My English translation of Iqbal's Jawab e Shikwa - 22 Stanzas

The prayer that comes from the heart is effective Though wingless, it has the power to fly It is sacred and pure and aspires to reach great heights It arises from dust and traverses to the skies My love was wayward, defiant and shrewd My adventurous lay ripped open the sky. The age-old skies overheard and uttered if aught The planets affirmed its presence on the sublime firmament The moon held someone from earth The galaxy confirmed a hideout The only one to perceive my grievance was Rizwan He contemplated if I was the man thrown out of Paradise. Even the angels were bewildered to hear this voice This mystery is beyond the wisdom of those in the skies Has man got access to the skies Has the speck of dust learned to fly now How ungracious are the living on earth How bold and blasphemous are the ones who live below. He is so bold that he dares to be angry with God Is he the same Adam to whom the angels bowed He is a scholar of philosophy and aware of scientific mysteries But he is far from the ways of modesty The humans are proud of their eloquence The slow witted lack the etiquette of speech. A heavenly voice uttered- your story is sorrowful Your goblet is eager to spill out the yearning tears Your wild wail reached the sky How vociferous is your passionate heart It’s good that you have complained in a befitting manner You made the people talk to God. We favour generosity;seekers are none Who should we show the path,no traveller a haven seeks Tutelage is within easy reach, no talent to seek This is not the clay for an adam to be created The skilful shall be blessed with the pomp and pageantry of the Kai We give a new world to the seekers. Hands are in need of strength, hearts are accustomed to apostasy The followers induced disgrace to the Prophet The idol breakers are gone; left are the idol makers Abraham was the father, and the sons are Aazars The drunkards are new, the wine is new, the cups are new The Kaa’ba is new, the idols are new, you are new There were days when it was the source of allurement The tulip flower of the desert was the pride of the spring season The Muslim was the crazy lover of God This untrustworthy was once your beloved Make a pact of slavery with a mistress now Confine the nation of the Prophet to a region. How irked you are to rise in the morn You don’t love us, your sleep is dearer to you Your gay abandon is restricted by Ramazaan Tell us if this is the dictum of loyalty? Religion constitutes nations, no faith, no nation Stars do not gather without the gravitational pull. You are the ones who lack craftsmanship You are the nation least bothered about its nest You are the granary where lightning reposes You are the ones who sell the ancestral graves When you have flourished by bartering graves Given a chance, will you not sell the stone idols ? Who erased out falsehood from this world? Who rescued the human race from slavery? Who populated my ’Kaaba’ with their brows? Who embraced my Quran? They were your forefathers, but what are you? You sit idle and await tomorrow. Suffice to say, the Muslims were promised with houries ? Even for an unjust complaint, one needs to have some perception Justice is the eternal law of the creator On adoption of the Muslim ways the infidels got beautiful women and palaces No one among you longs for Houries Mount Sina still holds sway but there is no Moses. The profit of this nation is collective, so is the loss Your Prophet is one, your religion and faith are similar Your Kaaba , your Allah and your Quran is one It would’ve been great if the Muslims were united too Into sects and classes you have split Is this the way to flourish in this world? Who has abandoned the laws of Prophet? Who has adopted opportunism as a standard practice? Who is impressed by the culture and customs of others? Whose vision is wearied of the ways of their ancestors ? No agony in your heart, no ardour in your soul You don’t value the message of Muhammad. In the mosques the rows are made by the poor The hardships of fasting are borne by the poor To utter our name is only the poor To shield you is only the poor The wealthy in frenzy of their wealth are negligent of us Alive is the luminous nation due to the poor.. The preacher no more thinks profoundly The thrill no more, the fiery speech no more Left is the ritual of azan , the soul of Bilal no more Philosophy prevails, the guidance of Ghazali no more The Mosques mourn the loss of worshippers The upright Hijazis no more. The din and uproar that of Muslims being extinct We say ‘were the Muslims ever present’? You appear as Christians, conduct yourself like Hindus What Muslims are they that even the Jews are ashamed of You are a Syed, a Mirza , an Afghan too You are every one, tell us if you are a Muslim too? The truthfulness of the Muslim was fearless His justice was free from the element of privilege The tree of the nature of Muslim was damp with modesty In bravery he was like a super human. Every Muslim was a prick to the vein of the untruthful The mirror of his personality shone with his deeds If he trusted anything it was his muscle power You fear death but he feared God When a son can’t master the knowledge of his father Then why should the son be the heir to the father’s heritage? Everyone is intoxicated in the pleasures of laziness Are you a Muslim? Is this the way of a Muslim? No Hyder’s simplicity, no wealth of Osman To your ancestors are you connected spiritually? They were honoured for being Muslim And you are disgraced for leaving the Quran. You are wrathful with each other, they were kind You are flawed and a nit-picker, they covered flaws and were generous Everyone desires to live at the celestial heights First off, create a pure heart like theirs The throne of Faghfoor belonged to them, so was the crown of Kai Do you just talk or you possess that honour as well ? Self-destruction is your way, they were men of honour You are reluctant to love, they died for love You just talk, they were men of deeds You pined for a bud, they enjoyed gardens The nations still remember their story Their truthfulness is imprinted on the page of the world. ( I lost few stanzas in the malicious attack on my website www.shajiullahfirasat.com - Will work on the translation of remaining stanzas of Jawab e Shikwa soon )