javaab-e shikvah
stanzas 1 through 5
(*text
with stanza numbers*; *serial
glossary*)
|
1) |
==After the first line, the
reader expects that the second line might well begin
with a qualification, so that the initial par is first read as "but." However,
this proves to be a "misdirection" [iihaam],
since it turns out to mean "wing," as we learn only from
later seeing its derivative parvaaz
("flight"); in a piquant way, the necessary "but" turns
out to be supplied by magar
instead. |
|
| It is
heavenly in origin, it keeps its gaze on the heights, It arises from the dust, it maintains a right-of-way over the sky. |
||
| My
passion was disturbance-creating and high-headed and
clever/tricky, My shameless lament tore open the sky. |
|
|
|
2)
The Old Man of the Sky, having heard [something], said, "Somebody's there somewhere!" The planets spoke: "Somebody's at the top of the celestial sphere!" |
==As in the case of Shikvah, I'm using exclamation points exactly when the Urdu does, since it seems that they were placed or at least approved by Iqbal. | |
| The moon
used to say, "No, it's some earth-dweller!" The Milky Way used to say, "Somebody is hidden right here!" |
||
| If anyone
somewhat understood my complaint, then Rizvan understood
it-- He understood me to be a man who had been expelled from Paradise! |
==Rizvan is the angel who acts as the doorkeeper
of Paradise. |
|
| .... | ||
|
3)
|
==In the first line kih introduces a quotation; in the second line it introduces an explanatory clause in apposition to yih .==The "is" reflects Urdu's traditional strong preference for direct over indirect discourse. |
|
| "Does
mankind range freely even to the height of the celestial
sphere? Has even a pinch of dust attained flight? |
==These and the following lines (down to the end of stanza 4) appear to be the words of the Paradise-dwellers who hear the speaker's complaint. | |
| "How
heedless of courtesy are the earth-dwellers! How mischievous and insolent are these dwellers below! |
||
|
4)
"Mischievous to such an extent that he's angry even with Allah! The one who received prostrations from the angels-- is this that Adam? |
||
| "It's a
state of intoxication-- he's a knower of many secrets-- Indeed, but he's unacquainted with the mysteries of powerlessness. |
==The Arabic kam , "a multitude, a quantity" (Steingass p.1046), seems more plausible in this context. |
|
| "Men
pride themselves on their power of speech-- The fools have no skill in conversation!" |
||
|
5)
A voice came: "Your story is grief-evoking, Your wine-glass is brimful of restless tears. |
==Here begins the Lord's reply to the original "Complaint." Appropriately, he addresses the poet with the intimate tuu . | |
| "Your
intoxicated warcry/slogan became sky-gripping, How mischievous-tongued is your mad heart! |
||
| "You made
your complaint into thanks, through beauty of expression, You made servants into speech-sharers with the Lord. |
||
*On to stanzas 6-10* -- *"Shikvah" index page*
-- IQBAL index page -- *Platts Dictionary Online* -- FWP's main page --