Taking Issue and Allah s Answer

by Iqbal, Mustansir Dalvi (Tr.)

When Muhammad Iqbal first recited Shikwa (Taking Issue) in 1909, his audience was enraged by his effrontery. Iqbal, in his lament, took issue with Allah directly, audaciously implicating Him for the sorry state of Muslims worldwide and ruing the lost glory of Islam. In recompense, Iqbal composed Jawaab-e-Shikwa (Allah’s Answer) in 1913. Here, Allah responds to the poet, first berating his community, then offering hope for Islam in the world. Iqbal’s mellifluous words greatly assuaged those angered earlier. Over time, the poems have found their place in the canon of South Asian literature, and, through recitation, repetition and selective use, have forwarded a variety of agendas in the subcontinent. In this elegant translation by Mustansir Dalvi, these classics by the most influential poet of his generation come alive once again in a language that is contemporary and immediate.

Genres: Poetry, Islam, Philosophy

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[S.Ach · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before there was the country, before there was the conflict, the massacre, before there was the partition, there was the idea - The idea of universal brotherhood. The dream of peaceful existence with love and devotion for God.
And this idea, this dream finds its roots in the poems of one of the founding fathers of Pakistan - Muhammad Iqbal.
Shikwa (Taking Issue) is the lament implicating the almighty for the misfortunes and misgivings of the Muslims worldwide that time and Jawaab-e-Shikwa (Allah's Answer) is the imagined response from God giving hope and suggesting Islaamic brotherhood.
As the translator of his poems puts in the introduction - If Shikwa is prophetic in the light of later events, Jawaab is its fulfillment.

However, being a non-believer of religion and nationalism, neither I could relate to the theme nor, as a non-Urdu speaker, I could appreciate the beauty of poetry enough.

[Razi Shaikh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Translation and transliteration could have been better. But overall, this small paperback from Penguin is both rewarding and delightful.

As for the original poetry itself, one can almost get an idea of the world in which Iqbal lived, the historical setbacks and tumult raging through the Muslim world, the indigence, the shock, the solution and hope of rising above it, Iqbal charts all this beautifully.

Note: One needs a fairly good grasp of Urdu, for Iqbal coins a lot of interesting terms using the rule of izaafat. Also, an awareness of Islamic symbols and stories would be useful, for Iqbal refers to it frequently.

[Petrus Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, not great, but not at all bad. Good points - easy read, simple structure, clear message & points, nice metaphors & descriptions. Cons - didn’t know enough about Islam myth so was confused a lot of the time and I couldn’t even find a lot of the references on Google, a lot of the book was written as prose in poetic form, so not really very “poetic” if you get me.

[Ravi Khemka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iqbal’s on my mind ever since I sang those epic words as a schoolboy -

‘लब पे आती है दुआ बनके तमन्ना मेरी
ज़िंदगी शम्मा कि सूरत हो खुदाया मेरी’.

Now decades later, its Iqbal again. He is lyrical as ever with stunning imagery-

‘नाले बुलबुल के सुनूँ और हमा-तन गोश रहूँ.
हम-नवाँ ! मैं भी कोई गुल हूँ कि ख़ामोश रहूँ ‘.

and a highly sensitive intellect -

‘लुत्फ़ मरने में है बाक़ी न मज़ा जीने में
कुछ मज़ा है तो यही ख़ून-ए-जिगर पीने में ‘.

but also stirring the pot are strands of his exceptionalism. The famous nationalistic outpouring-

‘ सारे जहाँ से अच्छा, हिन्दोस्तान हमारा’

is now succeeded by similar self-aggrandising assertions on faith -

‘तुझ से सरकश हुआ कोई तो बिखर जाते थे
तेग क्या चीज़ है, हम तोप से लड़ जाते थे’

While one may disagree with Iqbal’s obsessions of singularity and its spawning of the eventual horrors of Partition, as a poet he remains अशनूर. He speaks for himself -

एक बुलबुल है कि है महव-ए-तरन्नुम अबतक
उसके सीने में है नग़मों का तलातुम अब तक .

[نعمان · Rating 3 out of 5]

Translations are of two types: a literal translation of what the author has written, leaving it up to the reader to discern it’s meaning; and a translation where the translator has attempted to put their own stamp on the text. This book is the latter, which I personally do not prefer.

There are a few mistakes in the transliteration (particularly the switching of ج and ز) and translation but overall the book makes Iqbal’s poetry accessible to those who have a basic grasp of the Urdu language.

Highly recommend reading this alongside the translation by Professor Frances Pritchett of Columbia University: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pr... whose translation is more literal, with good footnotes to understand some of Iqbal’s references. I’d point those with little or no Urdu knowledge to this in the first instance.

[Abdul Mumeet Akhter]

magnificent

[Basit Nisar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humse kab pyaar? Haan, neend tumhe pyaari hai.
The poetry is above this world, just the translation sometimes is misplaced. Amazing book!

[Hafsa · Rating 2 out of 5]

not my type

[Asra Parvez · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The fragrance gave away all that was secret. Woe, it was the flower itself that betrayed the garden.”