By Shafqat Tanvir Mirza

Dawn Lahore Edition

THE Muslim world is paying homage today to its Prophet (Peace be upon him) who revolutionized an extremely backward Arab society of the seventh century AD when even the western world was groping in the darkness. After the unprecedented success of the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions, the Arabs spread over almost half of the then known world - some with the sole aim of introducing an Islamic sociopolitical system and the teachings of the Prophet (pbuh) while the other extended its rule which turned into what Iqbal has called imperialism.

South Asia also witnessed the arrival of the two groups. The first was the group which had developed sharp differences with the worldly rulers and left Arabia in search of peace and tranquillity. Before the arrival of Muhammad bin: Qasim, some sufis and intellectuals had already arrived in South Asia. The Arabs, especially those in the valley of the Euphrates, had very close relations with the people of the Indus Valley much before Moenjodaro and Harappa. Even during that period, the two regions had close commercial and trade relations.

The interaction between the middle eastern countries and the South Asian part of the Indus Valley in the 7th and 8th centuries AD was so strong that it changed the face of the region and different religious and intellectual philosophies enriched the world.

The intellectual groups who preceded the military groups attracted the lower classes and they came under the influence of the teachings of Islam. Pir Zanjani, Ismail, Makki and many others came to South Asia where Hinduism held sway.

For instance, though Delhi, Lahore and Multan had fallen under Muslim rule,! Rajasthan was still under Hindu rule but Khwaja Mueenuddin Chishti preferred this latter area and in spite of opposition from the Hindu elite and other religious segments, Mueenuddin Chishti encamped in Ajmer till his death when the founder of Punjabi literature or poetry, Baba Farid, had gained prominence in his province and adjoiinng areas.

Farid was a very powerful preacher of the Islamic tenets of equality, social justice, a casteless society and piety. Baba Farid's poetry, the major part of which has been lost, refers to Islamic teachings and practices but makes no special reference to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The next senior poet was Amir Khusro who had written an epic on Shahzada Muhammad in Punjabi verse, then known as Hindvi or Hindi. Khusro wrote naats in Persian and in Hindvi all of which have been lost. Much before Baba Farid, one of Lahore's governors, Masud Saad Salman, also had a diwan in Punjabi/Hindvi which he mentions with pride. But the diwan is no longer extent. Whether it was lost or stolen as is the case with the diwan of Data Sahib, is not clear but it is almost certain that he must have written devotional poetry including naats.

The gap between the two great poets of Punjabi, Baba Farid and Nanak spans two hundred years during which we find no Punjabi literature. Nanak is in that way the first poet who mentions the name of the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) in his siharf.

Meem, Muhammad man toon, man
kitaban chaar,
Man khudai Rasool noon, sacha ei darbar.
(Accept that Muhammad (pbuh) is the messenger of God and accept that there are four books of God).
In Rag Aasa, Mahalla 1, Nanak again says that he who does not accept the prophethood of the
Prophet (pbuh) will fail in life and in the Hereafter.
Atthay pehr bhonda phiray, khawan
sandrray sool,
Dozakh ponda kayyon rahway, jaan
chit na hovay Rasool.

Among the classical Punjabi poets, we find no separate naats. Usually, devotional poetry about the Prophet (pbuh) is part of their longer poems and qissas. But those who concentrated more on other genres like Abiyaat, dohrra, kafi, jindrri, siharfi, etc, paid their tributes to the Prophet (pbuh). Nosha Ganjbukhsh of Gujrat, in his poem, Rasool Parkas says:
Nosha ganveen Hazrat da jass, Hazrat bekasan da kass. Hazrat honday zor ghareeb, Hazrat Allah da habeeb.

(Nosha portrays the Prophet (pbuh) as the supporter of the poor.) Nosha was senior to Sultan Bahoo, Ali Hyder, Bulleh Shah and Waris Shah, Sultan Bahoo says in his abiyaat:

Andar vich namaz asadi, hikay ja nateevery Hoo,
Naal qiam, raku, sajooday, kar takrar parrheevay Hoo,
Aeh dil hijr firaqon sarria, aeh dam maray na jeevey Hoo,
Sach rah Muhammad, Bahoo, jain vich Rab labheevay Hoo.

Bahoo says that the true path is that of Muhammad (pbuh) and through it one can have the vision of eternal reality.
Chiragh Awan of Dera Ghazi Khan was born in AD 1678 and in his longer poem Heer-Ranjha, he pays his respect to the Prophet (pbuh):

Baad azan darood Nabi koon ' aakhan
sanj sabaheen,
Pak osaaf, kamal hamaisha, afzal
ohnan adaeen.

Most Punjabi poets did not belong to the privileged classes. Therefore, most of them could not perform the Haj or visit Madina. However, among the poets of the 19th century, Khwaja Farid and Maulvi Dilpazir performed the Haj and Khwaja Farid wrote naats;

Ithan mein mutthrri, nit jan-balab,
Oh wan khush vasda vich mulk Arab,
Oh sohna dholan yaar sajjan,
Oh sanwal hoat Hijaz watan.

Maulvi Dilpazir wrote a travelogue on Makkah and Madina in verse followed by other poets. Like Nanak, there are many non-Muslim poets who have paid tributes to the Prophet (pbuh). Among them, Milkhi Ram of Lahore made a name for himself for his baranmanh on the tragedy of Karbala. He says:

Harr hoya dil maira kinvain Madinay
aawan mein,
Milkhi keekan pak Nabi day khulay
darshan pawan mein.

It was under the influence of Persian and Urdu poetry that Punjabi poets also started writing naats and published their collection. But most of the work is traditional in style and substance. Radio, television and the print media also encouraged poetry in this field and we come across a lot of naats which were written for radio or television and were, therefore, not so inspiring. Many of our poets have written naats, mostly in the traditional style. But some pieces are wonderful. One such naat is by Muneer Niazi:

Kaisay hon gay gali mohalley, kehrri
tarah than rahwan,
Andhron ghar kaisay hovan gey
kaisian bahralian thanwan,
Shehr mubarak ohnan dinan day sohnian dhuppan,
chhanwan,
Jinhan vich phiria sham saveray,
Ahmad da parchhawan.