Hali's Musaddas: The Flow and Ebb of Islam

by Altaf Hussain Hali, Javed Majeed (Translator), Christopher Shackle (Translator)

This is the first critical presentation in English of Hali's epic poem, The Musaddas on `The Ebb and Flow of Islam' - a landmark in the development of Urdu poetry as of modern Indian literature. The first part of the book consists of a critical introduction and analysis of the poem, in the context of the historical, political and literary background of the age. The second contains an English translation of the poem, with facing Urdu text, an appendix listing Hali's revisions, a glossary of key words in the poem, and a full index.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Islam

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1889

About the author

Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali (1837–1914) (Urdu: مولانا الطاف حسین حالی) was an Urdu poet, and Writer. Hali occupies a special position in the history of Urdu literature. He was a poet, a critic, a teacher, a reformer and an impressive prose-writer. He was a close friend of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

Moulana Altaf Hussain Hali has an important place in Urdu literary history.He is one of the Aanasar-e-Khamsa of Urdu.He has written the Musaddas-e-Hali which occupies an important position in Urdu literature.

Born in Panipat in 1837, circumstances did not permit him to attain formal education in a school or college, yet he managed to acquire , through sustained self-effort, perfect command of Urdu, Persian and Arabic, and a good working knowledge of English. He later moved to Delhi where he wished to study the Islamic theology and poetic tradition. As a poet he did not confine himself within the narrow bounds of the ghazal, but successfully exploited the other poetic forms such as the nazm, the rubai, and the Marsia. More particularly, he harnessed his poetic abilities to the higher aims of social and moral edification. His famous long poem, Musaddas-e-Hali, examines the state of social and moral degradation prevalent in the then contemporary Muslim society. His prose treatise, Muqaddama-e-Shair-o-Shairi, is a pioneering work of literary criticism. It dwells on the limitations of the traditional ghazal, and points to the hollowness of its hackneyed themes and imagery, especially when the form is handled by inferior poets and versifiers.

Musaddas e mado jazr islam, one of Hali's most famous works describes the rise and fall of the Islamic empire in the sub-continent. It speaks about the Islamic empire at its best and worst.About Masadas-e-Hali,Sir Syed had said that If God will ask me that what have I achieved in life Then I will say that I've achieved The Mussadas written by Hali. The aim of this writing was to forewarn the Muslims of the sub-continent and make them more aware of their past and help them learn from their forefathers' mistakes. Some scholars of Pakistani nationalism also consider The Mussadas an important text for future articulation of a Muslim nation.

He has also written memorable biographies of Ghalib, Saadi Shirazi, and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, entitled respectively, Yaadgar-e-Ghalib, Hayat-e-Saadi, and Hayat-e-Javaid. His poem "Barkha Rut," describes the beauties of nature in the rainy season; "Hub-e-Watan," underscores the virtues of patriotism; while "Bewa ki Manajaat" focuses on the plight of widows in Indian society. Hali’s interests were wide-ranging, and his literary abilities were commensurate with his humanitarian aims.

Reviews

[Muhammad Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

مسدسِ حالی کی کیا تعریف کی جائے۔ یہ تو بس ایک نابغہ روزگار چیز ہے۔

جس درد مندی کے ساتھ مولانا حالی نے مسلمانوں کی حالتِ زار کی نقشہ کشی کی ہے وہ اُنہی کا خاصہ ہے۔

مسدس کے بہت سے اشعار اردو ادب میں زبان زد عام و خاص ہیں الغرض اگر آپ نے مسدس حالی نہیں پڑھی تو ضرور پڑھیے۔

[Cassidy A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interesting poem but be prepared for some internalized inferiority in comparison to the British, which is definitely a product of the period. It’s not without nuance but my little biased and partially Irish brain will praise the British for nothing except perhaps several seasons of Doctor Who. Very much may be a product of modern anti-colonialist sensibilities coming up against minds in the thick of the colonial enterprise.

Taken as a mixture of metaphor and exposition on the poet’s beliefs about the world it is an intriguing look at critique against the Muslim community in and around India from a Muslim. It’s summary of the history of Islam is very broad and very very sanitized, as is common in many poems of this type across religions, but it also speaks a lot about the massive impact the Islamic world had on the development of the West during its height. May need to re-read in the future.

[Maryam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maulana's Musaddas-e-Hali & Muqaddama-e-Shair-o-Shairi are great literary works. I’m a big fan. Can’t get enough of it. I wish i could understand each & every page thoroughly.

پستی کا کوئی حد سے گزرنا دیکھے
اسلام کا گِر کر نہ ابھرنا دیکھے
مانے نہ کبھی کہ مد ہے ہر جزر کے بعد
دریا کا ہمارے جو اترنا دیکھے

الطاف حسین حالی

[Rizwan]

g

[Lareb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read book

[Hassan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it v much

[Shahid]

it is very good poem