthe[Muslim]People” thattheyregardedasfutileany exercisetoexamineandestablishIqbal’srighttobeplaced amongthepoetsoftheworld,andnotjustthepoetsofUrduor Persian. InaconferenceonIqbalorganizedinNewDelhiin 1987, Al-e Ahmad Surur began his short paper with the words: TheemphasisinIqbalstudiessofarhasbeenonhis thought.Hisarthasnotbeengivensufficientandproper attention. Iqbal’s greatness is not because of his philosophy,orbecauseofthedepthandstrengthofhis thoughts,butbecauseofthethoughthavingbeen moulded into poetry.8 Buthehedgedhisbetsandwroteinhisconcluding paragraph as follows: Today,whenthereisgreaterattentiononthebreaking anddisintegrationofbeliefs,expressionof[thepoet’s] self,[poetryas]soliloquy,irony,distortionandshattering oflanguage,weshouldnotignoretheTajMahalofArt thatwefindinIqbalandwhichprovestousthat no exaltedpurposeinjurespoetry,providedthecontentof thatpurpose comestousas[integrated]formand whosethoughtobservesandfollowstherulesof poetryness.Again,inthisageofthebreakingand disintegrationofbeliefs,onemustn’tforgetthatthe authoritativenessof[thetruthof]personalitythatisthe distinguishing mark of true and unalloyed poetry develops through a taste and joy of certainty.9 TheproblemwithmostUrducriticismaboutIqbalisit fails to appreciate the fact that “great thinker” as not synonymouswith“greatpoet.”Infactitmaybeeasiertowrite poetinphilosophythattowritephilosophyinpoetry.One recalls Coleridge writing toWordsworth, “…Whatever in Lucretiusispoetryisnotphilosophical,whateverisphilosophical isnotpoetry…”HewastalkingboutWordsworth’s Excursion whichwaspublishedin1814asafragmentofalargerpoem called TheRecluse aboutwhichhewentontosay,“Iexpectedthe implies that he is a serious poet in his own right. 8 Al-e Ahmad Surur, “Khizr-e Rah, Ek Mutali’a” in Gopi Chand Narang, Ed., Iqbal ka Fan, Delhi, Educational Publishing House, 1983, p. 34. 9 Al-e Ahmad Surur, “Khizr-e Rah, Ek Mutali’a” in Gopi Chand Narang, Ed., Iqbal ka Fan, Delhi, Educational Publishing House, 1983, p. 43. The phrase “taste and joy of certainty ” is my translation for zauq-e yaqin. Surur is alluding to a she’r in Iqbal’s poem Tulu’-e Islam (The Dawning of Islam, 1922) printed in his first collection Bang-e Dara (The Clarion, 1924): Neither stratagems nor belief in fate work In slavedom. Shackles are disjointed When the taste and joy of certainty develops. See Kulliyat-e Iqbal, Urdu, Aligarh, 1975, p. 271.

7 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi colours,music,imaginativelife,andpassionof poetry,butthe matter and arrangement of philosophy…”10 Thephilosophicalpoet’sproblemthuswasofdissolving theoneintotheother,orof“wedding”truthtoverse.Coleridge madeaninterestngpointabouttheenjoymentofpoetry, particularlyphilosophicalpoetrywhenheaskedhowcoulda person“fullyenjoyWordsworthwhohasnevermeditatedon thetruthswhichWordsworthhasweddedtoimmortalverse?”11 AlthoughColeridgedidn’texplainwhathemeanthereby “truths”,orhowthe“truths”shouldbe“wedded”toverse,his pointwasthatfullenjoymentofphilosophicalpoetryisnot possibleunlessonesharesthebelief-systemofthepoet,orat leasthassufficientempathywithittoenableoneto“meditateon the truths set out through that belief-system. Thisisanapparentthoughnotreal similarityin Coleridge andSurur’spositions.Sururseemstoimplythat Iqbal’s zauq-eyaqin canbe,orinfactshouldbesharedbyallhis readers.Coleridgeisinfactsayingsomethingquiteopposite:if onecannotmeditateupon(isoutofempathywith)what Coleridgetermsas“truths”onecan’tenjoyWordsworth’spoetry fully.Surur’spositionissimplistic,butcanberescuedsomewhat bypostulatingthatit’spossibleforallofustoatleastrespond emotionallytosomeoneelse’s“tasteandjoyofcertainty”.But AsloobAhmadAnsari,anothermajorcriticwhoiskeento establishIqbal’spositionasagreatpoet,isverynearlynaïvein his formulation: Iqbal’sisgreatpoetrybecauseithasbejewelledartistic embellishmentandismoreoverthecreationofagreat mind and consciousness, one which has derived inspiration and benefit from divers intellectual, philosophical,culturalandpoliticalstreamsoftheEast andtheWestandhasimbibedintotheunityofitsinner selfthefruitsofsuchderivationandhastransformed themfromitsownstandpointandhasstampedthe impressofitspersonalityonthem.Andoverandabove this,it[thepoetryofIqbal] distillsitslightandsong fromvalueswhicharethoseofaworldreligionandthe civilization based on that religion.12 Well,onecanonlysayaboutsuchcriticism,ifcriticismit is,thathavingsuchfriendsandadvocates,Iqbal’spoetryneeds noenemies.ThecaseforIqbal’spoetrytohave“thecolours, music,imaginativelife,andpassionof poetry,butthematterand arrangementof philosophy”isatbestnotproven,andthedemand

10 Coleridge to Wordsworth, letter dated May 30, 1815. See Coleridge: Poetry and Prose, selected with an Introduction and Notes by Kathleen Raine, Penguin Books, 1957, p. 130. Italics Coleridge’s. 11 S. T. Coleridge, Table Talk and Omniana, d., T. Ashe, London, George Bell & Sons, 1896, p. 407. 12 Asloob Ahmad Ansari, Iqbal ki Muntakhab Nazmen aur Ghazlen (Tanqidi Mutal’ia), New Delhi, Ghalib Academy, 1994, p. 3

8 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi fromthereadertoaccepttheclaimthatapoetryshouldbe termedgreatbecause“itdistillsitslightandsong”fromIslamis likeaskinghimtoplaceallreligiousanddevotionalpoetryona rungequallyhighwithIqbal,orclaimaspecialnicheofgreatness forIqbal’spoetryandallIslam-inspiredpoetrytotheexclusion ofotherpoetriesspringingfromotherfaiths.Neitherposition,it isobvious,canbesustainedevenforasecond.Thequestionof “literary”againstotherkindsofmerit—philosophical,religious, whatever, still remains tantalizingly open. OnemightlikethentodiscardColeridgeastooold fashionedandargueforthepoetryofbelief—anybelief,and saythatitisbelief(somethinglikeSurur’s zauq-eyaqin )which makesgreatpoetrybyitself.Oneneednotsharethatbelief,and in fact even “suspend” that belief, as Eliot recommended: Ifyoureadpoetryaspoetry,youwill“believe”inDante’s theologyexactlyasyoubelieveinthephysicalrealityof hisjourney;thatis,yoususpendbothbeliefand disbelief.13 ButEliot’scounselonthismatterisnotdisinterested, andisadangerousonetoboot.HebelievesthatsinceDantehas aphilosophysoeverypoetasgreatasDanteshouldhavea philosophytoo.14 Ignoringthegliboversimpilicityofthe argumentandthevaguenessoftheterms“philosophy”and “great”,onewouldstillwanttoknowwhichpoetsareasgreatas Dante,andwhatarethemeanstoidentifythem?Eliotresponds with a stunningly nonliterary and loaded answer: The‘greatness’ofliteraturecannotbedeterminedsolely by literary standards; Then,asagestureofChristiangrace,headdsinthesame breath: thoughwemustrememberwhetheritisliteratureornot can be determined only by literary standards.15 SinceEliothasalreadywarnedusinhisessayonDante thatone“cannotaffordtoignoreDante’sphilosophicaland theologicalbeliefs”, 16 weknowwhichwayhiscriticalwindis blowing.It’llblownogoodtoIqbal,anditsChristian obscurantistodourshouldhavebeenstronginthenosesof ourProfessorsofliteraturelongago.AsEzraPoundwrotein hisreviewofEliot’s AfterStrangeGods, “alltheimplications”of Eliot’sideasaboutman’s“needformorereligion”are“suchas to lead the reader’s mind into a fog.” 17

13 T. S. Eliot, in “Dante”, Selected Essays, London, 1956, p. 258. 14 T. S. Eliot, in “Shakespeare and the Stoicism of Seneca”, Selected Essays, London, 1956, p. 135. 15 T. S. Eliot, in “Religion and Literature”, Selected Essays, London, 1956, p. 388. 16 T. S. Eliot, in “Dante”, Selected Essays, London, 1956, p. 257. 17 Ezra Pound, in The New English Weekly, March, 1934, quoted in Peter Ackroyd, T. S Eliot, London, 1989, p. 220.

