Challenging the Canon

I recently heard feedback that the articles I have been posting are not what is usually written for Muslim females. This struck me as something interesting and made me think about what constitutes as the ‘typical’ article written for a female Muslim audience.

Why is it untypical to write about literature, from all over the world, to present to a Muslim woman? Do we as a community not usually do this? Or are we as Muslim women generally not interested in literature? Or is it the fact that I focus on Asian literature, rather than Western literature, that makes the posts different?

Living in England, it is easy to forget the plethora of texts that originate from our own subcontinent. English literature is so vast, beautiful and engrossing that we may have forgotten what is considered the first Urdu novel, written by Mirza Hudi Ruswa: the tale of Umrao Jaana Ada, the famous courtesan from Lucknow.

We may have forgotten Mirza Ghalib’s poetry or the works of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Instead, we are very well acquainted with Shakespeare, Chaucer and T.S Eliott, among many others. The notion of the literary canon, which- to describe briefly- is a set of texts that have been deemed culturally significant and are considered to be the greatest pieces of work, largely contains the respected penmanship of Dead White Males. We are barely conscious of how far this canon has affected the way we think and view literature. The literary canon is most frequently taught in Western schools, particularly universities. Visiting the local library, a search of Muhammad Iqbal yields three or four books, while Shakespeare’s name brings forth countless publications- the canon has a lot more to do with this than we realise. However, we must ask ourselves: have we, the Muslim community, forgotten our very own literary greats?

Nevertheless, the literary canon is no doubt, extremely valuable. Shakespeare’s work is unrivalled, there is no disputing that. The canon, to any literary mind, is vital and studying the works that it includes will equip us with the skills to study foreign literature, or the work that it excludes. Slowly, the idea of the ‘major’ literary work is widening, Oxford’s World Classics and Penguin Classics publish Rumi amongst many other foreign writers. They are challenging our view of literature by doing so. They are bringing to the forefront of the literary mind the impact of world literature, rather than Western literature.

As educated, modern women, we should try to read as much as we can, whenever we can. Let us compare the story of Romeo and Juliet with Laila and Majnun’s. Milton’s poetry with Iqbal’s work. The words of John F Kennedy with Qaid-e-Azam’s.

Maahwish Mirza

Guest writer, student at Luton Sixth Form College

‘To Javed’, by Allama Iqbal

Javed ke naam

Dayar-e-Ishq mein apna muqam paida ka!

Naya zamana, nae sub-ho-shaam paida kar

Khuda agar dil-e-fitrat shehnaz de tujhko

Sakoot-e-Lalah-o-gul se kalaam paida kar

Utha na sheeshah giran-e ferang ke ehsaan

Sifal-e-hind-se mina-o-jaam paida kar

Mein shakh-e-taak hoon, meri ghazal hain mera samar

Mere samar sein nae lala-pharm paida kar

Mera tareeq amiri nahi, faqeeri hain

Khudi na bech, ghareebi mein naam paida kar

(Translated) To Javed*

Create a place for thyself in the world of love;

Create a new age, new days, and new nights.

If god grants you a heart that can understand nature (fitrah)

Create poetry (Kalaam) from the silence of Tulips and roses.

Do not be beholden to the West’s artisans,

Seek thy sustenance in what thy land affords.

My ghazal (poetry) is the essence of my life-blood,

Create thy elixir of life out of this essence.

My way of life is poverty, not the pursuit of wealth;

Barter not thy Selfhood; win a name in adversity.

*Javed Iqbal, Allama Iqbal’s son

Allama Iqbal

Notes:

It is difficult to translate Urdu into English directly, especially as the meaning can be lost when trying to make the poem make sense in English. I have included notes on word meanings to aid the reader. However, this may just be one interpretation of the poem, as it is unfortunate fact that when translating, the translator must imbed their own interpretation upon their work. Hopefully this is not too confusing and offers further insight. I do admit that my translation is poor and may sound feeble in English. Any of my translations that contradict the English translation offered above does not mean that either one of us is wrong-we simply hold a different view, a different interpretation.

1. 
   
    Although Iqbal uses the word ‘Ishq’ which translates to ‘love’, in conjunction with ‘Dayar-e’ which translates to ‘the place of’, this does not necessarily mean that Iqbal means ‘love’ literally or ‘In the world of love’. In an alternative translation, the first line is understood as ‘In the realm of devoted commitment, create your identity’. So it is possible that by ‘Ishq’, Iqbal means passion for one’s work or dedication.
2. 
   
   Muqam’ can mean status, name, identity, making a mark or ‘a place for thyself’
3. 
   
