Allama Iqbal's Famous Poem " Masjid e Qurtaba "-Grand Mosque of Cordoba, Spain - English Translation & Commentary + Listen to Ghulam Ali with English Subtitles
Allama Iqbal's Famous Poem " Masjid e Qurtaba "-Grand Mosque of Cordoba, Spain - English Translation & Commentary |
Link to YouTube : Ghulam Ali singing this beautiful Poem with English Subtitles-
https://youtu.be/suSq_P4OqrA
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The call it gives and the message it conveys may, indeed, be described as the National Anthem of Muslims and it is unique to their community. At one time the soul of the universe trembled and the foundations of the citadels of falsehood shook at the sound of it. It was the Islamic Azan that announced the dawn of a new morning and dispelled the gloom that had enveloped the world in the 6th Century A.D. Iqbal recalls the Divine message and the celestial guidance the Azans used to carry to the four corners of the world and the depth and intensity of their significance. The more he ponders over it the more is he convinced that the Millet which is endowed with this eternal call and lives according to this everlasting message is, also, imperishable. | ||||||
The beautiful yet poignant scene, the historical monument, the splendid Mosque (whose pulpit for centuries had remained deprived of sermons, courtyard and arches of genuflexion and minarets of Azan) touched every chord of his heart and reactivised the unhealed wounds. The ocean of his feelings was stirred and waves if faith and awareness, ardor and eagerness and music and melody, mingled with those of pain and disappointment, grief and anguish, began to rise in it. It was in these circumstances that the enthralling poem, Masjid-i-Qurtaba, was conceived, part of which was written in Cordova itself and the rest was completed during his stay in Spain. | ||||||
with it, all the wonders of art and architecture, historical buildings and ancient monuments, are heading towards ruin and destruction. But such constructions are an exception that are touched by the messianic hand of a man of God and a devoted Believer and shine with the radiance of his love. Chain of days and nights-artificer of all events Chain of days and nights-sigh of eternity’s music Thee it puts to test and me it puts to test, If thou art of less value and it I am of less value, Of your day and night what other meaning but this- All those masterpieces of Art, transitory and impermanent; Death the beginning and end, death to the visible and hidden; Yet in this design of things, something unending endures, Love is the plectrum that plucks songs from the chords of life, After this long prologue Iqbal turns to the Mosque and addresses these words to it: “O Mosque of Cordova! For thy existence and thy glory thou art indebted to love, to the tender passion that is immortal. In this way, thou, too, art eternal. “Philosophy, art and poetry, or any other form of literary or artistic activity, is shallow and insincere if it is not fed with the blood of the heart. It is no more that an empty structure of word and sound, paint and oil, or brick and stone, possessing neither life nor beauty nor freshness. Works of art, of whatever excellence they may be, cannoth endure without the intensity of inner passion, depth of love and profundity of earnestness. When a drop of love’s warm blood falls upon a piece of marble it turns it into a bearing heart and if even a man’s heart is destitute of love it is a slab of stone. “O magnificent Mosque! In love and eagerness we both are alike. There is a mystical affinity between you and me. Man, in his creation is a handful of dust but his heart is the envy of the ninth heaven. The human heart is also lit up with the luster of Divinity and the joy of Presence. Angels, indeed are famous for unending genuflexion but the warmth and delight of human prostration has not been granted to them.Referring to his Indian and Brahmin origin, Iqbal says, “Look at the fervour and earnestness of this Indian infidel! He was born and brought up in the house of infidelity but his lips and heart are constantly engaged in prayer and invocation, benediction and salutation. On meeting you in this strange land, he has become a picture of intentness and devotion. There obtains a complete uniformity and understanding between your soul and mine!” Oh shrine of Cordova, thou owes; existence to love. On beholding this marvel of architecture, Iqbal is reminded of the real Muslim, the true Believer, whom only Islam can produce and, with it, the mighty Ummat also emerges on the surface of his mind from which the splendour of the Mosque is. In Iqbal’s view the Mosque of Cordova, in the totality of its appearance and effectiveness, is a material manifestation of the Momin. In its beauty and elegance, height and width, gracefulness and solidity, fineness and strength it is his exact replica. Its imposing pillars remind Iqbal of the oases of Arabia and in its balconies and latticed windows he sees the gleams of Heavenly effulgence. He regards its towering minarets to be the descending points of Divine mercy and the halting places of the angels. Overcome with the emotion, he cries out: “The Muslim is imperishable, he shall not die, because he is the bearer of the message of Abraham and Moses and of all the Divine Apostles.”