9 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi In AfterStrangeGods Eliot wastryingtoelucidatea matterthatwasimportanttoEliothimself. PeterAckroyd summarizesEliot’spositionin AfterStrangeGods inthe following words: Whathewishedtoattackwastheabsenceofmoral,and therefore religious, criteria in the criticism of contemporaryliterature.HavingatHarvardrebukedthe dogmatismofthosecriticswhoconsideredliterature(and especiallypoetry)tobesomekindofsubstitutefor religion,hewasnowreversingtheequationhewished toointroduceintheappreciationof modernliterature thoseconceptsofgoodandevilwhichwerepartofthe religious comprehension.18 Thepointthatemergesnowisthattodeterminethe ideasimplied,embeddedorstatedinapoemastrueina religious, philosophical or scientific sense and therefore acceptableordesirableandtodecidethatthepoemthereforeisa goodoneisactuallydenialofthetruenatureandfunctionof poetry. Richards made this clear a long time ago when he said: The‘Truth’of RobinsonCrusoe istheacceptabilityof thingswearetold,theiracceptabilityintheinterestsof thenarrative,nottheircorrespondencewithanyactual facts….Itisinthissensethat‘Truth’isequivalentto ‘internal necessity’ or rightness. That is ‘true’ or ‘internallynecessary’whichconformsoraccordswiththe restoftheexperience,whichcooperatestoarouseour orderedresponse,whethertheresponseofBeautyor another….Itisevidentthatthebulkofpoetryconsistsof statementswhichonlytheveryfoolishwouldthinkof attemptingtoverify.Theyarenotthekindofthings whichcanbeverified….Butevenwhentheyare,on examination,franklyfalse,thisisnodefect….And equally,apointmoreoftenmisunderstood,theirtruth, when they are true, is no merit.19 InUrduweoftentalkofthe“universality”ofpoetry’s appeal, or of the “universal truths” that poetry deals in. Simplistic asthesenotionsare,theyareevenmoredangeroustoaproper literaryappreciationofpoetrybecausetheytendtobebased upontheassumptionthataclassificationof“Truths”existsand leadustothefurtherassumptionthatthose“Truths”thatstrike usas“Universal”mustbetrulyso,andthattheymayevenhave theforceofScience.ThuswehaveHamidiKashmiri,another leadingcriticandadmirerofIqbaltellingusinallseriousnessthat asopposedtohisWesterncounterparts,Iqbalfoundhimselfin

18 Peter Ackroyd, p. 200. 19 I. A. Richards, Principles of Literary Criticism, London, 1961 [1924], pp. 269, 272.

10 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi confrontation with regional and collective problems like colonialism and backwardness. Hisappreciationandcognitionofthese,andother human problems created by the industrial society problemswasonapurelypersonal,individuallevel.Thus hispoeticbeingwasabletoattainaTruthand UniversalitywhichremaineddeniedtootherUrdupoets of that time.20 HamidiKashmiriistryingtoestablishthatIqbal“felt” andnotjust“thoughtabout”thepoliticalandsocialproblemsof histimesandthisiswhatgives“Universality”tohispoetry. Apartfromthefactthatwearenottoldhow“feeling”not “thinking”aproblemconfers“Universality”and“Truth”onthe endproductoftheprocess,weareleftwithasomewhat uncomfortablefeelingthatitisthe“problems”andthe“Truth” oftheirsolutionsthatthecriticwantsustoattendto;thepoetry willthentakecareofitself.That’swhywefindhimsayinga page later that while making questions of “Nationalism, Patriotism,SufismorPhilosophy…partandparcelofhis thought, Iqbal didn’t deal with them in a doctrinally passive way”, and that is why he: [D]escribedphilosophyasbeing‘distantfromlife’,made HegelandBergsontargetsofhiscritique,inSufismhe approvedof vahdatu’shshahud (UnityofManifestation) insteadof vahdatu’lvajud (UnityofBeing)…andas regardsPolitics,hegrantedthecriticalimportanceofthe Individualintheshapingofthecollectivesystemsand censured Democracy.21 Theotherproblemwiththiskindofthinkingisthatit treatsthepoet’sphilosophicalorratiocinativethinkingas scientific,andthereforereliableandeventrue.Weknownow thatevenscientifictruthsaretentative.NoneafterKarlPopper canthinkdifferent.Butthereisagreaterproblem,asRichards realized,andasColeridgedimlyunderstoodmorethanacentury before.Sciencecannotbereducedtoimpulsesoremotionswhile poetry is mainly a matter of impulses and emotions: The essential point, however, is that Science is autonomous.Theimpulsesdevelopedinitaremodified onlybyoneanother,withaviewtothegreatestpossible completenessorsystematization…..Sofarasanybodyof referencesisundistorteditbelongstoscience….Andjust asthereareinnumerablehumanactivitieswhichrequire undistortedreferencesiftheyaretobesatisfied,sothere are other innumerable human activities not less

20 Hamidi Kashmiri, Harf-e Raz: Iqbal ka Mutal’ia, New Delhi, 1983, p. 18. 21 Hamidi Kashmiri, Harf-e Raz: Iqbal ka Mutal’ia, pp. 19-20.

11 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi importantwhichequallyrequiredistortedreferencesor, more plainly, fictions.22 Poetry,ofcourse,isfictiveincharacter,andthepoetis themakeroffictions. ThiswasknowntoQudamaIbnJa’far sevencenturiesbeforeShakespeareandnearlyathousandyears beforeRichards23.Itisonlyinourtime,andwithgreatbut uncomfortablemakingpoetslikeIqbalthatsuchquestionsare raised.Denyingthefictivecharacterofpoetryenablesusto imposeourownnotionsoftruthandfalsehoodsonpoetry.As Richardsastutelynoted,evenpoetsarenotimmunefromthis temptation. With his characteristic gentle irony Richards says: Manyattitudes…canbemomentarilyencouragedby suitablebeliefsheldasscientificbeliefsareheld….When theattitudeisimportant,thetemptationtobaseitupon somereferencewhichistreatedasscientifictruthisvery great,andthepoeteasilycomestoinvitedestructionof hiswork;WordsworthputsforwardhisPantheism,and other people doctrines of Inspiration, Ideals, and Revelation.24 Iwon’tsaythatAsloobAhmadAnsariorSalim Ahmaddidn’treadthesewords,butIwishtheyhadremembered themwhilewritingaboutIqbal.AndIsuspectthatevenIqbalfell intothetemptationinsomeofhispoems.Butitwasuptous, theliterarycritics,toreadhimandlovehimforhisfictions rather than his lectures. Aswesawabove,Eliotaidthatitisperfectlypossibleto believeinDante’stheologyifwereadpoetryaspoetry.Richards hadmadethispointfiveyearsearlier,andbetter.Forthe questionisnotwhetherDante’stheologyisbelievable:the questionratheriswhetherDante’spoetryisbelievable.Anda cognatequestioniswhetheritisatallnecessarytobelieve,or evenacceptDante’stheologybeforewecan“fullyenjoy” Dante’swork.Eliotwasunwillingtoshedthebaggageofwhat hethoughtwasChristianbelief,soheansweredinthenegative. YetboththehistoryandtheoryofreadingpoetrybeliesEliot. Richardsmadethispointinhis PracticalCriticism inthefollowing words:

22 I. A. Richards, Principles of Literary Criticism, London, 1961 [1924], p. 266. Italics in the original. 23 The original sentence of Qudama is ahsanu’sh’ir-i akzabuhu, translated b S. A. Bonebakker as, “The best poetry is the most lying.” It is quite probable that this formulation is original to Qudama and owes little to Greek thought. See S. A. Bonebakker, The Kitab Naqd Al-Sir of Qudama b. Ga’far Al-Katib Al- Baghdadi, Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1956, pp. 19, 36-37. I am grateful to Professor Nisar Ahmad Faruqi for making this text available to me. As for Shakespeare, see As You Like It, III, 3, 13-16: Audrey: I do not know what poetical is. Is it honest in deed and word? Is it a true thing? Touchstone: No, truly, for the truest poetry is the most Feigning, … 24 I. A. Richards, Principles of Literary Criticism, London, 1961 [1924], pp. 274-275. Capitalization in the original.

