masjid-e qur:tubah
hispaaniyah kii sar-zamii;N bi'l-;xu.suu.s qur:tabah me;N likhii ga))ii

Published in baal-e jibriil (The Wing of Gabriel) (1935).
From: kulliyaat-e iqbaal urduu
(Lahore: Shaikh Ghulam 'Ali and Sons Publishers, 1973 (and later reprints), pp. 385-393

a paa-band na:zm ; *meter*: = - - = / = - = // = - - = / = - =
(in this meter, an extra short 'cheat' syllable is permitted at the caesura)

Urdu spellings reflect adjustments made for the sake of the meter.
See the 'script bar' at the bottom of the page for viewing choices

This is a long nazm, and one of Iqbal's finest poems. It consists of eight stanzas [band] in the same meter, each of which is made up, formally speaking, of a seven-verse ghazal, followed by an extra internally-rhymed verse with different rhyming elements (technically, a ma:tla(( ) that is calligraphed very emphatically, as a kind of ;Tiip or 'punch-line' verse. My translation is as literal as it can possibly be, since it's meant for students of the poem and not for literary effect in English; I've also offered some annotations. The poem is full of resonant phrases, rhythmic repetitions, and internal rhyme; it really demands to be recited aloud, with feeling. Iqbal visited Cordoba and saw the Mosque during his European trip of 1931-32; it had long since been converted into a cathedral.

*A modern visitor's view-- and some photos of Iqbal's visit*

*More images of the Mosque of Cordoba*

*A recitation by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Aug. 1984*

*sung by Malika Pukhraj and Tahira Syed*; *sung by Ghulam Ali*; *sung by Tina Sani*

*the whole Urdu text*; *the whole Urdu text (one band on each page)*; *a serial glossary*; *a transliteration*

"Mosque of Cordoba" (c.1932)
("written in the land of Spain, and especially in Cordoba")

*stanza one*
*stanza two*
*stanza three*
*stanza four*
*stanza five*
*stanza six*
*stanza seven*
*stanza eight*

 

 
 
 

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