Tehzeeb-i-Sukaan: Iftikhar Alif ki Shaeri ki Roohani Jihad
Ahmed Javed
Emel Publishing
Publisher: Akita Publishing
204 pages.
In today’s world of social media, where anyone can become famous for 15 minutes, as the famous quote goes, it’s not easy to imagine what fame meant in Pakistan in the 1960s and 1970s, when the only TV channel was the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV).
You were on TV screens one evening and by morning people were talking about you at universities, offices and coffee shops across the country. But unlike the fleeting fame of today, it took real talent, real hard work and perseverance.
Iftikhar Arif was also famous in his time, says Ahmed Javed in the book under review, Tehzeeb-i-Sukaan, for Arif had showcased his talent in PTV’s famous show, Kasautii, in which Iftikhar Arif and Ubaidullah Baig would go over clues given by the contestants in the form of replies to questions posed by the pair and with their uncanny knowledge they would almost always get the names of people, places and books right.
The entertainment industry has changed since then, and so has popular culture, but Iftikhar Arif’s fame was not fleeting: he had established himself as a bona fide poet before settling in London, where his Urdu poetry further enhanced his fame on a larger scale.
The book, based on a series of lectures, uses a philosophical approach to analyse the cultural and spiritual aspects of Iftikhar Arif’s poetry.
Nearly a decade later, he returned and, lo and behold, he became even more visible, as if he had never been away, becoming a fixture of the country’s vibrant literary scene since the late 1980s – some would say a literary authority on the country.
In the preface, Ahmed Javed explains how this book was conceived. It was decided that our “matchless individuality” should not be “sacrificed on the altar of ungrateful attitudes” and should be spoken about regularly. It began with discussions on Iftikhar Arif and his poetry, but instead of a few, it took 12 sessions and Ahmed Javed feels that there is still a lot to be said. Later, these lectures were transcribed and published in the form of a book.
As the title “Tehzeeb-i-Sukhan” and subtitle “Iftikhar Arif Ki Shaeri Ki Roohani Jihaat” suggest, this is an attempt to discover the cultural and spiritual dimensions of Arif’s poetry.
Religious or spiritual poetry in Urdu comes in myriad shades and Sufi poetry is only one shade in the broad range of religious poetry. Religious or spiritual poetry in Urdu has a long history as seen in genres like “hamd”, “naat”, “mankabat”, “marsia” etc. and in contrast to the earlier metaphysical poetry in English literature, Urdu poetry with metaphysical concepts has never been denounced and is not even scorned today.
In criticism, it was T.S. Eliot who first began to use the term “metaphysical” in a complimentary tone when discussing such poetry, although some critics thought this was an indication of Eliot’s own aspirations for poetry, rather than that of the metaphysical English poet.
Religious poetry in Urdu, in any form or genre, can be a true and deep expression of faith and should be taken seriously. Iftikhar Arif is a modern poet who has consistently displayed religious ideals and beliefs in his poetry, to the point that, as Gopi Chand Narang puts it, he has even transformed the word “Karbala” into a poetic metaphor.
Though several critical works have been published on Iftikhar Arif’s poetry and its merits, this is perhaps the first attempt to tackle the subject on philosophical grounds, as the author Ahmed Javed is known for his philosophical approach, familiarity with metaphysical discussions and grasp of critical theory.
The book begins with a chapter on Iftikhar Arif’s personality, and the following chapters discuss Arif’s ghazals and devotional poetry, contrasting them with aesthetic, critical and philosophical concepts.
Javed is also a poet and is therefore able to portray the complex ideas and inherent spiritual motifs expressed in Arif’s poetry with intense emotion and profound aesthetic sensibility. As intended, Javed lays emphasis on the spiritual dimension of Arif’s poetry.
“Religious poetry can sometimes sound laboriously mechanical or clichéd,” Javed says, “but Arif’s inner world is the stage for his religious poetry, and he expresses its ecstatic moments in frenetic tones with rare metaphors, thereby generating new shades of meaning. But he does so so carefully that the technical and aesthetic aspects of the poetry never fade.”
“Alif draws inspiration from sacred and revered figures in Islam, expresses emotion in a way that is inseparable from the intellectual, and transforms emotional experience into an intellectual perspective. Sufi or religious poetry in Urdu is often dichotomous as it tries to separate body and soul. But in Alif’s poetry, body and soul are seen as interrelated, something that is rarely seen in post-Iqbal Urdu poetry,” Javed adds. This is why Alif’s religious poetry never sounds mechanical, traditional or clichéd.
Alif’s ghazals also contain references to our society and political environment, the author says, but they are so metaphorically articulated that only a discerning reader, or in the author’s words, a “credentialed reader”, would be able to pick them up.
To summarise, we can refer to the opinion of Dr Khurshid Rizvi commenting on Ahmed Javed’s analysis. Rizvi feels that Javed’s study of Iftikhar Arif’s poetry is profound and he wants to reach deep into Iftikhar Arif’s subconscious, hidden realms that even Iftikhar Arif himself cannot reach.
The book is based on a lecture of praise, and Javed’s tone throughout the process is primarily laudatory. However, it is not entirely subjective.
Indeed, I have succeeded in discovering the poetic and psychological depths of Iftikhar Arif’s poetry and his personality.
The critic was a professor of Urdu at Karachi University, editor-in-chief of the Urdu Dictionary Board in Karachi, and director-general of the National Language Promotion Agency in Islamabad.
Published in Dawn, Books & Authors on May 26, 2024