    ‘Zamana’ can also translate to ‘era’. 
4. 
   
    The second verse can be understood in a number of ways. ‘Sakoot-e’ means silent. ‘Lala-o-gul’ is the name of a flower. So Iqbal is saying the flowers are silent- they do not speak. ‘Paida’, when translated literally, means ‘to give birth to’. He is telling his son that if God grants him the heart to understand the voice of nature, then may he be able to create a tongue for those flowers out of their silence.
5. 
   
   ‘Sheeshah giran-e’ translates to ‘the one who breaks the mirror’ (the mirror being symbolic-however I leave it up to the reader to deduce what the mirror is symbolic of). ‘Ferang’ is an old word that was used for the British, during the time that they had invaded India. So Iqbal is telling his son not to take favours from the British (the ones who break the mirrors). ‘Sifal-e-hind-se’ translates to the ‘earth of Hindustan (India)’. ‘Mina’ is alcohol, and ‘Jaam’ is the cup that it is drunk in. So Iqbal is telling his son to create his own cup to drink alcohol with by using the earth of India and not taking favours from or relying upon the West. (Alcohol is again symbolic)
6. 
   
   The next verse can be translated literally to (albeit, a very poor translation on my part) ‘I am a branch, my fruit is my poetry/From my fruit create a new flower’
7. 
   
    The last line, ‘ghareebi mein naam paida kar’ can be understood as ‘create your name in poverty’. Iqbal is saying he does not pursue worldly wealth or ornament; his way of life is poverty. He is instructing his son to not sell himself (perhaps by saying this Iqbal means not to sell his morals and self respect), but to create his name in poverty. Poverty can be interpreted as a state of scarcity in which one does not have material wealth and thus is not superficial. Poverty can also be interpreted to mean the state in which one is close to God and thus does not pursue worldly pleasures. By saying ‘create your name’ this can be understood as creating a status within that world or state. However, this is very much open to interpretation and these are only my thoughts.

Finally, if you were to find and compare ten different translations of the poem, you will see that they will rarely agree with each other word for word but hold the same general message, just worded differently. For example, am alternative translation offers the last line as: ‘With your self respect intact, make your mark in adversity’. The translation above writes ‘Barter not thy Selfhood; win a name in adversity’ and I understand the last line as ‘Do not sell yourself, create your name in poverty’. All mean the same thing. The language may be different, but Iqbal’s beautiful ideas and messages are eternal and sustained. One can only be in awe of his command and depth of poetic excellence.

Muhammad Iqbal (1873-1938) is a highly influential Muslim poet and thinker. Allama* Iqbal is important both in the fields of literature and history. His works are written in Urdu and Persian during the time before the Partition of India. Allama Iqbal is important both in the fields of literature, history and philosophy (particularly religious philosophy in the form of Sufi thought). Although it is plausible for one to call Allama Iqbal a poet, his career spanned far further than that one arena and dipped into the areas of Philosophy and Politics respectively. Allama Iqbal developed a close friendship with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and they together encouraged and inspired Muslims in India to seek partition. Allama Iqbal was highly educated, studying at Government College, Lahore, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Cambridge University, England and finally earning a PhD from Munich University, Germany.


Allama Iqbal commented on other thinkers and writers such as German philosophers and writers Schopenhaur, Nietzche, Goethe, Marx and Hegel; Persian writer and philosopher Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi- whom was a huge source of inspiration to Allama Iqbal; Russian novelist Tolstoy; famous thinker Einstein and English writers Byron, Browning, Shakespeare within his work. Iqbal’s epic poem ‘Enshrinement of Nature’ can even be said to challenge and offer an alternative perspective to that of Milton’s in his poem ‘Paradise Lost’.


Allama Iqbal is the national poet of Pakistan and to mark the anniversary of his birthday, Pakistan holds a national holiday annually on November 9th. Allama Iqbal is respected worldwide and his famous ‘Sare Jehan Se Acha’ (Translated to: ‘Better than the entire world’) poem has become the unofficial anthem of India. Although Pakistan has struggled for many years to discover its identity, the works of Allama Iqbal can be said to represent the theological stance of what the founders of a nation hoped for Pakistan to achieve and become.


*Allama means ‘Scholar’ and is used before Iqbal’s name as a mark of respect and as a title.