12 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi Foritwouldseemevidentthatpoetrywhichhasbuilt uponfirmanddefinitebeliefsabouttheworld, TheDivine Comedy or ParadiseLost,orDunne’s DivinePoems,or Shelley’s PrometheusUnbound,orHardy’s TheDynasts, mustappeardifferentlytoreaderswhodoandreaders whodonotholdsimilarbeliefs.Yetinfactmostreaders, andnearlyallgoodreaders,areverylittledisturbedby evenadirectoppositionbetweentheirownbeliefsand the beliefs of the poet.25 Suchbeingthecase,thereseemshardlyanyneedtobe exercised about “proving” or not proving the statements made in apoem.AsRichardspointedout,“disputablestatementsso constantlypresentedtousinpoetry,aremerely assumptions introduced for poetic purposes.”26 Richards went on to say: Itisbettertosaythatthequestionofbeliefordisbelief, intheintellectualsense,neverariseswhenwearereading well.Ifunfortunatelyitdoesarise,eitherthroughthe poet’sfaultorourown,wehaveforthemomentceased toereadingpoetryandhavebecomeastronomers,or theologians,ormoralists,personsengagedinquitea different type of activity27. Butitisasadfactofthehumanconditionthateven literarycriticsexpectpoetstoperformlikecircusartistsonthe trapezeofmeaning.SartreoncedescribedBaudelaire’sgreatest failuretohavebeenhisattempttoachieveandestablisha personalthoughfalseconceptofgoodandevil.“Baudelaire submittedtoGoodinordertoviolateit.”28Somebodymadea verygoodreplytothisbysayingthatSartreforgotthat Baudelairewasapoet,andthushadarighttoaspurious philosophy. Sartre’s displeasure was because Baudelaire consciouslydrovehimselfintoadeadend,leavingnoretreat open.AndyetAuerbachheldthat“SoulssuchasBaudelaireare the aimeschoisies [chosensouls]ofourtimeorofatimethatis not to far in the past.”29 And in fact Lionel Johnson gave an even better,becauseliterary,replylongbeforeSartrecameoutwith his indictment. Johnson said that “Baudelaire sings sermons.30” ItisunderstandableforEuropeanliterarycriticstolapse intoquestionsof(philosophical,scientificordoctrinal)Truthin poetrybecausePlatogaveapermanentbadconscienceto

25 I. A. Richards, Practical Criticism, A study of Literary Judgment, London, 1966 [1929], p. 271. 26 Practical Criticism, A study of Literary Judgment, p. 272. Italics in the original. 27 Practical Criticism, A study of Literary Judgment, p. 277. 28 Quoted by Francis Scarfe, Baudelaire, Introduced and Edited with Plain Prose Translations, Penguin Books, 1972, p. xv. 29 Erich Auerbach, “The Aesthetic Dignity of The Fleurs du mal” in Henri Peyre, Ed., Baudelaire, A Collection of Critical Essays, Englewood Cliffs, N. J., 1962, p. 164. 30 Quoted by Francis Scarfe, Baudelaire, Introduced and Edited with Plain Prose Translations, Penguin Books, 1972, p. xiv.

13 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi Europeanpoetsandwriters.GeorgeSteinersays,regrettably adoptingasomewhatpatronizingtoneaboutAristotlethatthe onlypointwheretheclassicviewofpoetryanddramatouched on the nature of language was: …intheconflictbetweenthePlatonictheoryof mimesis andtheAristotelianmodelof katharsis.ThePlatonic notionofthecapacityoflanguage,particularlywhen joinedtomusictoelicitimitativeaction,hisinsightinto thepossibilitythatverbalfictionsweakenorcorruptour grasponwhatFreudwastocall‘therealityprinciple’,his attempttodistinguishnegativelyverifiableandpoetic truths—all these raise linguistic issues of final importance. Aristotle’srejoinderisbasedonafarlesspenetrating senseoflanguageandinclinestoacursoryidentification of form with explicit content.31 Yettheissueishardlylinguistic:itinfactrelatestothe performatics of language where our presence at a performance of poetrysomehowenablesustoparticipate,oratleastbeinsome presentatthescenebeingnarratedortheoccasionbeing described.ThismaybeperniciousfromPlato’spointofview, butitonlygoestoconferasortofautonomyonpoetryas regardsquestionsof‘Truth’or‘Therealityprinciple.’TheArab theoristswerequitecorrectindemandingthatpoemshave words,rhyme,metre,andmeaning.Whetherthemeaningwas ‘true’inanyparticularsensewasnottheconcernofpoetryper se.Whatconstituted‘word’,‘rhyme’and‘metre’wastheconcern oftheeverydaylanguageuserandthepoet.WeUrducriticswho shouldhavefoundinterpretiveandexplicatorytoolsforIqbal fromourownArabo-Persian-Sanskrittraditionsfellintothe errorofacceptingPlato’shegemonicroleintheformulationof ourmoderntheoriesofliteraryappreciationandinterpretation. The loss has been ours.

2. SohowshouldonegoaboutreadingIqbal?Onething, whichourAncientsknewallthetimebutwehaveoflatetended toforgetisthatthankstoliterarytradition,allpoetryrepresents a kind of historical continuity: Everywriterwriteswithinatraditionorcomplexof traditionsandhewsthewoodofhisorherexperiencein termsconformabletothetraditionallyprovidedmatrices thereof….Literatureisidentifiablebythisconformityof theindividualworktothecanon,whichdetermineswhat

31 George Steiner, Extraterritorial, Papers on Literature and the Language Revolution, Penguin Books, 1975, p. 139.

14 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi willorcancountasliteratureatanygiventime,placeand cultural condition.32 SalimAhmadmadeabrilliantlyperceptiveremarkabout NazirAkbarabadi(1740-1830),whenhesaidthatthe“lackofa largetraditionof nazm writingletoneofourgreatmengo waste.”33 Iqbalwasplacedbetter,becausehehad,amongothers, Bedil (1644-1720) in Persian and Mir Anis (1802-1874) in Urdu. ThementionofMirAnismaysurprisesomeofusuntil werealizeitthatMirAnis’smarsiyas34 arethebestpremodern modelinUrduofnarrative-historical,narrative-lyrical,andoral- dramaticpoetryandIqbal’spoetryextendsandexploitsthe possibilitiescreatedbyAnis.Moreimportantlyinthecontextof ourmodernanxietiesaboutpoetry’sdoctrinalorphilosophical Truth,MirAnisprovidestheperfectexamplebytheverygreat valueplacedonhispoetryintheentireliterarycommunity.For MirAnis’soriginalimpulsesarosefromShi’ibeliefsanda generallyShi’iteviewofHistory.Yetthemajorityofhispoetry’s lovershavebeennon-Shi’i,andthefirstmajorandstillcurrent criticalarticulationaboutMirAniswas Mavazina-eAnisoDabir (1907)writtenbyShibliNo’mani,astaunchSunnihistorian, critic,poet,andmuchelsebesides.ItwasShibli,andnotsome Shi’i divine who said that “the poetic qualities and merits of Anis are not matched by any other poet.”35 ImyselfcomefromastrictfamilyofDeobandisandhad nothinginmybackgroundorenvironmenttopreparemeforthe protocolsofmourningandtragiclamentationthatthemarsiya aboundsin.Infact,Istilldonotfindmyselffullyempatheticto the“weepingverses”whichareanintegralpartofallmarsiya.It wasmyfather,nogreatadmireroftheShi’ischoolofIslam, whointroducedmetoShibli’sbookwhenIwasveryyoung,and Iwasableimmediatelytorelatetoit,andtothepoetryofMir Anis.Imaynotweep,butIcanspenddaysinrapturesatthe beauty of verses like the following: The reffulgnce, the awful splendour, the prime elegance, The majestic lustre… Moons of the House of Zahra, And the Suns for all Times; Andsuddenlysomethingdarkdescendeduponthe world, The sun had not yet receded but they

32 Hayden White, reviewing Frank Kermode’s An Appetite for Poetry (1989) in the London Review of Books, October 11, 1990. 33 Salim Ahmad, “Chiragh le ke Kahan Samne Hava ke Chale” in Naya Daur, Karachi, reprinted in the quarterly Jamia¸ New Delhi, Vol. 100, number 7-12, Special issue on Mir Anis, p. 464. 34 I use the term here in its strict, formal sense to mean “poems written about the travails and ultimate martyrdom of Imam Husain, the Prophet’s maternal grandson, and his companions in the battle at Karbala on 10 Muharram, 61 A. H. [=10 October 680].” 35 Shibli No’mani, Mavazina-e Anis o Dabir, Allahabad, 1957 [1907], p. 2.