Behold is thy stones are all the Believer’s secrets, Fire of passionate days, rapture of melting nights. High is his station and great his thoughts are, Ecstasy, burning desire, self-abasement and pride. The hand of the Momin is the Hand of Allah- Dominant, resourceful, creative, ensuring success. Fashioned of dust and light, slave with the Master’s attribute. His heart is indifferent to the riches of the worlds. His earthly hopes are few, his aims are high. Courtesy in his men, gaining all hearts with his glance; He is soft of speech but fierce in the hour of pursuit, In war and in peace, pure in thoughts and in art. The point of God’s great compass the Believer’s firm faith, All this universe else-shadow, illusion, deceit. He is the goal of love, he is the end of Love, He, in the circle of the firmament, sets all spirits aglow. Iqbal proceeds to pay a tribute of never-fading charm to the Mosque. “Thou art the Mecca of the seekers of the Art.”, he says, “the place of pilgrimage for the devotees of love and the symbol of the glory of Islam. Thanks to thee, the soul of Cordova is vying for sacredness and elevation with the heavens. If anything can compare with thee it is the heart of the true Believer.” Here Iqbal loses control of his feelings. He looks in the distant past and centuries roll back in his imagination. He begins to live in the Muslim ascendancy in Spain. Combining romanticism with classicism he asks, “Where are the Moorish horsemen, the men of virtue, the embodiments of faith and the champions of truth? Where has their unrelenting caravan stopped? Where have the Arab rulers, the precursors of European Renaissance, gone whose government was another name for social justice and public welfare?” Iqbal feels that Spain still bears the floral imprint of Arab blood. Oriental charm, hospitality and sincerity can even now be seen among its people. Its air is filled with the scent of Najd and Yemen and the the music of Iraq and Arabia reverberates in the atmosphere. Shrine of the seekers art! Glory of the manifest Faith! In the midst of these sorrowful recollections Iqbal’s imagination is fired with the desire for change. He says that through the land of Andalusia enjoys the high position of the heaven it has not heard the Azan for ages and in spite of the fact that winds of revolution are blowing in the world there is no evidence of a ripple in its stagnant waters. Martin Luther’s movement of Protestant Reformation in Germany not only led to the decline of Papal authority and the extinction of the hegemony of the Church but it also made its impact on language, literature and civilizations and paved the way for the cultural revival of Europe. The philosophy of Rousseau and Voltaire brought about the Revolution of France and set the stage for the emergence of the industrial era. Conservative Italy, too is showing signs of regeneration. Against his background Iqbal yearns for an Islamic revolution. He believes that the revolutionary spirit of Muslims is also uneasy but one does not know when it is going to assert itself. To Vadi-El-Kabir (Guadalquiver) he says: “On your bank a stranger is seeing the image of the future in the mirror of the past. Fascinating though the dream is, it is so intolerable to Europe that it cannot listen calmly to my plain-speaking.” The destination of nations is forged in strife and revolt. Those who watch their steps carefully and analyze their feelings and keep an eye on their mental process are successful in life and make their mark in history. About art and thought, poetry and literature, Iqbal once again emphasizes that a philosophy which is not written with the blood of the heart is no more than a mental exercise. The vital flame, the breath of life, is missing from it. Likewise, the greatest works of art fade into oblivion if the blood of the artist does not flow into them and music that does not spring from the depths of the soul is transient and superficial. This is Iqbal’s concept of art as well as of life. Thy land is like the heavens in the sight of the stars – Drowned in the twilight is the cloud in the mountain gorge; Link to Full Article with Urdu Text of Poetry: http://www.allamaiqbal.com/webcont/406/web_pages/cordova_mosque_1.htm |
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