MUSADDAS is known to be the main form of marsiya writing. Salam and noha are often treated as subsidiary forms, not regarded worthy enough of being critically analyzed. Therefore, our researchers and critics have, in general, treated them with indifference.
But now two devoted marsiya researchers, Jafar Naqvi and Zehra Naqvi, have done some research work on salam. Through their painstaking efforts they have retrieved a number of salams written in different eras, say from the Deccani period to the present times, and have collected them in a big volume entitled Alqamaa Ke Sahil Par. The volume consists of 560 pages.
Of course, it is a precious collection, a poetic treasure trove. Unfortunately, it has been compiled in a poor way, which somewhat damages the real value of the collection. The collected salams needed to be arranged in a chronological order. It would have helped the reader to see this form of marsiya in a historical perspective, distinguishing salams of one period from those written in the next era. It needed no exceptional intelligence to understand the logic of this arrangement. One can only wonder at the wisdom of the compilers, who, deviating from this common practice, chose to arrange the pieces the way Huroof-i-Abjad are arranged. It doesn’t seem to do justice to the historical perspective of marsiya writing. To boot, none of the preface writers, including the compilers, have cared to guide the reader about the origin and evolution of this devotional genre in Urdu.
Here I am reminded of Ali Jawwad Zaidi’s work. He has compiled in a volume salams written by Anis, forwarded by an exhaustive discussion on the origin and development of salam in Urdu literature. According to him, salam as a developed poetic form of devotional expression, is an exclusively Urdu product. In Arabic it doesn’t exist as an independent poetic form of expression. We can trace it in Persian, but even there it exists in a rudimentary form and has been ignored. It is only in Urdu that it has developed into an independent genre, to the extent that it is often viewed alongside ghazal. But why?
According to Ali Jawwad Zaidi, the peculiar social atmosphere in the subcontinent has always been encouraging enough for this kind of poetry. It was entrenched deeply in bhakti sentiments. The institution of tasawwuf, as it emerged in the subcontinent, imparted a new dimension to these sentiments. This kind of atmosphere suited well to Muslim devotees who were eager to express their devotional sentiments to the gracious personality of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh), his companions and Imams, more particularly Ali and Husain. Later on, this expression took the form of salam. So, salam, according to Zaidi, is a poetic outcome of a combination of bhakti and tasawwuf. And while it was developing, it also kept in view the genre of ghazal. This led Zaidi to define salam as an ‘elegiac ghazal’.
But salam as an elegiac ghazal is a later development. In its early phase it was an expression of devotion to sacred personalities with little care for literary embellishments. Salams written in praise of the Holy Prophet (Pbuh) were meant to be recited in milad. They fall into the category of naat.
With marsiya writers, this genre took the form of a homage to Imam Husain. And it was in their hands that gradually the expression developed its literary qualities. Anis and Moonis, in particular, shaped salam into something very close to ghazal. They, as Jawwad Zaidi has pointed out, inculcated in it taghazzul with a subtlety that it developed a similarity to ghazal without damaging its devotional spirit. It made the devotional expression more cultured and effective.
Now salam-writing poets are seen dwelling on a variety of themes, mostly moralistic, taking care of the fact that they remain in tune with its devotional aspect. Both Anis and Moonis have to their credit a number of couplets, which with their polished and subtle expression, give the impression of being taken from some fine ghazals.
So, the devotional genre that developed into an art form during the Deccani period achieved its literary peak with Anis and Moonis.
MUSADDAS is known to be the main form of marsiya writing. Salam and noha are often treated as subsidiary forms, not regarded worthy enough of being critically analyzed. Therefore, our researchers and critics have, in general, treated them with indifference.
