Book & Author
Kalaam-e-FaizBakhat-e-Faiz: IftikharArif’s Wonderful Tribute to Faiz Ahmed Faiz
By Dr Ahmed S. Khan
Chicago, IL
Faiz Ahmad Faiz (1911-1984) was one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. Today in the 21 st century, Faiz remains a truly universal poet; h is poetry continues to provide solace to the millions of techno-stressed beings around the globe who long for freedom, love, and peace.
Faiz is unique in his ability to express the feelings of millions in simple reassuring words. He is a beacon of hope for the unprivileged and the suppressed. During the Cold War era, Faiz was branded with many labels: leftist, unpatriotic, atheist, etc. But his poetry has no left or right, rather it is a colorful mosaic of human emotions, feelings, sufferings and aspirations, a testimonial for the liberation of the human spirit.
Some have accused Faiz of not believing in the ideology of Pakistan, in response to such accusations Faiz had observed: “Let them say what pleases them. Not only do I believe in the ideology of Pakistan, I think that whatever I write is always in accordance with the ideology of Pakistan. I have never differed from this ideology. However, if my interpretation of the ideology of Pakistan is different from theirs, I cannot help it.” And some have accused Faiz as an atheist, but perhaps the accusers did not know that Faiz had memorized the first three parts of the Qur’an; he considered great Sufi saint MaulanaJalaluddin Rumi as his spiritual guide; and that just before he passed away, he led prayers in the mosque of his ancestral village.
The radiance of FaizSahib's poetry aims at the zenith of freedom, love and humanity, in contrast to politics of tyranny, oppression and racism. Referring to humanity and love, Faiz had observed: “I believe that humanity which has never been defeated by its enemies will, after all, be successful; at long last, instead of wars, hatred and cruelty, the foundation of humankind will rest on the message of the great Persian poet Hafez Shiraz: ‘Every foundation you see is faulty, except that of Love, which is faultless....”. His message of freedom, love and humanity resonates in the wide spectrum of his poetic works: from Naqsh-e-Faryadi (1943) to Nuskha-Hai-Wafa (1984). No matter how challenging the circumstances were, Faiz always inspired people to speak the truth and stand up against all forms of injustice, tyranny and oppression:
Mataa-e-Lauh-o-QalamChhinGa’yaa too kyagham hay!
Kay khoon-e-DilmeiNdaboo lee haiNUngliyaaNmaiN nay!
ZabaaN pay mohrLagihai to kya, kay Rakh dee hay!
Hareikhalqa-e-ZanjeermeiNzabaanmaiN nay
What if my pen and paper have been snatched away,
I have dipped my fingers in the heart’s blood.
What if my tongue has been sealed,
I have lent my tongue to each link of the chain.
In the post-Faiz poetic world, IftikharArif has emerged as the most prominent poet of modern Urdu. As Urdu literature gets translated into other languages, the beauty of his poetic message has started to shine all over the globe. Besides poetry, IftikharArif also writes exquisite prose. He is an intellectual par excellence, and a noble man. For his friends sometimes it becomes difficult to decide whether his “Nastaleeq poetry” is superior to his “Nafees personality” or vice versa.
IftikharArif hails from Dabistan-e-Lucknow and presently is the leading poet of Dabistan-e-Pakistan. In the mid-1960s, after migrating from Lucknow to Karachi, he lived across the famous Darussalam (the house where the Musharraf family lived after migration to Pakistan), where he made many friends in Nazimabad, Karachi. In the evenings he used to sit with friends on the Pulli’yahacross Darussalam and recite his poetry and share his aspirations. Soon after, he got discovered and became a legend through the Quiz program Kasauti on Pakistan Television. During the course of various literary activities in Karachi and London he befriended Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Their four-decade friendship ended in 1984 with the demise of Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
To honor and pay tribute to his friend and mentor, IftikharArif has written two books on FaizSahib.FaizBanamIftikhar and Kalam-e-FaizBakhat-e- Faiz were launched in 2011 to celebrate the 100 th year of Faiz’s birth. FaizBanamIftikhar is a collection of 38 letters Faiz wrote to IftikharArif. In Kalam-e-FaizBakhat-e-Faiz (Sang-e-Meel Publications), IftikharArif reminisces on his interaction and friendship with Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The book has two parts: the first is a collection of thirteen short narratives of IftikharArif on Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and the second part is an album of Faiz’s poetry in his own script. IftikharArif has dedicated the book to Alys (1914-2003), the dedicated wife who always stood by Faiz during his never-ending trials and tribulations.
