Shikwah (English)

Courtesy: disna.us

Why should I be destructive and remain reckless of betterment? Think not of the future, remain occupied in todays problems? Should I hear nightingales wails, and remain completely silent? O companion! Am I some flower so that I may remain silent? The strength of my poetry is encouraging to me Woe be to me 1! My remonstrance is against God! It is true that we are famous in the methods of obeisance But we are relating our story of pain out of compulsion Though a silent orchestra, we are full of complaint If the wailing comes to lips we are excusable O God! Listen to the remonstrance also from the faithful Listen to some complaint also from the one accustomed to praise you Though Thy Eternal Essence had existed since eternity The flower existed in the garden but fragrance had not dispersed Justice is a condition, O Lord of Universal Benevolence How could flowers fragrance spread if zephyr did not exist? This problems solution was the source of satisfaction to us Otherwise was the Holy Prophets Ummah insane? The scene of Thy world was strange before us Stones were adored somewhere, trees were worshipped somewhere The eyes of Man were accustomed to tangible forms How could they be amenable to accept the Unseen God? Doth Those know who ever told Thy beads? The strength of the Muslims arm completed Thy task! Saljuqs 2 were living here and the Turans 3 also The Chinese in China and in Iran the Sasans 4 also The Greeks were also living in the same habitation In the same world were the Jews and the Christians also But who raised the sword in Thy name? Who reclaimed the despoiled world in Thy name? We alone were the marshals of Thy troops! We were fighting now on land and now in the oceans Some times we were calling adhans in the Europes cathedrals And sometimes in the scorching African deserts We never cared for the grandeur of monarchs We recited the Kalimah 5 under the shade of swords

If we lived we lived for the calamities of wars If we died we died for the grandeur of Thy name We did not wield the sword for our kingdoms Did we roam about the world fearlessly for wealth? If our nation had been greedy of worldly wealth Why would we have been idol breakers instead of idol sellers 6 ? Once firmly standing in the battle we were immovable Even lions in the battle against us would be in flight We were enraged if some one rebelled against Thee Not to talk of sword we were fighting against canons We impressed Tawds picture on every heart We conveyed this message even under the dagger Tell us Thou, by whom was uprooted the gate of Khaibar 7 By whom was conquered the city which was Qaisars 8 ? By whom were the images of created gods destroyed? By whom were the armies of infidels slaughtered? By whom was the fire temple of Iran extinguished? By whom was the story of Yazdan 9 restored to life? Which nation did become Thy seeker exclusively? And became embroiled in wars calamities for Thee? Whose world-conquering sword did world-ruler become? By whose Takbr did Thy world enlightened become? Through whose fear idols did perpetually alarmed remain? Falling on their faces saying Huwa Allah O Aad 10 did remain? If the time of prayer right during the battle fell Hijaz nation in prostration facing the Kaabah fell Both Mahmud and Ayaz 11 in the same row stood None as the slave and none as the master stood The slave and the master, the poor and the rich all became one! On arrival in Thy Audience all were reduced to one! We continuously wandered all over the world We wandered like the wine-cup with Tawds wine We wandered with Thy Message in the mountains, in the deserts And doth Thou know whether we ever returned unsuccessful? What of the deserts! We did not spare even oceans! We galloped our horses in the dark ocean 12! We effaced falsehood from the earths surface We freed the human race from bonds of slavery We filled Thy Kabah with our foreheads We put Thy Quran to our hearts

