Moharram--Marsiya--Meer Anees

[Afzal A. Khan]

Moharram is the first month of the Islamic year. Today (3rd December)
corresponds to the 29th Moharram 1435 AH.

Moharram is commemorated all over the Muslim world for the martyrdom
of Hazrat Imam Husain, the grandson of the Prophet. As per the Greg-
orian calendar, his death occurred on the 13th October 680, which
corresponds to the 10th Moharram 61 AH.

This is not quite the place to detail the political events of the
seventh century that culminated in the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam
Husain. Suffice it to say that, despite the coercive efforts of
Yazid (who had become the political supremo in Damascus), the Imam
refused to acknowledge his legitimacy. A large number of the people
in southern Iraq pleaded with the Imam to come to Koofa and assume
the leadership of the righteous. But when the Imam responded to this
call, Yazid sent a large army to Iraq and the local populace were
cowed down. The Imam who was accompanied by a small number of his
personal followers (including women and children) was compelled to
resist Yazid's army and, after a heroic fight, he and most of his
male colleagues suffered martyrdom on the banks of the Euphrates
river. Yazid's army had in fact denied them the waters of the
river for some days before the final battle.

Although Moharram is an occasion of mourning for all Muslims, it is
the Shia Muslims who observe it with a much greater sense of spirit-
ual loss.

Marsiya is a special genre of Urdu poetry which commemorates the
memory of these sad events. The principal Marsiya writers in Urdu
have been Meer Babar Ali Anees and Mirza Salamat Ali Baig Dabeer.
Anees passed away on 1874, and Dabeer in 1875.

Marsiya is a long elegiac poem, usually written in 6-misra' stanzas
(Musaddas). It is divided in some 8 or 9 parts, i.e. Chehra or
Matla' (i.e. the Opening part), Saraapa (i.e. the descriptive part),
RuKHsat (i.e the Parting), Aamad (i.e. Entry into the Battlefield),
Rajaz (i.e. description of one's Chivalry and Military Prowess),
Jang (i.e. the actual Battle), Shahaadat (i.e. the Martyrdom) and
lastly Bayn (i.e. the Lamentation, expressing the sense of loss).

As stated above, Meer Anees and Mirza Dabeer are regarded with common
consensus as the greatest exponents of the Marsiya. And, of these
two, Meer Anees is by far the more highly regarded. Most Urdu text
books in South Asian schools include some portions of a Marsiya by
Meer Anees. Since Mirza Dabeer is not so widely known today, I would
like to first present here a few lines from one of his Marsiyas, just
to give readers an idea of the flavour of his writing style :


Kis sher ki aamad hai k(e) ran kaaNp raha hai,
Ran ek taraf, charKH-e-kuhan kaaNp raha hai,
Rustam ka badan zer-e-kafan kaaNp raha hai,
Har qasr-e-salaateen-e-zaman kaaNp raha hai

Shamsheer ba~kaf dekh ke Haidar ke pisar ko
Jibreel larazte haiN, sameTe huwe par ko

Be~masl jabeeN hai, nigah-e-ahl-e-yaqeeN men,
Bas ek yeh KHursheed hai aflaak-o-zameeN men,
Jalwa hai 'ajab abruoN ka qurb-e-jabeeN men,
Do machhliaaN haiN chashma-e-KHursheed-e-mubeeN men,

Mardum ko ishaara hai yeh abroo ka jabeeN par
HaiN do mah-e-nau jalwa~numa charKH-e-bareeN par



As stated above, certain portions of the Marsiya (e.g. Saraapa)
include several stanzas on different topics, like In Praise of the
Sword, In Praise of the Horse, Description of the Heat etc. One such
topic is lamentation for the death/martyrdom of a(n adult) Son. Here
are a few lines from a Marsiya by Meer Anees, where this sentiment
finds a supremely tragic outpouring :



Dushman ko bhi KHuda na dekhaaye pisar ka daaGH,
Dil ko figaar karta hai, laKHt-e-jigar ka daaGH,
AaNkhoN ka noor khota hai, noor-e-nazar ka daaGH,
Marna jawaan beTe ka hai 'umr bhar ka daaGH

Yeh haal ibn-e-Faatima ke dil se poochhiye
ZaKHm-e-jigar ke dard ko, ghaayal se poochhiye

BeTa pukaar lo k(e) bahut be~qaraar hooN,
Be~kas hooN, be~watan hooN, GHareeb-ud-dayaar hooN,
Ahl-e-sitam to haNste haiN, maiN ashk~baar hooN,
Aafat men mubtala hooN, bala se do~chaar hooN

Bolo pidar se, tishna~dahaani ka waasta
Soorat dikhaa do apni jawaani ka waasta

Ji chaahta hai, phir tumheN ik baar dekh looN,
Mehboob-e-haq ka aaKHiri deedaar dekh looN,
MooNh par laTak'te gesoo-e-KHam~daar dekh looN,
Doobe lahoo men chaaNd se ruKHsaar dekh loon

Akbar gale se lipTo to Baba ko kal paRe
Ab hai yaqeeN k(e) mooNh se kaleja nikal paRe

Taqdeer jab k(e) tujh se jawaaN ko juda kare,
Phir yeh za'eef baap bhala jee ke kya kare,
Dukh men kisi ko yooN na falak mubtala kare,
Ab jald maut aaye hamaari KHuda kare

Badle 'asa ke haath men beTe ka haath ho
Hai aarzoo jahaaN se safar ho to saath ho




I have given only a few examples of the Marsiya, as a genre
of Urdu poetry. Maybe, I shall return to the topic sometime
in the future, life and health permitting....




Afzal

[ثاقب علی‎]

افضل صاحب،

مہربانی فرما کر ان اشعار کو اردو میں بھی تحریر کر دیجیئے

ثاقب


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