Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. anand mohan gulzar dehlavi (1926-2020), a kashmiri panDit, a scholar and lover of urdu and totally committed to communal harmony. Over his long and fruitful life has written with much love and admiration about many illustrious figures – political, religious and literary. This is a heartfelt tribute to ali ibn-e abi taalib, and shows his intimate knowledge of islamic history and folklore.
1
uTha haram¹ se Khamiir²-e ruKh³-e veqaar⁴-e ali
naseem⁵-e kaa’ba se nikhri⁶ hai nau-bahaar⁷-e ali    1.the sanctuary of the kaa’ba 2.ingredients, clay, origins 3.face 4.dignity 5.breeze 6.freshened, cleaned 7.new spring
It is believed that ali was born inside the sanctuary of the kaa’ba, because his mother happened to be cleaning around it at the time. Thus, the glory of the face of ali comes from the clay of kaa’ba of which he is made i.e. his ‘Khamiir’ is of the k’aaba. It is the breeze of the kaa’ba that makes the spring of ali forever fresh.
2
vo qibla¹ aal-e-nabi² ka, vo jaan³-e Khatm-e-rusul⁴
zabaaN sanaa⁵-e ali hai, qalam⁶ nisaar⁷-e ali    1.direction setter 2.progeny of mohammed 3.soul 4.end of the line of prophets i.e. mohammed 5.praise 6.pen 7.homage
He set the direction for the progeny/successors of mohammed to follow. He was the soul of the message of mohammed. My words are in praise of ali and my pen pays homage to him.
3
vo shahr-e ilm¹ ka darvaaza aur shujaa’at² ka
hasiiN³ sha’oor⁴-e ali, hasiiN she’aar⁵-e ali   1.knowledge 2.courage 3.beautiful, virtuous 4.knowledge 5.nature
ali’s courage and his knowledge are both legendary. It is believed that mohammed called him the door from which knowledge can be received. It is also said that in the battle of Khaibar he brought down the door to the heavily defended fortress. Thus, ‘shahr-e ilm ka darvaaza’ and that of courage refer to both. His knowledge and his nature, both beautiful/pleasant and virtuous.
4
vo Khaak¹-e kaa’ba se ubhra² imaam-e-diiN³ ho kar
shariik⁴-e masjid-e kuufa hua Ghubaar⁵-e ali    1.dust 2.emerged, rose 3.leader of the faithful 4.admitted to, mixed in 5.dust, clay
Born inside the sanctuary of the kaa’ba, ali was killed while leading prayers in the masjid of kuufa. Thus, he rose from the clay of the kaa’ba to become the leader of the faithful and finally his dust mingled with the masjid of kufa.
5
vo buu-turaab¹, vo sher-e-Khuda², haram-maulood³
ke baab-e-ilm⁴ o shujaa’at⁵ hai ifteKhaar⁶-e ali    1.a title given to ali (it means father of the earth) 2.lion of god (title because of his bravery) 3.born in the sanctuary 4.door of knowledge i.e. dispenser/teacher 5.bravery 6.dignity, honour
Among the honourific titles of ali – buu-turaab, sher-e Khuda, haram-maulood, baab-e ilm and baab-e shujaa’at. The only explanation to add is that the title ‘buu-turaab’ comes from the story that once mohammed saw him covered in dust and lovingly called him ‘buu-turaab – father of the earth’.
6
nuqoosh-e-paa¹-e muzayyan² haiN Khandaq³ o Khaibar⁴
qadam qadam⁵ pe mileNge tumheN nigaar⁶-e ali 1.foot-prints 2.decorative, beautification 3.trench 4.name of a fort 5.every step 6.images, marks
“Khandaq” was the battle of the trench in which ali devised a strategy of digging a trench into which enemy combatants fell. Khaibar was a fortress and another battle in which ali was victorious. Thus in these (and other) battles ali’s footprints can be seen. At every step you will see the marks/impressions of ali’s valour.
7
nabi¹ ne duKht²-e mutahhar³ idhar nikaah⁴ meN dii
udhar Khuda ne ata⁵ ki hai zulfiqaar⁶-e ali    1.prophet, mohammed 2.daughter 3.pure, holy, virtuous 4.marriage 5.granted 6.name of the sword of ali
It is said that at the start of one of the more difficult battles, mohammed presented ali with a sword (famous swords have names – in this case, zulfiqaar), saying that it was granted by god. Thus, mohammed gave his virtuous daughter in marriage and god granted the zulfiqaar to ali.
8
qalandari¹ ko maqaam²-e Khuda-rasi³ baKhsha⁴
vali⁵ o Ghaus⁵ o qutub⁵ dil-e qaraar⁶-e ali    1.poverty, no accumulation of wealth 2.status 3.reaching god 4.granted 5.these are all offices of the sufi order – representative, helper, direction setter 6.comfort
This was probably composed specifically for and recited at the tomb of nizamuddin chishti of the sufi order of chishti. gulzar dehlavi was on the Board of Trustees of the nizamuddin Trust. It is reputed that ali gave away his wealth and earnings, using only the minimum necessary for survival. Thus, the poet says, ali showed this (qalandari) to be way to reach god. He was the inspiration of all sufi orders and comfort of all sufi leaders (vali, Ghaus and qutub).