Still Thou complaineth that we are lacking fealty If we are lacking fealty Thou also art not generous There are other ummahs, among them are sinners also There are modest people and arrogant ones also Among them are slothful, indolent as well as clever people There are also hundreds who are disgusted with Thy name Thy Graces descend on the other peoples abodes Lightning strikes only the poor Muslims abodes The idols in temples say The Muslims are gone They are glad that the Kabahs sentinels are gone From the worlds stage the ud 13 singers are gone They, with the Quran in their arm pits, are gone Infidelity is mocking, hast Thou some feeling or not? Dost Thou have any regard for Thy own Tawd or not? We do not complain that their treasures are full Who are not in possession of even basic social graces Outrageous that infidels are rewarded with Houris and palaces And the poor Muslims are placated with only promise of Houris We have been deprived of the former graces and favors What is the matter, we are deprived of the former honors? Why is the material wealth rare among Muslims? Thy omnipotence is boundless and inestimable With Thy Will the deserts bosom would produce bubbles The deserts rambler can be facing flood of mirages waves Others sarcasm, disgrace and poverty is our lot Is abjection the reward for Loving Thee ? Now, this world is the lover of others For us it is only an imaginary world We have departed, others have taken over the world Do not complain now that devoid of Tawd has become the world We live with the object of spreading Thy fame in the world Can the wine-cup exist if the cup-bearer does not live? Thy assemblage is gone, and Thy Lovers are also gone The nights sighs and the dawns wailings are gone They had loved Thee, they are gone with their rewards They had hardly settled down and they were turned out The Lovers came but with tomorrows promise were sent away Now seek them with Thy beautiful faces lamp14 every way! Lailahs pathos is the same, and Qais bosom is the same In the Najds wilderness and mountains the deers running is the same

The Loves heart is the same, the Beautys magic is the same The Ummah of the Holy Prophet is the same, Thou art the same Why then this displeasure without reason is? Why then this displeasure for Thy Lovers is? Did we forsake Thee, did we forsake the Arabian Holy Prophet? Did we adopt idol sculpture, did we idol breaking forsake? Did we forsake Love, and did we forsake the madness of Love? Did we forsake the customs of Salman15 and Uwais of Quran16? We have the Takbrs fire suppressed in our hearts! We are living the life of Bilal 17 te Negro! Granted that Love has lost its former elegance also We may have lost treading the path of Love also We may have lost the restless heart like the compass also And we may have lost the observance of fidelitys rules also Thou art changing friendship between us and others It is difficult to say but Thou art also unfaithful 18! Thou perfected the Dn on the peak of Faran 19 Thou captivated the hearts of thousands in a moment Thou consumed the produce of Love with fire Thou burned the congregation with Thy faces fire Why are not our breasts filled with Loves sparks now? We are the same Lovers, dost Thou not remember now? The noise of Lovers chains in the Najds Valley has disappeared Qais has no more remained longing for the litters sight Those old ambitions, we, as well as the heart have disappeared The house is destroyed as Thou art not present in the house O that happy day when Thou with elegance will come back When Thou unveiled to our congregation will come back Others are sitting at the stream bank in the rose garden Listening to the cuckoos call with wine-cup in their hand In the garden on a side far from the riotous crowd are sitting Thy Lovers are also patiently wanting for a H! 20 Again endow Thy moths with Longing for burning themselves Give the command for consumption in Love to the old lightning The wandering nation is riding again towards Hijaz The taste of flight has carried the unfledged nightingale The fragrance of humility is restless in every flower bud Just start the music, orchestra is seeking the plectrum Songs are restless to come out of the strings r is impatient for burning in the same fire

Make easy the difficulties of the blessed Ummah Place the poor ant shoulder to shoulder to Sulaiman 21 Make the invaluable produce of Love accessible again Change the idolatrous Muslims of India into Muslims again A stream of blood drips from the frustrations mine Wailing palpitates in the wounded breast of mine! The rose fragrance took gardens secret outside the garden Outrageous that flowers themselves are informers against the garden The spring is over, broken is the orchestra of the garden Flown away from branches are the songsters of the garden Only a nightingale is left which is singing still In its breast overflows the flood of songs still 22 Turtle-doves from the junipers branches are gone also Flower petals dropping from the flower are scattered also The gardens old beautiful walk-ways are gone also The branches became bare of the cover of leaves also But his nature remained free of the seasons restrictions Would somebody in the garden understand his complaint!! There is no pleasure in dying and no taste in living is If there is any pleasure it in bearing this affliction is Many a virtue is restless in my mirror! Many an effulgence is fluttering in my breast! But there is none in this garden to see them There are no poppies 23 with Loves stain on their breasts May hearts open up with the song of this lonely nightingale May the sleeping hearts wake up with this very Bang-e-Dara May the hearts come to life again with a new covenant May the hearts be thirsty again for this same old wine My alembic may be from `Ajam, but my wine is from Hijaz The song may be Indian but my tune is from Hijaz