In the narrativetitled Meraydilmeraymusafir (my heart my traveler), IftikharArif describes how he got this manuscript and how it got published. On his travel to Moscow from Beirut, FaizSahib stayed in London and gave IftikharArif the script of Meraydilmeraymusafir and asked him to review and mail it to Lahore for publication. Reflecting on Faiz’s request IftikharArif writes: “I was touched by his kind act and request and I became very emotional and touched his feet and requested him that my educational and literary standing is not of that caliber to judge and review your work.” After the publication of Meraydilmeraymusafir, when Faiz and Alys came to London, IftikharArifrequested Alys if he could keep the original manuscript of the book, Alys agreed. Later,IftikharArif gave the manuscript to Faiz Foundation.
IftikharArif remembers celebrating Faiz’s 70 th birthday at London’s Commonwealth Institute. The meeting was presided over by prominent Urdu scholar Ralph Russell. Zia Moheyuddin read Faiz’s poems. When ZehraNigar in her touching voice recited Faiz’s poetry, his eyes became misty.
During his exile Faizwrote remarkable poems. IftikharArif writes about Faiz’s interview conducted by BBC. Asked what advice he would offer to young people about poetry,Faiz said: “Regarding poetry there are three pieces of advice: first, whatever one writes it must come from the heart. Do not write on the advice of others. Do not write under pressure. Do not write for reward. Do not write for the sake of politics. Whatever comes from the heart just write that.The second piece of advice is that man in reality is a very miniscule; what can one produce from within; whatever is inside, comes from outside; so the point to ponder is that what is outside? So outside has three spheres, a sphere of one’s own self; what one has experienced and by virtue of this experience how people and the nation have been impacted. In light of this one should analyze the circumstance. So these are the three spheres one should ponder over. Moreover, one should keep an eye on past, present and future. One should ponder; what was our link to the past? What are we doing in the present? And in future, what paths do we need to pursue. After all this is contemplated, then it is possible to create high level poetry which can serve society.”
In another narrative “Faiz Lucknow maiN,” IftikharArif writes about Faiz’s visit to Lucknow. When Faiz returned to London after visiting Lucknow, he told IftikharArif, “I visited your city; there was a majestic gathering which was presided over by your teacher professor Syed Shabi-ul-Hasan Nonahervi. The professor said that centuries ago when Mir Taqi Mir visited Lucknow, it was a historic occasion. Today Faiz has visited Lucknow; it is the second significant historic occasion."
In the same narrative IftikharArif also mentions the fact that Faiz wanted a friendly relationship between Pakistan and India. Moreover, IftikharArif observes that he has attended a number of Mushairahswith FaizSahib, and he never heard FaizSahib saying anything against Pakistan.
IftikharArif recalls another BBC interview of Faiz in which he asked Faiz: “Do you have any regrets in your life?” Faiz replied: “One regret is that, when I was in school it was my ambition to become a star cricketer. I used to dream that I have become a test cricketer and was playing in big matches. But I could not become a star cricketer; I regret it very much…. another thing is that when I was five, six or seven years old, I started to memorize the Qur’an. The services of a Hafiz Sahib were acquired, and I memorized three parts. But then my eyes got sore, so that is another regret that I could not continue to memorize the additional parts of the Qur’an.”
In the narrative titled Allama Iqbal, IftikharArif mentions a conversation that took place between Faiz Ahmed Faiz and politician Jam Sadiq Ali at the Urdu Markaz, London. Jam Sadiq Ali toldFaizSahibn “SaiN you are our greatest poet.” Then gazing at the people present in the room, Jam Sadiq said, “I consider Faiz a superior poet than Iqbal.” FaizSahib said: “No that is not true. Mir was the greatest poet of the eighteenth century; nineteenth century belonged to Ghalib and the twentieth century belonged to Iqbal. Considering this, I am just a B plus poet.”
IftikharArif observes that Faiz was a very open-minded person; he firmly believed in his ideology, yet he respected others’ beliefs and emotions. This unique trait of his personality earned him the adoration of others. FaizSahib never said anything bad about people who used to criticize him. He believed that one should avoid conflict; in conflict one’s creative energy is wasted. IktikharArif has also included a narrative about Faiz’s stay in Beirut where he edited Lotus.
IftikharArif and FaizSahib were great friends; they respected each other and praised each other’s poetry. In the foreword of IftikharArif’s poetry collection “Maher-e-doo-neem,” Faiz Ahmed Faiz praising him observed, “… in future if he [IftikharArif] does not create additional work even then this book will earn him a prominent place in modern literature.” And IftikharArif praising Faiz in NaZr-e-Faiz has said:
JooFaiz say shaarFIsstaFadaHrakhtayhaiN
KuchahlaydarD say nisbatziadahrakhtayhaiN
Those who have the privilege of Faiz’s company
They have close relationship with those who are suffering
Indeed, IftikharArif had the privilege of Faiz’s company and through Kalam-e-FaizBakhat-e-Faizhe has proved his close relationship with Faiz. The book is a wonderful tribute to Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
(Dr Ahmed S. Khan – dr.a.s.khan@ieee.org – is a Fulbright Specialist Scholar)
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