15 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi Went into decline.36 Thesearejustfourlines,andbynomeansthebestof theirmodeinMirAnis,nottospeakofhiswholevastoeuvre.I amawareoftheinadequacyofmytranslation,yetIfeelIhave conveyedsomeofthe frisson ofthemajestic firsttwomisras descendingintothedarkvaleofshockandsorrowofthelast two. IqbalwasawareofhislegacyfromMirAnis,ashisUrdu poemsfromallperiodsofhispoeticactivityamplydemonstrate. ButIbringupMirAnisherewithadifferentpurpose.If,inspite ofaculturalorevenreligiouscleavageMirAnisthepoetcan remainvalidforhismyriadreaders,shouldwenotbelievethat Iqbal,undoubtedlythegreaterpoet,canbeunderstoodand enjoyed in his own right? Whatdoes,then,Iqbalthepoetgivetohisreader?Inthe firstplace,Iqballetsmehavefullorpartialentryintofive extremelypowerfulpoetictraditions:theArabo-Persian,the Indo-Persian,theEuropean,theIndo-Sanskrit,andtheUrdu. Thefirstoneisevidenteverywhereinhislonger andshorter poemslike Khizr-eRah,ZauqoShauq,Masjid-eQurtuba, the ghazalsof Zabur-e‘Ajam, thelongishpoem Hudi in Payam-e Mashriq andinmuchelsebesides.TheIndo-Persiantradition speakseverywhereinthenumberedpiecesof Bal-Jibril,thelong poeminthatcollectioninimitationofSana’i,thenumerous poemsofintellectualandemotionalprobinglike MihrabGul AfghankeAfkar,Lala-eSahra,JibriloIblis, andofcourseintheto masnavis, Asrar-eKhudi and Rumuz-eBekhudi whereBedilspeaks inmanydisguisedvoices.TheselatteralsopartakeoftheIndo- Sanskrittradition,andtheirspeculativetoneoccasionallyrecalls SwamiBhupatRaiBeghamBairagi’s(d.1719)longmasnavi sometimesdescribedas Qisas-eFuqara-eHind.Thepoemclearly mixesRumi’sthoughtandVedanticthought,anditsdiscursive techniquestoo,especiallyinthedialoguemode, anticipate Iqbal.37 Iftheghazalsof Payam-eMashriq areintheIndo-Persian mode,itsnazmslike Tanha’i,Shabnam,HuroSha’ir,andthe generaltoneofthewholecollectionrecalls Westernwaysof poemmakingandevenpoemthinking.Thelongpoem Sham’o Sha’ir isatriumphoftheuseoftheWesternsoliloquizing, monologicmodeintheIndo-Persianstyle.Bedilseemstobe much in evidence here again. Iqbal’sderivationsfromtheUrdutraditiongobacknot justtoDagh,butalso,andverymuchmoreconsiderablytoMir Anis,andGhalib,thenZauqandSauda.Itisnotoftenrealized 36 Mir Anis, marsiya, “kya ghazian-e fauj-e khuda kam kar ga’i” in Masud Hasan Rizvi Adib, Ed., Ruh-e Anis, Lucknow 1968 [1931], p. 136. 37 For details about Swami Bhupat Rai Begham, see Dr. Syed Abdullah, Adabbiyat-e Farsi men Hindu’on ka Hissa, New Delhi, 1992 [1943], pp. 313-349.

16 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi thatIqbalwouldhavemadeaverygreatqasidapoetandwould easilyhaverivalledZauqandSaudahadhelivedinpremodern times. LetmespeakhereabitmoreofIqbal’sallegiancetothe EuropeanandIndo-Sanskritpoetictraditions.Itmustbe obviousthatallthedramaticpoems,andallthedialoguepoems couldnotbutowetheirexistencetheGermanRomanticsandto acertainextenttoGoetheintermsofgeneraltechniqueandin anycaseeventheconceptionofwritingdramatic poemsis Western,notIndianorEastern.Theredoesexistafavourite dialoguedeviceinclassicalPersianmasnavis,andoccasionallyin ghazaltoo.Itisactuallyarhetoricaldevicecalled savalojavab (QuestionAnswer)wherethepoetframesquestionsinonemisra andgivesthe replyinthesecond.Theformishighlystylized andveryoftenthepoetseemstofirstframestheanswerand theninventasuitablequestionforit.WhereasinIqbal,the dialogue,evenaveryshortonelike Subh-eChaman in Zarb-e Kalim,middlelengthoneslike Muhavira-eIlmoIshq and Muhavira Mabain-eKhudavaInsan whichrecallstheinfluenceofGeorge Herbertinthereverse,orlongeroneslike PiroMurid in Bal-e Jibril,orthetrulylongerdialoguesin JavedNamah areproper dialoguesandvehiclesforexchangeofsubtleideas.Theyhave hardly any parallels in the nonwestern traditions of poetry. Thenwehavepoemslike IbliskiMajlis-eShura in Armughan-eHijaz¸ wheretheepicimaginationseemsatworkin theWesternmannerevenifbriefly. EkArzu, and RukhsatAy Bazm-eJahan andsomeotherearlypoemsof Bang-eDara, remind oneofheearlyEnglishRomanticswhilethehortatoryand celebratorypoemslike manind-esabakhezvazidandigaramoz in Zabur-eAjam, andtheshortpoem RumiBadleShamiBadle… in Zarb-eKalim remindusofShelley’spassionateappealstothe Irishpeasants.The JavedNama,ofcourseisaincredible masterpieceintermsofthefusionofWesternandEastern, especially Ibn-e Arabi and Dante. Perhapsitisyetmoreimportanttoobserve thatthe fusionisnotsomuchonthelevelofborrowingofideasor intellectualapproachesasonthelevelof creativepatterning. Javed Nama bears the same relation to Dante and Ibn-e Arabi as theBadshahi MosqueinLahorebearstotheJamaMasjidof Delhi,ortheSherDarMadrasaatSamarqand,builtatalmostthe sametime(1630’s),whiletheSherDarMadrasaitselfrecalls Mahmud Gavan’s Madrasa in Bidar built in the far South of India inthelastquarterofthefifteenthcentury.Humayun’stombin Delhibearsthesameresonancesas HoshangShah’stombin ManduincentralIndia,builtacenturyearlieraround1450.Itis notsomuchaquestionofimitationasofkindredspiritsmaking their appearance in an inspired series of flights of creativity.

