We are often tempted to attribute the wretched state of our economy to divine providence. That was the theme of Muhammad Iqbal’s long poems, Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa. I quote the original and the translation.
Kyon zian kaar banoo, sood
faramosh rahoon
Fikr-e-fardaa naa karoon,
mehwe-gham-e-dosh rahoon
Naley bulbul key sunoo aur hamatan
gosh rahoon
Hamnava! Main bhee koee gul hoon
key khamosh rahoon?
Jurat — aamoze meyree tabe —
sukhan hai mujh ko
Shikwa Allah sey, Khakam-badhan,
hai mujh ko
Why must I forever lose, forever
forego profit that is my due,
Sunk in the gloom of evening past,
no plans for the morrow pursue.
Why must I all attentive be to the
nightingale’s lament
Friend, am I as dumb as a flower? Must I remain silent?
My theme makes me bold, makes my
tongue more eloquent.
Dust be in my mouth, against Allah
I make complaint.
However, the same Iqbal exhorted people to shape their own destiny with their own hands:
Khudi ko kar buland itna
Keh har taqdeer sey pehley
Khuda bandey se khud poocchey
Bata, ‘Teri raza kya hai?’
Endow your will with such power
That at every turn of fate it so be
That God Himself asks of His slave
‘What is it that pleases thee?’
*********
Yaqeen mukham, amal paiham,
Mohabbat fateh-i -alam;
Jehad-i-zindgani mein
Hain yeh mardon kee shamsheeren
In man’s crusade of life three
weapons has he:
Conviction that his cause is just;
Resolution to strive till eternity:
Compassion that embraces
all humanity.
*********
Amal sey zindagi banti hai
Jannat bhi jahannum bhi;
Yeh khaki, apni fitrat mein
Na noori hai na nari hai
‘Tis how we act that makes our lives;
We can make it heaven, we can make
it hell
In the clay of which we are made
Neither light nor darkness (of evil)
dwell.
Sullied by alcohol
“Once, the two Clauses knocked on a Friday evening, just before Karim’s Quranic session was to begin. Usually Karim turned people away during these sessions, unless they were part of his discussion group. But he let the Clauses in. It indicated to me how close he felt to these two bearded men who had spent most of their vacations treating poor people in remote villages of Asia and Africa.
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| Divine image |
‘But when Great Claus wanted to hold the Quran — in Arabic, Urdu and English — that Karim passed around and referred to, Karim apologetically pulled it away. ‘It is holy book, Clause, if I may’, he said in Danish, ‘You should be clean before you can hold it.’
‘It was then that I realized for the first time that Karim had never let either Ravi or me touch his Quran. Ravi because he was, despite his interest in the religion, not a Muslim and me because, in Karim Bhai’s eyes, I had sullied myself with alcohol, non-halaal food and probably —he was right in suspecting — I did not perform the ritual stinja cleansing every time I pissed.”
(From Tabish Khair’s How to Fight Islamist Terror from the Missionary Position)
Mixed bag
The sales manager was going over his salesmen’s expense accounts. One particular salesman’s account was interesting, “Just look at this!” he shouted. “How can you spend Rs 1,500 on lunch in a small town like Jhumri Telaiya?”
“It’s easy,” answered the salesman cheerfully, “You just skip breakfast.”
**********
“For the last time,” a husband shouted towards the dressing room, “Are you ready to go?”
“For heaven’s sake, be quiet,” retorted his wife, before a mirror, giving finishing touches on her lips, “I’ve been telling you for the last hour that I’ll be ready in a minute.”
**********
“I heard you’re offering a big reward for the wallet you lost yesterday.”
“Yes, that’s right —have you found it?”
“No, I haven’t, but I’m just about to start looking and was wondering whether you could give me a small advance.”
(Contributed by Reeten Ganguly, Tezpur)
