The Pathos of Love

PATHOS OF LOVE

Introduction

The introduction to the Poem 14. Sham‘a Awr Parwanah outlines the influence of Islam on transforming the pre-Islamic "love" in literary works, especially poetry from amorous love to the God’s Love, the love of the Holy Prophet S.A.W and his descendants and love of Man. This resulted in the appearance of the mystical poetry of Islam. This class of poetry deals with the Love of God and Love of mankind. This love, directly or indirectly, forms the subject of many of ‘Allamah Iqbal's poetic works. Such Love has several facets and attributes and imposes several responsibilities and duties and confers different degrees of felicity upon the Lover. These matters are contained in several poems and they will come to light as we proceed with this commentary.

One facet of such Love is the pathos of separation from the Beloved, i.e. God and the ardent Longing in the Lover's heart to establish and witness the Unity of Man in the terrestrial world, as a part of the Islamic State's ideology and the Audience with God in the spiritual world after death. According to the Holy Qur’an 56:8-56, and particularly 10-11 attainment of the latter goal in the Hereafter is the highest felicity for a true Mu’min . The attainment of these two super felicities require real Love without even a shadow of ostentation. The Lover is required to keep his Love concealed in his breast and this poem emphasizes this duty and obligation of the Lover.

This poem has undertones of "Wahdat-al-Wujud" in which `Allamah Iqbal believed earlier in his life as stated in Chapters 2 and 3. This theory postulates that all creation including Man is part and parcel of the same entity, i.e. the Eternal Being. Man has been separated from that Being by being born and this separation haunts him all his life.
(162) God was when nothing had been and would have been if nothing had been
Destroyed I am by being! What would I have been if I had not been
-- Ghalib

Translation
O Pathos of Love! You are a glossy pearl
Beware, you should not appear among strangers

The theatre of your display is concealed under the veil
The modern audience' eye accepts only the visible display

New breeze has arrived in the Existence' garden
O Pathos of Love! Now there is no pleasure in display

Beware! You should not be striving for ostentation!
You should not be obligated to the nightingale's lament!

The tulip's wine-cup should be devoid of wine
The dew's tear should be a mere drop of water

Your secret should be hidden in the bosom somewhere
Your heart -melting tear should not be your betrayer

The flowery-styled poet's tongue should not be talking
Separation's complaint should not be concealed in flute's music

This age is a critic, go and somewhere conceal yourself
In the heart in which you are residing conceal yourself

The learning's surprise is neglecting ¹ you, beware!
Your immature eye is not the seeker of Truth, beware

Let the elegant thought remain in search of Truth
Let your wisdom-loving eye remain in astonishment

This is not the garden whose spring you may be
This is not the audience worthy of your appearance



This audience is the lover of the material sights
The purpose of your sight is the closet of secrecy

Every heart is intoxicated with the wine of thinking
Something different is the Tur of the Kalams ² of this age

Explanatory Notes
1. The present day scientific knowledge has revealed many things which astonish mankind. In these circumstances love, specially Divine Love is a nebulous concept to most people and does not seem to produce any tangible results, on account of which it is neglected by them.
2. Tur of Kalam- Alludes to S. Musa A.S. and his conversation with God on the Mount for which see Appendix I, No. 48. S .Musa A.S. was attracted to Mount Tur by his sub-conscious Longing to see God. That Longing is lacking in the present day so called seekers of the Truth. cf.
(163) Musa was sub-consciously attracted to the Tur
O Longing for Sight! How strong your attraction was
(Appendix III, No. 25)