17 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi The astonishing variety of Western modes and techniques,includingexperimentsinmetreandformisrivalled bythenumerousWesternsubjects,persons,ideas,places,and politicalsituationsthatcrowdIqbal’spoetryandgiveitthefeel andairofaWesternmetropolis. Thesheerimaginativereach andthewiderangeofthecreativeimaginationaretruly unparalleledinmodernworldpoetryanywhere.Theexistenceof suchpoemsinsuchlargenumbersshowsthatIqbalwasfully comfortablethroughthevastculturalandliteraryhinterlandof Europe. WhenItalkoftheIndo-Sanskritstreamofpoetic traditionalsoenrichingIqbal’spoetry,Idonotmerelymeanthe marvelloustranslationofthe GayatriMantra,in Bang-eDara, or thelittlegemfromBhatrihariin Bal-eJibril ,noryetthepresence ofVishvamitraandBhartrihariin JavedNama. Idonoteven refertothefact,importantinitself,thatIqbalintendedto translatethewholeof Ramayana andalsothe Gita intoUrdu.38 NordoIreferspecificallytopoemsin Bang-eDara like Ram, and SwamiRamTirath. TomymindIqbal’smostremarkabledebtto theSanskritliterarytraditionisinhisknackforpeoplinghis poetrywithnaturalorcosmicobjects,thesun,thestars,the moon,themorning,thenight,thesunrise,theflower,birds,the dewdrop,themountain,theocean,Godhimself,andtreatthem ascharactersinasemi-secretplaywhosescenesandsignificance areknownonlytohimself.Thisimaginativedeviceisrentin eventheearliestpoemslike InsanaurBazm-eQudrat,Chandaur Tare,rataurSha’ir,Bazm-eAnjum,Sair-Falak, theopeningstanzas of Javab-eShikva in Bang-eDara andfindsabsolutelyperfect expressionin Bang-eDara itselfintheshortpoemcalled Insan. In latercollectionswehave Lala-eSahra,Ruh-eArziAdamkaIstiqbal KartiHai,MullaaurBihisht inforinstance Bal-eJibril, andmany others.Thefirstfewpagesof Payam-eMashriq yieldpoemsof bewilderingimaginativepowerinthisstrain,like Gul-eNakhustin, Taskhir-e Fitrat, Bu-e Gul, Sarud-e Anjum. Itisdifficulttofindsuchplenitude,suchabundanceof bothcosmicandnon-humanontheonehandandearthlyand humanontheotherwithinthespaceofanypoetictradition otherthanSanskrit.Alookatthefirstfewpagesofashort Anthologygivesusthefollowing(fromtheVedas): Ushas:The Dawn,ToNight,ToVaruna,ForParajnaya:BearerofRain,Aranyani: ForestSpirit,TwoBirds,ATreeinFlashingHeaven; (fromsecular verse): Nigghtfall,Moonrise,Speed,YoungTree,Moonrise,Flower, and soon.39 Thereasonforthistreatmentof thehumanandthe

38 S. M. H. Burney, Ed., Kulliyat-e Makatib-e Iqbal, Vol. II, Delhi, 1991. See Iqbal’s letter to Maharaja Sir Kishan Parshad Shad, dated April 25, 1919, and another letter to the Maharaja dated October 11, 1921, regarding his intention to translate the Ramayana and the Bhagwat Gita into Urdu, pp. 86 and 282. 39 Sachchidananda Vatsyayan and Vidya Niwas Misra, Ed., The Indian Poetic Tradition, An Anthology of Poetry from the Vedic Period to the Seventeenth Century, Agra, 1983.

18 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi non-human as one is not obscure or esoteric at all. As the editors informusintheirIntroduction,therearemanystrandsofunity thatformthefabricofHinduliteraryandphilosophicthought. One of them is: …Aworld-viewwhichdoesnotallowforadichotomy betweenmatterandspirit,manandnature.Inthis holisticviewalllifeisone,andinnerandexternalreality aremutuallydependent.Thisworld-viewisheldbyallthe languages of India… Furtheron,welearnthatIndianthoughtassumesa correspondencebetweenthemicrocosmandthemacrocosm,a perpetualidentificationofthingscreateanduncreatewithBeing and Becoming. ‘Yonder world is in the likeness of this world as this one is the likeness of that’, says the Aitreya Brahmana. …Man in Indian literature is operating simultaneously on two planes, one situated in time and space and the other transcending both….According to Abhinava Gupta, the most significant exponent of the Indian aesthetic, Being is neither merely an atemporal visualisation of itself, nor an absolute separation from time and space.40 ItshouldbeobviousthatinspiteofIqbal’sgreatinterest inthephilosophyofTimeandBeing,whatisrelevantheretohis studentisthequestionofpoetictechnique,ofhowIqbalisable todrawuponstrandsofIndo-Sanskrit thoughtwherein AbhinavaGupta’swords,Beingisneitheratemporalnoran absoluteseparationfromtimeandspace.Yetaquestionmight beaskedifIqbal’sinterestintheMuslimphilosophicalquestions ofTimewouldnotbyitselfhaveledhimtoapointwherethe routemighthavebecomeopenforhimtocreateapoeticworld inwhichthecosmicandthenon-cosmic,theearthlyhumanand non-human, all could become characters in his poems. Therearetwoanswerstothis:first,thereisnoother literarytraditionontheimmediatehorizonofIqbal’sliterary worldinwhichthehumanandthenon-humanworldmeetand interpenetrateallthetime.Theotheranswerisprovidedby Coomaraswamywhosuggeststheexistenceofasimilarityifnot correspondencehereamongthetraditionsoftheEast.Hesays, “ThereareveryfewmetaphysicaldoctrinesinIslamthatcould not,ifonemadetheattempt,beveryplausiblyderivedfrom VedicorBuddhistsources.”CoomaraswamyquotesMeister Eckhartassaying,“Godiscreatingtheworldnow,thisinstant” andcommentsthatthis“mighthavebeensaidbyanySufi”. Doubtless, Coomaraswamy is more interested in the philosophicalcontentratherthanwhathecalls“theliterary historyofideas”butwhathesayshereissufficientforthe

40 Sachchidananda Vatsyayan and Vidya Niwas Misra, pp. 13-14, 31; also see p. 33.

19 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi literarystudentsofIqbal41.QuotingfromtheAthirveda, CoomaraswamysaysthatTimeisnota“duration”,butrather the“Timeless”towhich“allmovabletimeiseverpresent”. Coomaraswamy goes on: It is in these terms that the Maitri Upanishad distinguishesthe“twoforms”(dverupa)ofBrahman,i. e.,aspectsofthe“twonatures”(dvaitibhava)ofthesingle essence(tadekam)….Thereare,indeed,twoformsof Brahma; time, and the Timeless.42 Coomaraswamyconcludeshisdiscussion oftheSufi concept of Time with these words: Time,inotherwords,isanimitationofeternity,as becoming is of being and thinking is of knowing.43 Givensuchsourcesfortheimagination,Iqbal’screativity wasboundtotakethecoursethatitdid.Itisnotrelevanttothe literarycritictoaskwhetherIqbalactuallybelievedthesethings. Itisevenlessrelevantfortheliterarycritictohimselfsharehis oranyoneelse’sbeliefsaboutTimeandBeing.Allweneedto assertisIqbal’spoetrygivesusimaginative entrée intomore worldsofliteraryandcreativetraditionthananyotherpoetryof the twentieth century. Inadditiontothegeneralgrace,powerandelegancethat Iqbal’derivedpoetryfromhisfulluseoftheresourcesofthe Indo-Persiantradition,Iqbal’sremarkableintertextualityand plurivalenceowetheirpower,andmaybeeventheirexistenceto theIndo-Persianpoetictradition.Itmustberememberedthat themainArabo-Persianliterarythoughtandpraxisofwhich Iqbalwastheindirectbutableinheritordidnothavemuchto say about what Todorov has described as the “overflowing of the signifierbythesignified.”Thishedefinesasthesignifierofa singlepropositionleadingusto“knowledgeoftwosignifieds, onedirectandtheotherdirect”.44 Todorovidentifiesthreekinds ofdiscourse,literal,ambiguousandtransparent45 andbrings supportfor thisclassificationbyinvokingAbhinavagupta through K. Kunjunni Raja: Abhinavaguptasaysthatwhenanexpressiongivesits ownliteralmeaning,andinadditionsuggestssomeother sense,wecannotregardboththesedistinctsensesas conveyedbythesamepower. Theformerproceeds 41 Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Time and Eternity, New Delhi, 1990, p. 66. Compare Meister Eckhart’s words with the famous Iqbal she’r: The universe perhaps is unfinished yet, For all the time a Voice is heard: “Be!” and there it is, becoming. ( She’r 7 in item number 3 [second series, after item 16] in Bal-e Jibril) 42 Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Time and Eternity, New Delhi, 1990, p. 8. 43 Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Time and Eternity, New Delhi, 1990, p. 70. 44 Tzvetan Todorov, Symbolism and Interpretation, Tr., Catherine Porter, Ithaca, 1986 [1982], p. 40. 45 Tzvetan Todorov, Symbolism and Interpretation, Tr., Catherine Porter, Ithaca, 1986 [1982], p.53.