9
nabi¹ ke kaandhe pe us ke urooj² ka mimbar³
qayaam⁴-e diin⁵ pe qurbaaN⁶ dil-e figaar⁷-e ali    1.mohammed 2.apex, height 3.pulpit, declaration 4.establishment 5.faith 6.offering 7.wounded, sad
The people of makkah were threatened by mohammed’s teachings and persecuted him so much that he had to flee and seek refuge in medinah. Later, after having lost a few battles the makkans invited him back as their leader and accepted islam. They agreed for him to remove and destroy idols from the kaa’ba. It is said that ali stood on mohammed’s shoulders to reach some of the idols that were placed high. This is considered a declaration of the high status of ali that he was elevated on the shoulders of mohammed. This was also an act of establishing the faith in makkah. The poet offers his heart in homage to ali.
10
hazaar lashkar¹-e kuffaar² hamla-aavar³ hoN
tamaam⁴ raah⁵ meN paikar⁶ haiN kohsaar⁷-e ali    1.armies 2.used here to mean non-believing forces opposing mohammed, opponents 3.attack 4.all 5.path 6.manifest, visible 7.mountains, obstacles
The armies of the unbelievers may attack a thousand times, but all along the path they will find images of ali looming over them as insurmountable mountains.
11
ohad¹ meN, Khandaq² o Khaibar³ meN badr⁴ o kuufa⁵ meN
na jaane kitne haiN mashkoor⁶ vaaN shikaar⁷-e ali    1.name of battlefield 2.trench, battle of the trench 3.name of a fort, battle to capture the fort 5.city, battlefield 6.thankful 7.target
Khandaq, Khaibar, badar and kufa are all famous battles in which ali was the main reason why mohammed’s newly declared faith prevailed. gulzar seems to say that it is an honour to be defeated (or even killed) by ali. Thus, many who were defeated in these battles must have been thankful to ali.
12
tamaam¹ silsila-haa²-e tasavvuf³ o taqva⁴
azal⁵ se ta-ba⁶ qayaamat⁷ zer⁸-e baar⁹-e ali    1.total, all 2.lines, schools (of mystic sufism) 3.mysticism 4.strengthening/enhancing belief 5.beginning 6.until 7.doomsday, end 8.under 9.weight, obligation
All the schools of sufi mysticism and faith are under an obligation to ali from the beginning until doomsday.
13
vahi hai pahla¹ bhi chautha² bhi avval-o-aaKhir³
keh arsh-o-farsh⁴ meN har tarah⁵ hai shumaar⁶-e ali    1.first 2.fourth 3.from beginning to end 4.sky/heaven and earth 5.way, method 6.counting
ali is variously considered to be the first or the fourth Khalifa (representative of mohammed, after his death). Also, “avval-o-aaKhir” may imply the totality of the faith. Thus, on earth and in heaven ali is counted all different ways.
14
hamiiN haiN chishti¹, nizaami¹ o vaarisi¹ az-bas²
hamaare dil meN muzayyan³ hua sharaar⁴-e ali   1.names of sufi schools 2.many, all 3.embellishing 4.spark, light
All sufi schools/orders derive their inspiration from the light of ali.
15
pilaaye hum ko tahoora¹ vo saaqi-e-kausar²
hamaare sar se na utre kabhi Khumaar³-e ali   1.blessed/heavenly wine 2.dispense of the wine of river kauser of heaven 3.intoxication
It is believed that on judgement day ali will welcome those rewarded with heaven and offer them wine of the river kauser (called tahoora). Because of this, ali is also know as “saaqi-e kausar”. Thus, gulzar would like the intoxication/pleasure/trance of the tahoora to never end.
16
hameN ba-sadqa¹-e hasnain² qurb³ haasil⁴ hai
na chhoReN ta-ba⁵ qayaamat⁶ kabhi jawaar⁷-e ali   1.by the grace of 2.the two sons of ali, hasan and husain together hasnain 3.nearness, access 4.available 5.until 6.doomsday 7.protection
By the grace of hasnain we have been able to get access to ali. Even until doomsday we will not give up his protection.
17
vo aamina¹ hoN, Khadiija² keh faatima-zahra³
kisi nazar⁴ se bhi dekho ruKh⁵-e veqaar⁶-e ali   1.mohammed’s mother and 2.wife and 3.daughter 4.point of view 5.face 6.glory, dignity
From whichever point of view one looks at ali, they are able to see his glorious face.
18
nahiN milega payaam¹-e nishaan²-e Khuld-e-bariiN³
tamaam⁴ umr raheNge jo sogvaar⁵-e ali    1.message, direction 2.marker 3.high heaven 4.all 5.mourner
I have great difficulty in interpreting this and am on shaky grounds on both possibilities that I speculate on. If you have any ideas, please help. (a) gulzar might be saying – don’t be a sogvaar, celebrate the life of ali, don’t just mourn his passing or (b) sogvaar may be one who is mourning (or is jealous) about the status of ali. In either case, don’t be a sogvaar or you will miss receiving directions to heaven.
19
hazaar phool hoN gulzaar¹ tere daaman² meN
tamaam³ hech⁴ gulistaaN ba pesh⁵-e Khaar⁶-e ali    1.pen-name of poet 2.robe 3.all 4.nothing, of no value 5.in front of, compared to 6.thorn
O gulzaar, you may have collected a thousand flowers in your lap but they are all nothing compared to single thorn of ali.