Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa

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"Shikwa" (Urdu: شکوہ‎, "Complaint") and "Jawab-e-Shikwa" (Urdu: جواب شکوہ‎, "Response to the Complaint") are poems written by Muhammad Iqbal, in the Urdu language, which were later published in his book Kulliat-e-Iqbal. The poems are often noted for their musicality, poetical beauty and depth of thought.

Overview[]

Though much of his poetry is written in Persian, Muhammad Iqbal was also a poet of stature in Urdu. Shikwa, published in 1909, and Jawab-e-Shikwa, published in 1913, extol the legacy of Islam and its civilizing role in history, bemoan the fate of Muslims everywhere, and squarely confront the dilemmas of Islam in modern times. Shikwa is in the form of a complaint to Allah for having let down Muslims and Jawab-e-Shikwa is in the form of God's reply.[1][2]

The central idea of the poem Shikwa is that God is not fulfilling his promise to protect followers of the Prophet from loss and a decline in fortune. In Jawab-e Shikwa God answers directly that he has not broken his promise; instead it is the Muslims, his followers, who have turned away from the Path.[3]

Controversies On Shikwa[]

The reason why Shikwa raised controversies is because the main theme of the poem was the 'Complaint to God' for Muslim's downfall, ill-treatment and troubles they were facing.[4] When the first of these poems, Shikwa, was published it created confusion among Muslim Scholars who thought that Iqbal was being ungrateful for the blessings of God. "When Iqbal wrote Shikwa, orthodox religious clerics called him an infidel, and in all honesty, Shikwa does emanate a very strong sense of entitlement".[5] The second poem, Jawab-e-Shikwa, was not announced with the publication of the first, but when it was published four years later Iqbal was praised for his contribution to Urdu poetry and Islamic literature.

Publication[]

Iqbal recited Shikwa for the first time in April 1909, at a poetry gathering organized by Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam in Lahore.[6] In 1913 Iqbal recited its sequel Javab-e-Shikwa at a political rally held outside Mochi Gate, Lahore[6] to raise money for the Turkish struggle against a Bulgarian uprising, a prefiguring of the Khilafat Movement.[7]

Composition[]

Javab e Shikwa [8]


dil se jo baat nikaltī hai asar rakhtī hai
par nahīñ tāqat-e-parvāz magar rakhtī hai
qudsi-ul-asl hai rif.at pe nazar rakhtī hai
ḳhaak se uThtī hai gardūñ pe guzar rakhtī hai
ishq thā fitnagar o sarkash o chālāk mirā
āsmāñ chiir gayā nāla-e-bebāk mirā

Muhammad Iqbal

Iqbal composed both the poems in the Arabic metre ramal. Shikwa is made of 31 stanzas of six lines each, while Javab-e-Shikwa is made of 36 stanzas of the same length. The first four hemistichs (misra) have the same rhyme and the last two a different one; i.e. the rhyme scheme is AAAABB. In the whole work four verses are in Persian.[9]

Syllabic structure of a verse[10]
Stress – u – – u u – – u u – – – –
Syllable dil se jo baa t ni kal ti hai a sar rakh ti hai

In this metre, the next-to-last long syllable can be replaced at will by two short syllables; i.e., in the first verse of Shikwa, Iqbal replaced next-to-last long syllables by two short syllables:[10]

Stress – u – – u u – – u u – – u u –
Syllable kyun zi yaan kaa r ba nu soo d fa raa mo sh ra hu

Translations[]

The available translations of both poems are:[11]

  • The Complaint And The Answer (1943) by Altaf Hussain
  • Complaint And Answer (1955) by A. J. Arberry
  • Shikwa And Jawab-e-Shikwa by Nawab Mahmood Ali Khan Tyro
  • Complaint And Answer (1981) by Khushwant Singh
  • Allama Muhammad Iqbal's Expostulation With The Almighty And Almighty's Censure (1977) by Suleman Zubair
  • Representation And Reply (1998) by Raja Sultan Zahur Akhtar

Legacy[]

Both poems were sung by the Sabri Brothers, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the late Aziz Mian.[12]

Both poems were recited together in Coke Studio Season 11. Shikwa was sung by Natasha Baig, while Fareed Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawwal & Brothers sang Jawab-e-Shikwa .[13]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Shikwa Jawab e Shikwa Allama Iqbal Urdu pdf - Book Hut". Book Hut. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa". Operation Pakistan. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  3. ^ Farooqi, Mehr Afshan (2012). "Literary Paradigms in the Conception of South Asian Muslim Identity: Muhammad Iqbal and Muhammad Hasan Askari". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Duke University Press. 32 (1): 192. doi:10.1215/1089201X-1545454 – via Project MUSE.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  4. ^ Chaudry, Salma. "Iqbal's Payam-e-Mashrik", "youlinmagazine", 5 December 2014
  5. ^ Fazli, Sarah."105 years later, Allama Iqbal’s Shikwa and Jawabe Shikwa are still raising significant existential questions", The Express Tribune, 9 November 2018
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Iqbal's Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa - a contemporary translation". The Express Tribune. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  7. ^ Naveeda Khan (22 May 2012). Muslim Becoming: Aspiration and Skepticism in Pakistan. Durham: Duke University Press. pp. 61, 65. ISBN 978-0-8223-5231-0. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Jawab-e-Shikwa". Rekhta.
  9. ^ Bannerth, Ernst; Iqbāl, Muhammad (1942). "Islam in Modern Urdu Poetry". Anthropos. 37/40 (4/6): 606–607. JSTOR 40449063. – via JSTOR (subscription required)
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Pritchett, Frances. ""Shikvah" and Javab-e shikvah by Muhammad Iqbal". Columbia University in the City of New York. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  11. ^ Ghani, Abdul (2000). Zulfiqar, Ghulam Hussain (ed.). "An Invaluable Translation Of 'Shikwa' And 'Jawab-E-Shikwa'". Iqbal : Quarterly Journal of the Bazm-i-Iqbal. Lahore: Bazm-i-Iqbal. 47 (1, 2, 3): 87. OCLC 831517581.
  12. ^ Akbar Ahmed (12 August 2005). Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin. London: Routledge. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-134-75022-1. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  13. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrCek73_e_M

External links[]

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