20 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi directlyfromthewords,whilethelattercomesfromthis literalsense. Tatparya pertainstotheexpressedsense, whereas dhvani pertains to non-expressive factors also…46 Thatistosay,thepoetisabletoinvestnewor unexpectedmeaningstotheliteralmeaningandcanconstruct meaningontwolevels betweenwhichtheremaynotbeany directdiscerniblerelationshipandwhatis“literal”maynotbeso literalafterall.ThisinsightcameintotheIndo-Persiantradition throughinteractionsbetweenSanskritandPersianinIndiaand throughtheIndianStyle(sabk-ihindi)Persianpoets andis otherwisenottobefoundinmainlineArabicorPersianliterary theory. Thequestofintertextualityisdifferent,forintertextuality, inthesenseofmakingpoemsfrompoemshasbeenan establishedpoeticpracticeintheSanskrit,Arabic,Persian,and Urduclassicaltraditions.BythetimeofIqbaltheprincipleand practicebothfellintodisrepute,orwereatleastlookedatwith discomfortandsuspicionbecausethepoetwasnowmostlyseen as“doinghisownthing”unbeholdentoothers.Iqbalhereagain demonstratedthecreativeandevocativepowerofpoetrywhen images,themes,andpoemsofthepastaremadetoserveasthe foundationforotherimages,themes,orpoems.Withitswealth ofallusion,itsdirectandindirectechoesofotherpoets,andits widebackgroundstuddedwithpoemsandpoetsofthepast Iqbal’spoetryfeelslikeapanoramaofPersian,Urdu,Arabic, Sanskrit,GermanandEnglishpoetsofthepast.Andthereis neveranydoubtastowhoisincontrol:thepresidinggeniusis Iqbalandnoneelse.Hemanipulates,uses,abandons,re- embraces,refashions,approachesfromunexpectedangles.This isnotmerelylearnedpoetry.Thisispoetrywhosewardrobeof jewelsislikethe“metaphorofthemind”describedbyAbdul Qahir Jurjani as a metaphor whose meaning is inexhaustible. In Tulu’-e Islam (1922) Iqbal has a verse: The Reality of all things—whether of fire of earth, Is the same: Slash the particle’s heart, the sun’s blood Will come dripping forth.47 Iqbalwentbacktothisstunningimagethrougha differentperspectivethirteenyearslaterinashortpoemin Zarb- e Kalim: Should a maestro of the art so desire, The grace and plenitude of Art will make The light drip from the sun’s body Like dew.48 Idon’twanttogointothe“messagecontent”ofthese verses.Iwantmerelytopointoutthattheimagesactuallygo 46 K. Kunjunni Raja, Indian Theories of Meaning, Madras, 1977 [1963], pp. 301-302. 47 Included in Bang-e Dara (1924). 48 Poem number 5 in Mihrab Gul Afghan ke Afkar included in Zarb-e Kalim (1935).

21 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi backto theIndo-PersianpoetFaizi(1547-1594)through anotherIndo-PersianpoetTalibAmuli(d.1626).Let’shearTalib Amuli first: I gather the flowers of her face In the skirt of my thought, I squeeze the sun and pour it In my glass.49 Now listen to this from Faizi: Where Eternity’s light falls ever On the heart: Squeeze a particle and the sun Will drip forth from it.50 WecanseethatIqbalisrelivingtheimagesforadifferent purpose.Heinvestsamoralpowerandanurgencyofactionin boththecases,butwhattousismoreimportantisthegreater sensuousnessandlessabstract treatment.Thefirstimageis almostintolerablyviolentinitsintensity,thenextoneengages oursensesbyitscontradictoriness:thesunbecomingcool,or hot,andoozingawayhislightoutofembarrassmentor excitement.TalibAmuli’simageinthefirstmisrawastoonon- physical,toobloodless,andtooabstracttocreateavisualor sensualeffect.ThepurposeorresultofIqbal’soperationonthe particleistoremovethefetteronhisbeingandletitshineforth intheamplitudeofUnity.Iqbal’spoempullsinreverberationsof caesareanbirthandritualpullingoutofthefoetusoftheinfinite fromthebodyofthefinite.Yetthereisalsothedisturbing suggestionofthesunweepingbloodwhentheheartofthe articleistornopen.thustheothersuggestionisit’snotamatter ofidentity,butofempathy.Thesunweepswhenviolenceis donetothedustmoteanditsheartisrippedout.The“mighty heart” beats for everyone. Intheshe’raboutthemiracleofArt,Iqbalisdoingmuch morewithFaizi’simage,againbecauseheismoreconcrete:itis difficulttovisualizeinFaizi“eternity’slight’’droppingeverof theheart.Iqbaltakesustoamoretangibleworldwhichobeys therulesandlawsof Art.AndArt’sgraceandplenitude conquersthesun,makesitchangeitscharacter.Itisinevitable heretorecallYeats’magicbirdwhichthe poetfashionsand whichsingsofallthatispast,orpassing,ortocome.Butthe magicbirdcanonlysing,whiletheArtofthemaestrocanpull the sun down to the level of the human. Creationofcomplexstructuresofmeaning,images fashionedorrefashionedanew,makingpoemssoastomake statements that yield sidereal orevencontradictorymeanings 49 Ali Riza Zakavati Qarakzlu, Ed., Guzida Ash’ar-i Sabk-iHindi, (Anthology of Poetry of the Indian Style), Tehran, 1372(=1993), p. 136. 50 Ali Riza Zakavati Qarakzlu, Ed., Guzida Ash’ar-i Sabk-iHindi, (Anthology of Poetry of the Indian Style), Tehran, 1372 (=1993), p. 70.

22 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi aremajorfeaturesoftheIndo-Persian,andtheUrdutradition.51 WritingashedidatatimewhentheUrdupoetwasunder constantpressuretoabandonhisnativeloveofmetaphorand workawayfromhistraditionthatvaluedabstractnessand complexity and sawpoetrymainlyasaplayofmeaning onideasmanyofwhichcouldbefoundelsewherebutwouldnot oftenbesuspectedtocarryanextrachargeofmeaning.Iqbalis ourgreatestmodern ma’niafirin (meaning-maker)poetandsince unlikehisyounger“modern”contemporaries,Iqbalmakeshis meaningswithintherealmoftheIndo-Persianwherepoems wentbeyond“mereimages”(inYeats’sphrase)andpoetswent oneventosaythatnotsayingsomethingwasthebestformof utterance.ThiswasadiscoverymadebyUrfiandFaiziwhohad astrongsenseofthefrontierstowhichthepowerofthehuman utterance could be stretched. Urfi said: For the world Is a foreign country, No one here is from my people.52 Thusinaworldofstrangerssilencewastheequivalentof anutteranceinwhichmeaningwassotightlyfoldedastomake itsunfoldingnearlyimpossible.GhaniKashmiri(d.1666) declared: A person who has no understanding, Were he to glue his eye to a book He wouldn’t still see meaning’s visage Even in his dreams. The brainless ones do not Reflect on poems: the bubble Has no capability to dive into the ocean.53 Iqbalbroughtthistraditionaliveforusinallitsglory;he madeusfeelproudofit.Inaplaceandtimewhenourliterary criticschosetosneeratBedil,greatestof sabk-ihindi poetsfor what was seen as his opacity and complexity, Iqbal wrote: Doubtless,GhalibimitatedBedil’smanner,butGhalib’s harvestremainedemptyofBedil’sthemesandideas. Bedilwasaheadofhiscontemporariesinregardto thought. Evidencecanbeproducedtoshowthat Bedil’sIndianandforeigncontemporariesandthelovers ofPersianversehavebeenunabletounderstandBedil’s

51 Frances W. Pritchett in her Nets of Awareness, Urdu Poetry and Its Critics, Berkeley, 1994, has examined question relating to Urdu in some detail. Also see Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, “A Stranger in the City: The Poetics of Sabk-i hindi” in N. H. Jafri, Ed., New Delhi, forthcoming, and The Annual of Urdu Studies, no. 14, Ed., M. U. Memon, University of Wisconsin-Madison, forthcoming. 52 Urfi Shirazi, Divan-i Ghazaliyat, ed., Waliul Haq Ansari, Patna, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, 2000, p. 242. 53 Ghani Kashmiri, Divan, Ed., Ali Javad Zaidi and Muhammad Amin Darab Kashmiri, Srinagar, 1964, p. 227.