Alternative translations that were referred to in this article were found in:

•  Farscape, http://map4lostsouls.blogspot.com/2009/08/javed-kai-naam-iqbals-poem-to-his-son.html
•  Iqbal: Rhymed Translations of Selected Poems by Khwaja Tariq Mahmood

By Maahwish Mirza, student at Luton Sixth Form College and Guest Writer

The power of change: Malcolm X

Change is a word that has been used abundantly and carelessly. We’ve heard the word spoken during election campaigns and TV debates, politicians urging the electorate to vote for them in exchange for a better world (which in reality may or may not come into existence).
But what of the change that an individual goes through?

Malcolm X’s autobiography is shocking. Named by Time Magazine as one of the ten most important non-fiction books of the 20th century, it veers into a cruel world, immersing the reader into the hub of 60’s America and introducing them to the man that was Malcolm X. Although it was not penned by X himself, he narrated it to Alex Haley and the reader feels as though they have come to know the man once the tale comes to a close. Malcolm’s words teach us more about him than any other portrayal ever could.


Malcolm X was born in Omaha, Nebraska and after the sudden violent killing of his father at the hands of racists, his family life began to quickly deteriorate and Malcolm X sought a life of crime, which ultimately led to a prison sentence. While in prison he transformed himself, discovering the Nation of Islam, teaching himself how to read and write properly and eventually becoming a leader in the African American civil rights movement. Famed for his articulate speeches, Malcolm X sought to instil pride amongst the African American community. He has been believed to have led a more violent approach towards the movement than his contemporary, Martin Luther King.

However, the Nation of Islam was more of a black militancy group, fuelling race hate, believing in a false prophet and swaying greatly from real Islam. It was only after a fatal betrayal and Malcolm X’s pilgrimage to Mecca that he discovered true Islam.

Malcolm X’s cathartic autobiography at times seems unreal. For one individual to go through so much can cause the reader to disbelieve the life story they are reading and think it to be a work of fiction. However, it is the fact that Malcolm X lived such a tragic and inspiring life that stuns me most. My favourite chapter is the one entitled ‘Laura’, where Malcolm X narrates the tale of a girl he knew. It is strange for the chapter to be included in the book. Up until then, the story focuses solely on Malcolm, making the chapter seem like an interruption. The entire chapter is dedicated to this previously unknown character, highlighting the significance of her and the guilty feelings Malcolm X held towards the part he played in Laura’s life. Another moment that struck me was when Malcolm X recalls being told as a child that he cannot become a lawyer due to his race. Malcolm constantly refers to this incident throughout the book, causing us to reflect on what his life could have been like had he lived in a different world.

Amongst its other qualities, the book demonstrates to me the power of the written word. Malcolm X reflects on a Harlem gangster who goes by the name of ‘West Indian Archie’. West Indian Archie has a photographic memory and when Malcolm X visits him to see that he is close to his death, he reflects on the fact that ‘his brain…should have been put at the service of mathematics or science’. Malcolm X immortalises the character in his book, for every new reader will discover the Harlem gangster and marvel at his genius- unlike the world that they lived in at the time. Even Malcolm X, who until I had read the book I had not heard of, becomes immortalised and transcends time through the autobiography. His gifts of speech and intelligence are not lost. Neither is his ability to inspire and make people think.

The book is highly educational in the sense that it describes the extremities of racist America through the viewpoint of a Black citizen. Malcolm X successfully brings to the reader’s attention the ways of an extremist and dangerous society. Perhaps in any such situation, the eyes of the oppressed are the ones that are to be the most valued, for they belong to those that are most affected and have to deal with the harsh realities of a hate-filled society.

Malcolm X’s life story is the true meaning of the word ‘change’. Reflecting those changes are his names, which vary from ‘Malcolm Little’ to ‘Detroit Red’, and many others, till he finally finds his Islamic name ‘El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz’.

At times the book is eerie, especially when Malcolm X appears able to foretell the future, particularly in the final few paragraphs when he predicts his early death. Other times, the book is desperately sad but nevertheless an inspiring and motivating tale. The reader will feel deeply moved by Malcolm X’s passionate, intimate and eloquently written life story.

The final words of the autobiography read as follows:

‘I know that societies often have killed the people who have helped to change those societies. And if I can die having brought any light, having exposed any meaningful truth that will help to destroy the racist cancer that is malignant in the body of America-then, all of the credit is due to Allah. Only the mistakes have been mine.’

Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21st, 1965. His autobiography was published posthumously.

(I would strongly advise the reader to NOT read the introduction or the foreword of the book first. Skip straight to Chapter one entitled ‘Nightmare’, to avoid the spoilers that are contained in the foreword and introduction.)

Malcolm X's autobiography is available in most book shops, libraries and can be purchased online. It is priced at £9.99 and is published by Penguin Classics.

Maahwish Mirza
Guest writer, student at Luton Sixth Form College