By Dr. Muhammed Afzal Shahid

In recent times the tradition of veil, in particular by the Muslim women, has come under fire in enlightened and progressive parts of the world. Freedom of speech and practice of religion aside, laws have been enacted in some countries to make wearing of the veil (hijab) illegal.  

In his masterpiece anthology of Heer, Waris Shah, the great Panjabi philosopher-cum-sufi poet, has also touched upon the subject of ‘ghund’, i.e., the veil. The context in which Waris Shah has composed a stanza on veil is briefly described below.

Dhido Ranjha, the youngest son of Maoju Chaudhry of Takht Hazara, after death of his father, is forced out of his ancestral land by his brothers. He toils as a cow herd in Jhang where he falls in love of Heer, the beautiful daughter of Chuchak, the head of the Sial clan. Kaido, a village elder, strongly objects to their love affair and turns it into talk of the town. Parents of Heer, without, and against express consent of Heer, forcibly marry her away to Saida Khera of Rangpur. On the urging of Heer, Ranjha becomes a Yogi and arrives in Rangpur. There, during one of his begging round in Kheras’ house, he endures an ugly encounter with Sehti, Heer’s sister-in-law. During that ordeal, Ranjha also meets fully clad Heer. He knows that Heer is behind the veil but Heer is yet to ascertain that in the guise of Yogi is her lover. Ranjha makes his comments on veil while addressing Heer at that occasion. Original Panjabi text of the stanza, its transliteration (and meanings of some words) and translation in English are presented below.

es għuňđ wich sabħa khrabēyaň neň, aĝ laeke għuňđ nōň sāŕēye nē!

għuňđ husan dē āb cħopāe leňda, lamme għuňđ waľē rāhe mārēye nē!

għuňđ āshqaň de beŕe đob deňda, neñaň tāŕ ke piňjre mārēye nē!

tadoň eh jahān sabħa nazar āwe, jadoň għuňđ nōň zara otārēye nē!

għuňđ annheyaň kare sojakħēyaň nōň, għuňđ lāh mōňhoň uttoň lāŕēye nē!

Waris Shah naňħ vēŧēye motēyaň nōň, pħul aĝ deēye naňh sāŕēye nē!

Word: meanings: nē: O! You girl/woman; sabħa: all kind of; khrabēyaň: faults; aĝ laeke: alighted; sāŕēye: burn; husan: beauty; āb: shine; cħopāe leňda: hides; lamme għuňđ waľē: woman with long drawn veil; rāhe: en route; mārēye: stricken, dead; āshqaň: lovers; beŕe: ships; đob deňda: sinks; neñaň: looks; tāŕ ke: shut; piňjre: cage; tadoň: then; eh jahān: this world; nazar āwe: becomes visible; otārēye: take off; annheyaň kare: blinds; sojakħēyaň: sighted ones; lāh: uncover, take off; mōňhoň uttoň: from over the face; lāŕēye: O Bride; naňħ: do not; vēŧēye: cast/throw away; motē: pearl; pħul: flower; aĝ deēye: subject to heat.

This veil is mother of all evil, you should burn your veil in a bonfire

Veil hides shine of the beautiful, long veil of yours will kill you, dear

Boats of lovers sink under the sea of veil, encaged your looks are dying here

Whole world is visible only when, the veiled one lifts a little veil-corner

It is veil that blinds the sighted ones, unveil your bride-face and show me, dear

Waris Shah one should not throw away pearls, never heat or burn delicate flower

      

Waris Shah is naming some of the problems due to veil and for the veiled. It hides the natural beauty of its wearer, sinks hopes of potential lovers by concealing identity of the beloved, keeps one in dark and/or provides only a tunnel/narrow view, if any, and virtually blinds the sighted ones. Eyes are mines of tears, not to be wasted away. Good looks are highly praiseworthy. Beauty is delicate like that of a flower. It withers if it is subjected to heat (of despair/separation). It must never be burnt in the unbearable heat (of customs/traditions). Waris Shah’s message is that one should never give up hope even under the most adverse circumstances.

Towards the end of his anthology of Heer, Waris Shah makes a comment on his style of composing Heer: ‘tamsēl de ñāl beyān kēta’, i.e., I have used symbolism in my narration (of Heer).

Ranjha is aware of the agony Heer is going through as a result of separation enforced on them in the face of prevailing traditions. The painful separation keeps her smoldering inside like a live volcano. Her eyes shed tears, symbolized as precious pearls. Waris Shah likens cheeks of young Heer to delicate red rose flower. Ranjha is trying to console Heer and encourage her not to give up hope. She must not let heat caused by helplessness and despair adversely affect her. Complete self-destruction in such an inferno must stay out of question.

All published books on Heer have wrong/corrupted text of this stanza. Last line of the above stanza in Heer books by Sheikh Muhammad Sharif Sabir, Sheikh Abdul Aziz and even on the engraved tablet at mausoleum of Waris Shah wrongly reads as: ‘Waris Shah naňħ dabbēye motēyaň nōň, pħul aĝ de wich naňh sāŕēye nē’. Waris Shah’s classical Punjabi of ‘Lamma Des’ is not evident in this text. Moreover, the subtlety evident in the authentic text (cited earlier, above) is truly sublime; as opposed to a very ordinary idea expressed in the corrupted text of the line cited in this paragraph.

In the last stanza of anthology of Heer, Waris Shah had also alluded to spiritual side that he had intended to convey. Waris Shah had written: ‘Heer rōh te chāk qalbōt jāño’, i.e., understand that Heer symbolizes sublime ethereal spirit/soul while the ‘chāk’ (the servant, Ranjha) is the material body that is constituted from perishable elements of this world. Due to very different constitutional make up, both, soul and material body, long to join their respective sources from where both had separated. The soul trapped in the material body is behind a veil and cannot ‘see’ beyond the ‘opaque’ barrier. It is unable to reach its only One source from Whom it had separated. For this it has to free itself from the perishable material body. Only then it may be able to enjoin its true Beloved for eternity. Waris Shah is advising us to keep hope and patiently wait for the appointed time of meeting with the True Beloved.