23 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi view of the world.54

Many things are happening here, but I’ll only point out to onethatisnotarticulatedhere:Inhisroleas hakim’ulummatIqbal mayhavelikedtobelievethatapoet’smeaningshouldbe entirely clear. But he had a curious theory for this. He wrote: Thelackofclarityinhis[Momin’s](1800-1852)style viewedinthelightofpsychologyappearsasanimportant butpainfulproofofthedeclineoftheMuslims’urgeto rule.It’onlyamongthepeoplewhoaretherulingpower thatclarityofexpressionisessential.Thisstateoflackof claritywhichissocommonwithMominisalsofoundin mindsfardeeperthanMomin’s,forinstance,Ghaliband Bedil…. [Here] ambiguity becomes a source of enjoymentandinadequacyofexpressionissavouredas depth of thought.55 Theimportoftheabovetwoutterancescanbefully appreciatedonlywhenwereadthemsidebysidewiththis interesting critique of Bedil and others offered by Iqbal: Ghalib wouldn’t probably have understood Bedil’s thought.All[Ghalib’s]admirationandpraiseofBedilis justbecauseofBedil’s[extraordinary-beautiful]Persian compounds[tarkib],andthat’sit.Ghaliblearnt[theart of] tarkib fromBedil.Imyselfhavegainedbenefitfrom

Mirza Bedil in this matter.56 SoIqbalas hakim’ulummat mayhavewantedhis prescriptionforthePeopletobeunambiguousbutIqbalthe poetwaslikeBaudelaire,quarryingthepoemsandtextsofothers formakinghisownimages. Iqbalhadnoshameinadmitting thathemadeuseofBedil’sdazzlinglinguisticandmetaphoric constructionsasbuildingblocksforhisowntexts.Peter Quennell said of Baudelaire, he was industrious and workmanlike,recordingonlittlepiecesofpaperhis“linguistic discoveries”,storingtheminateachest“againstthemoment whentheyshouldbeembodiedinapoem.”Iqbalthepoetseems to have been little different in his love of words. ItwasnotfornothingthatIqbalchoseoneofBedil’s moreobscureshe’rstoexplicateandunfoldinadelightfullittle poem,thusestablishingthesupremerelevanceofBedil’s imagination forever in his own poetry. The poem occurs in zarb-e Kalim (1935),acollectionofUrdupoemswhosecentral

54 Iqbal’s letter to Muhammad Ikram, in Syed Muzaffar Husain Barani, Ed., Kulliyat-e Makatib-e Iqbal, Vol. IV, Delhi, The Urdu Academy, 1998, p. 467 55 Iqbal’s letter to Zia Ahmad Badauni, in Syed Muzaffar Husain Barani, Ed., Kulliyat-e Makatib-e Iqbal, Vol. III, Delhi, The Urdu Academy, 1993, p. 664. 56 Iqbal’s letter to Chaudhri Muhammad Husain, in Syed Muzaffar Husain Barani, Ed., Kulliyat-e Makatib-e Iqbal, Vol. III, Delhi, The Urdu Academy, 1993, p. 976.

24 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi importanceforIqbal’sliterarycriticismhasnotyetbeenfully recognized:

Mirza Bedil Is this the Reality, or the mischief wrought By my false-seeing eye? The earth, the wilderness, the mountain range, The dark-blue sky, Some say: It is; others, it is not, Who knows if this your world exists at all. How well Mirza Bedil unknotted this knot Whose unravelling has been So hard for the Philosopher: “If the heart had enough space, this garden Were sightless: the wine’s hue chose to come out Because the wine-flask didn’t have enough room .” 57

SothisishowIqbalthepoetgivesusentryintoour literarytraditions,creatively,challengingly,andrecuperatively. Takecareofthepoetry,heseemstosay,andthephilosophywill takecareofitself.MorethananymodernUrdupoetitisIqbal whomakesusrespectandtrytounderstandthefoundationsof ourpoetics.ThestructuresofmeaningthatIqbalmakesforus exist in their own right and also as continuities. Aquestionmightbeasked:SowhataboutIqbal’s originality?Shouldnotapoethavean“individualvoice”,a“style ofhisown”?Thefirstanswertothisisthatagreatdealoftruly great poetry passes beyond petty considerations of “individuality”and“style.”AllofusknowaboutOmar Khayyam’s“individuality”andallofusalsoknowthatoutofthe severalhundredruba’isthatpassasOmarKhayyam,thereare onlyaboutahandfulthatcanwithsomecertaintybeascribedto OmarKhayyam.Weknowthatsomeofthemostfamousand well-lovedshe’rsandevenwholeghazalsintheDivanofHafiz havenowbeenshowntobenotfromHafizthoughtheyreflect Hafiz’strue“individuality”and“style.”Weknowthatscoresof ghazalsofSauda’s(1706-1781)contemporariessomehowfound theirwayintoSauda’smsscollectionsandcontinuedtobe quotedandstudiedaspartofSauda’sworkfortwocenturiesand more. So questions of “individual style” are essentially contextual, not absolute. ThatisnottosaythatIqbalhasnostyleofhisown.One wayofputtingthematterwouldbethathehasmanystyles,he

57 The poem occurs in the section of Zarb-e Kalim entitled “Adabbiyat, Funun-e Latifa”. The she’r translated in quotes is from Bedil. See Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil, Kulliyat, Vol. II, ed. Akbar Behdarvand and Parvez Abbasi Dakani, Tehran, Ilham, 1376(=1997), p. 112. Bedil’s text as quoted by Iqbal in the poem is slightly different in word order from the Iranian edition cited by me, but the difference is entirely inconsequential.

25 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi hasdifferentstylesfordifferentoccasions.Thestyleof Shkiva and Javab-eShikva isdifferentfromthatof ZauqoShauq whose styleisagainverydifferentfromthatoftheghazalsandghazal likepoemsin Zabur-eAjam.ThenthereisthegrandIqbalian manner,especiallyapparentintheUrdu,butnotsoprominent ordifferentiatedinthePersian.Thesematterscan’tbedecided withafewstrokesofbureaucraticpens.Norcanweunderstand thembycountingtheso-calledpatternsofsounds,labial,or dental,orfricative,orliquid,orwhateverthatscribalcritics pretendtohavediscoveredinIqbal.Tobelievethattheexistence ofpoetrycouldbeaccountedforbycountingvowelsand consonantsistobelievethatpatternsofvowelsandconsonants donotexistelsewhereinthelanguage.Infact,theywouldseem to occur more richly in film songs. Iqbalshouldbeseenasaperfectorofdifferentstylesin Urdu poetry, and as the inventor of many new ones, for instance, thedramaticdialogue,theversestylethatissuitedtospeech rhythms,thenarrativeoftheimaginedlandscapesofthemind. Similarlyhisnaturepoemsrangefromformalstylizednarratives thatrecalltheqasidasofIranianMirzaHabibQa’ani(1807-1853) tointeriormonologue-likepoemsthatseemstotakeusbackto Wordsworth. All modes, all manners of poem making are within Iqbal’s practicalrange:thecelebratory,thenarrative,thelyrical,the dramatic,thehortatory,thespeculative,theironical,thesatirical, thecomic,thetender, everythingmeltsinhishandandtakes whatevershapehewantstogiveit.Nothingisastrangerhere: theintenselyintrospective,thehighlymetaphorical,theplain,or theprophetic,alltonesarepresentintheirappropriateplace. Iqbal’spoetryteachesustorecognizethemostdistanthorizons of Urdu poetry as our own. MajnunGorakhpurisaidsomethingperceptiveaboutthe musicofIqbal,andIthinkhewasthefirsttosaythateventhe mostdifficultofIqbal’sshe’rscanbesungonthesubtlestand mostdelicateofmusicalinstruments.58 Hedidn’tsaythisin preciseorsubtleenoughwords,butthepoint,sadlysooftenlost inthewelterofwordsgeneratedbyusaboutIqbal’s“truth”and “message”,wasavaluableone.Iqbalwrotesomeoftheworld’s mostmellifluouspoetryandthat’saqualitythattakesitsplace righttherewherethehighestpoetryis.Infactitistobedoubted ifthereevercanbegreatpoetrywithoutthequalitythatAmir Khusrau called ravani (“flowingnes”). “Flowingness”hasbeenaqualityaboutwhichitis impossibletoframetheoreticalstatements, yetitisclearthat somepoemorpoetshavemoreofthisandsomehavelessofit. Moreimportant,thequestionof ravani (“flowingnes”)has

