Friday, October 21, 2016

The Afghans Are Awake ( Iqbal's Nazm )

                                          Afghans Awake
                 Romans changed, Syrians changed, India changed,
                 Thou too O the son of the highlands! Discover  thy self, *1

                  Season is favourable, water in plenty, soil too is fertile, *2
                  Who din’t water his field, what type of peasant he is,

                  Whose waves are not high, what type of river it is,
                  Whose winds are not strong, what type of cyclone it is,

                   Look for him who discovered his own self in his own soil, *3
                   The peasantry of this man is preferable to kingship,

                   Thy ignorance has salvaged the honour of the ignorant, *4
                   The learned and the scholars are disposing off their deen, eeman,

*1 The Afghans are the only nation in Asia which defied the British
       Colonial Empire and remained unconquered. They have indomitable
      spirit and deserve to lead Asia.
*2  Allah has given them physical strength, made them a marshal race, if
      they don’t serve the cause of Islam, then they will be failing in their duty.
*3  A simple peasant who is conscious of his religious duty is better than an        
       ignorant king.
*4  In 1942 when Iran was conquered by the British, many so-called
                             religious preachers had gone there to work in favour of the British.