Javid-Nama (RLE Iran B)

Muhammad Iqbal, A Arberry

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9780415608534
• eBook ISBN:
  9781136840425
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Regional Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1873-1938) was not only amongst the leading political figures of his time, but regarded by many as the spiritual father of Pakistan and a great champion of the reform movement of modern Islam. He was also a poet, in both Urdu and Persian.

The recurrent theme of his poems is the infinite potentiality of man, as partner with God in shaping the destiny of the universe. As an ardent Muslim, Iqbal saw the realization of mankind's future in a union of Islamic peoples, unfettered by the bonds of separate nationhood, fully liberated from the chains of imperial domination.

The Javid-nama, commonly acknowledged as his greatest work, develops this theme within the frame-work of the 'Ascension' story. In imitation of the Prophet of Islam, the poet soars through the spheres, encountering on his heavenly journey many great figures of history with whom he converses. The resemblance to Dante's Divine Comedy is obvious.

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TRANSLATION

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DRAMATIS PERSONAE

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RUMI, the Sage of Rum, Persian poet and mystic

ZARVAN, the Spirit of Time and Space

JAHAN-DOST, an Indian ascetic

SAROSH, a Mazdean angel

GAUTAMA, the Buddha

DANCING-GIRL

AHRIMAN, the Zoroastrian Principle of Evil

ZOROASTER

TOLSTOY

IFRANGIN, an embodiment of Europe

ABU JAHL, an enemy of the Prophet Mohammed

JAMAL AL-DIN AFGHANI, an Afghan religious reformer

SA‘ID HALIM PASHA, a Turkish statesman and reformer

ZINDA-RUD, title bestowed on the author

MARDUKH, ancient idol

BAAL, ancient idol

PHARAOH

KITCHENER OF KHARTOUM

SUDANESE DERVISH, the Mahdi of Sudan

MARTIAN ASTRONOMER

MARTIAN PROPHETESS

HALLAJ, Persian mystic and martyr

GHALIB, Indian poet

QURRAT AL-AIN, Babi poetess and martyr

SATAN, a fallen angel called Iblis

SPIRIT OF INDIA

SADIQ, JAAFAR, Indian traitors

NIETZSCHE

SAYYID ALI HAMADANI, a Persian mystic known as Shah-i Hamadan

TAHIR GHANI, a poet of Kashmir

BARTARI-HARI, an ancient poet of India, Bhartrihari

NADIR, eighteenth century Shah of Persia

ABDALI, founder of modern Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Durrani

NASIR-I KHUSRAU, an early Persian poet

MARTYR-KING, Tippoo Sultan of Mysore

HOURIS, maidens of Paradise

BEAUTY, an Aspect of God

PRAYER

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Man, in this world of seven hues,

lute-like is ever afire with lamentation;

yearning for a kindred spirit burns him inwardly

teaching him threnodies to soothe the heart,

5 and yet this world, that is wrought of water and clay—

how can it be said to possess a heart?

Sea, plain, mountain, grass—all are deaf and dumb,

deaf and dumb heaven and sun and moon;

though the stars swarm in the selfsame sky

10 each star is more solitary than the other,

each one is desperate just as we are,

a vagrant lost in an azure wilderness—

the caravan unprovisioned against the journey,

the heavens boundless, the nights interminable.

15 Is this world then some prey, and we the huntsmen,

or are we prisoners utterly forgotten?

Bitterly I wept, but echo answered never:

where may Adam’s son find a kindred spirit?

I have seen that the day of this dimensioned world

20 whose light illuminates both palace and street

came into being from the flight of a planet,

is nothing more, you might say, than a moment gone.

How fair is the Day that is not of our days,

the Day whose dawn has neither noon nor eve!

25 Let its light illuminate the spirit

and sounds become visible even as colours;

hidden things become manifest in its splendour,

its watch is unending and intransient.

Grant me that Day, Lord, even for a single day,

30 deliver me from this day that has no glow!

Concerning whom was the Verse of Subjection revealed?

For whose sake spins the azure sphere so wildly?

Who was it knew the secret of He taught the names?

Who was intoxicated with that saki and that wine?

35 Whom didst Thou choose out of all the world?

To whom didst Thou confide the innermost secret?

O Thou whose arrow transpierced our breast,

who uttered the words Call upon me, and to whom?

Thy countenance is my faith, and my Koran:

40 dost Thou begrudge my soul one manifestation?

By the loss of a hundred of its rays

the sun’s capital is in no wise diminished.

Reason is a chain fettering this present age:

where is a restless soul such as I possess?

45 For many ages Being must twist on itself

that one restless soul may come into being.

Except you fret away at this brackish soil

it is not congenial to the seed of desire;

count it for gain enough if a single heart

50 grows from the bosom of this unproductive clay!

Thou art a moon: pass within my dormitory,

glance but once on my unenlightened soul.

Why does the flame shrink away from the stubble?

Why is the lightning-flash afraid to strike?

55 So long as I have lived, I have lived in separation:

reveal what lies beyond yon azure canopy;

open the doors that have been closed in my face,

let earth share the secrets of heaven’s holy ones.

Kindle now a fire within my breast—

60 leave be the aloe, and consume the...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Translation
• Dramatis Personal
• Prayer
• Prelude in Heaven On the first day of creation Heaven rebukes Earth
• Prelude on Earth The Spirit of Rumi appears and explains the mystery of the Ascension
• The Sphere of the Moon
• The Sphere of Mercury Visitation to the Spirits of Jamal al-Din Afghani and Sa‘id Halim Pasha
• The Sphere of Venus
• The Sphere of Mars The Martians
• The Sphere of Jupiter The noble spirits of Hallaj, Ghalib, and Qurrat al-Ain Tahira, who disdained to dwell in Paradise, preferring to wander for ever
• The Sphere of Saturn The vile spirits which have betrayed the nation and have been rejected by Hell
• Beyond the Spheres The station of the German philosopher Nietzsche
• Notes
• Bibliography