58 Majnun Gorakhpuri, Iqbal, Ijmali Tabsira, Gorakhpur, n. d. (circa 1946), p. 88.

26 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi engagedtheattentionofmanytheoristsintheArab-Persian- UrdutraditionsinceKhusrau.EvenbeforeKhusrau,theArabs seemtohavedevotedsomeattentiontothematterasan importantaspectofliteraryappreciation.Adonis(AliAhmad Said)quotesfromAlFarabi’sdiscussionofthemusicalqualityor the“beautyofsound”inpoetry.Amongotherelements,al Farabiidentified“purity:wherethereisnothinginthemelodyto spoilitqualitativelyorquantitatively;…supplenessanddelicacy inlong-drawn-outmelodies”,andaboveall,theharmonization ofvowelledletters.59 Thisdoesn’ttakeusveryfar,forAlFarabi wasspeaking asamusicologist,butAlJahizhadasomewhat more penetrating observation as a literary critic: Thelettersofthewordsandtheversesofthepoem shouldseemharmoniousandsmooth,suppleand easy…gentleandpleasant,flexiblyordered,lightonthe tongue, sothattheentireverseislikeoneword,andonewordis like a single letter.60 Thisisverymuchbetter,thoughstillquitefarfroma precise,prescriptivedescription.Khusrauhadmuchmoretosay on ravani 61 andbyearlyeighteenthcenturyinDelhi, ravani had become acceptedas the primequality of primepoetry. Miscellaneousattemptstofindtheprincipleorprincipleswhere ravani maybelocatedhavebeenmadewithlittlesuccess.Thefact howeverremainsthatforinstance,thepoetryofMirandthatof MirAnisisrecognizedtohavemoreflowingnessthananyofthe premodernpoets.Similarly,Iqbalshouldhavebeenplacedatthe veryhighestpinnacleof ravani hadwefoundtimetoreadhis poemsasliteratureandnotphilosophicaldissertationsor politico-religiousmanifestoswhosetruth,realorimagined contradictions and falsehoods disputatiously analyzed, confirmed, or rejected. Inthedelightthathetookandgaveinthesheermusicof poetryIqbalremindsmeofMirwhoistheonlyUrdupoet whoseravaniisequaltothatofIqbal,andofColeridgewho amongallgreatcriticsplacedthegreatestpositivevalueonthe musicofpoetry.HartleyNelsonColeridgeremarksinhisedition ofColeridge’s TableTalk thatColeridgehad“aneye,almost exclusively,fortheidealoruniversalinpaintingandmusic:.But hisdemandfrommusicwas“eitherthoughtorfeeling;mere addressestothesensualear”didn’tappealtohim.62 Theexact meaningofwordslike“universal”,“thought”,or“feeling”must differfrompersontoperson,nonetheless,thegeneralprinciple enunciatedhereisentirelysoundforitmakesanattemptto

59 Adonis, An Introduction to Arab Poetics, Trs. Catherine Cobham, Austin, 1990, pp. 28-29. 60 Adonis, An Introduction to Arab Poetics, Trs. Catherine Cobham, Austin, 1990, p. 29. Italics added. 61 See Amir Khusrau’s Preface to his Kulliyat, Kanpur, 1916, pp. 2-5. Also see, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Early Urdu Literary History and Culture, OUP, 2000, pp. 81-105. 62 H. N. Coleridge, Ed., Specimens of the Table Talk of S. T. Coleridge, London, 1852, p. 267.

27 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi relatesoundwithsensewhichRichardsalsoattemptedtodoa centurylater.Coleridgespoke of“themusicofnobler thoughts”63 andthusinawayglossedtheterms“thoughtor feeling”usedbyHartleyNelsonColeridge:therecanbenoble musiconlywheretherearenoblethoughts.thisisinsufficientfor itdeniesthepropertyofmusictosatiricalorhatepoetrywhich Coleridgewouldnothavegrantedtherankof“noble”.weneed therefore to rethink the matter a bit. ItisColeridgeagainwhoprovidesthecluebyinforming us that: Butthesenseofmusicaldelight,withthepowerof producing it, is a gift of the imagination; and this together withthepowerofreducingmultitudeintounityofeffect, andmodifyingaseriesofthoughtsby someone predominantthoughtorfeeling,maybecultivatedand improved, but can never be learnt.64 Thisimpliesorpostulatesanumberof fundamental valuesofthenatureofthemusicofpoetry.Thepowertosense musicaldelightiscomplimentarytothepowerofproducingit amongothers.Musicaldelightinapoemisobtainableonlywhen theimaginationisatwork.Themusicaldelightdoesn’tfunction inavacuum,ithastoemanatefromathought,orfeelingwhich itself hasthepowertopulltogetheranumberofdisparate feelings or experiences. Thisdoesnotfullyexplainthenearlyautonomousnature ofthemusicofpoetry,or ravani,thoughlaterinhisdiscussionof metreColeridgethrowsinanothervaluableinsightinhistypical off hand manner when he says, Astheelementsofmetreowetheirexistencetoastateof increasedexcitement,sothemetreitselfmustbe accompanied by the natural language of excitement.65 Walter Jackson Bate has an extremely interesting annotationherefromColeridgehimselfwhowrotetoSouthey onJuly13,1802asfollows:“…Metreitself impliesapassion,i.e., both in the Poet’s mind, & is expected in that of the Reader--”66 Atoneplacein Zabur-eAjam Iqbalseemstobeechoing orrecallingColeridgeinsomewaywhenhecharacterizespoetry or the music of poetry as “lifeless” without “meaning”, the term “meaning”herewouldseemtosignifysomethinglikeColeridge’s “nobler thoughts” or “predominant thought or feeling.”

63 Coleridge, in Friend, no. 16, dated December 7, 1809, cited by Walter Jackson Bate, in the Princeton University Press edition of Biographia Literaria, Vol. II, 1984, p. 46. 64 S. T. Coleridge, Princeton University Press edition of Biographia Literaria, Vol. II, Ed. Walter Jackson Bate, 1984, p. 20. 65 S. T. Coleridge, Princeton University Press edition of Biographia Literaria, Vol. II, Ed. Walter Jackson Bate, 1984, p. 65. 66 Biographia Literaria, Vol. II, Ed. Walter Jackson Bate, 1984, p. 65. Italics, contraction, and capitalization Coleridge’s.

28 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi Characteristically,IqbalalsobringsinRumiwhoamongthe Persianpoetshadperhapsthemost tosayabout“meaning” (ma’ni)inthesenseof“Reality”.wereadthefollowingverses toward the end of Zabur-e Ajam: I do not know where ma’ni’s origins are, Its form is apparent and familiar to me Though; The song that has no meaning is Dead, its words are from a fire that’s ashen. The Master of Rum revealed the secret of meaning; My thought bends its forehead at his doorstep. “Meaning Is that which takes you away from yourself, Leaves you in no want for the form. Meaning is not That which renders you blind or deaf, or makes Man even more in love with the form.”67 InhisdialoguewithBhartrihariin JavedNama Iqbal makestheSanskritpoetandlinguisticphilosopherdescribethe poet’smusicormodeofexistencetobe“thecrescendoand diminuendoofsound”.Otherthanthis,“noneintheworld knowwherethepoetis.”68 Ithinktherecanbenomorefitting conclusion to our effort to understand the secret of Iqbal’s music thantoleavethematterherewithIqbal’sprayeratthebeginning of Zabur-e Ajam: Make my clod of dirt blaze with the light Of David’s song, To every particle of my being give Fire’s feathers and wings.69 If there ever was a poet’s prayer answered, it was this.

Shamsur Rahman Faruqi Allahabad, April 18, 2004

Author’s Note

AlltranslationsfromUrduandPersianhavebeen made by me. ThanksareduetomyfriendDr.Muhammad SuheylUmar,Director,IqbalAcademy,Pakistan, Lahorewithoutwhoseurgingsthispaperwould not have seen the light of the day.

67 Zabur-e Ajam, in Kulliyat-e Iqbal-e Farsi, Lahore, 1973, pp. 576-577. 68 Javed Nama, in Kulliyat-e Iqbal-e Farsi, Lahore, 1973, p. 758. 69 Zabur-e Ajam, in Kulliyat-e Iqbal-e Farsi, Lahore, 1973, p. 396.