The year of Faiz has seen much in praise of the poet and his poetry. His association with the Progressive Writers’ Movement and its ideology is an admitted fact, however, the poet in him refused to restrain himself within ideological bounds. His poetry transcended those bounds, gaining a wider appeal for his verses, which is why we see many non-progressives exuberant about his work.

From the many books and journals devoted to the study of Faiz published in recent months, I have picked out two books brought out by Progressives. The first is Maujooda Aalmi Istaemari Soorat-i-Hawl aur Faiz Ki Shairi which is a University of Gujrat publication and has been compiled by Sheikh Abdur Rashid. The book analyses how Faiz started off as a romantic in his verses, but thanks to his affiliation with the Communist Party, became more conscious of the socio-political realities of his times, an awareness that found expression in his poetry.

The book recounts that Faiz became acutely conscious of how the imperialist powers were acting on national andinternational fronts. Faiz’s protégé, I.A. Rehman, has quoted Safdar Mir saying that Faiz expressed through his poetry all what he experienced as member of the Communist Party of Pakistan. That is his contribution to modern Urdu poetry.Though such an analysis fits well in the case of Habib Jalib, Faiz’s poetry demands greater understanding and deeper insight; this is because what he wrote went way beyond the political situation of the times.

The other book, Faiz Ahmad Faiz: Dard Aur Darman Ka Shair, by literary critic Dr Mohammad Ali Siddiqui, also belongs to the Progressive school of thought. Siddiqui makes the effort to educate readers about the status of Faiz as a poet and his contribution to modern Urdu poetry. He paints a man who was not just engaged in versifying his experiences for the benefit of the party. In fact, Siddiqui has made a study of Faiz in a much wider context, where he is seen drawing inspiration from poets such as Hafiz, Urfi, Sauda and Mushafi and so has achieved something which, according to Siddiqui, “is beyond the scope of fashionable revolutionaries.”

Siddiqui has discussed Faiz in the perspective of Urdu’s poetic tradition, which, at a historical juncture, faced a revolt staged by a younger generation of writers armed with a new thought. This revolt took place during the mid-thirties and forties when traditional modes of thought and expression in Urdu faced a challenge by young rebellious souls. Most of them possessed a newly developed socio-political awareness and fired with the idea of a socialist revolution, demanded that writers devote their writings for this cause.

Then there were others who thought that the modern age has brought in its wake some new questions that could not be expressed through traditional modes of expression. So the traditional verse, more particularly the ghazal, along with its vocabulary and radeef and kafiya stood condemned in their eyes. They stood for free verse.

Faiz was ideologically associated with the former group, the Progressives. But with his new mode of poetic expression he was linked with the latter and eventually bracketed alongside Rashid and Miraji. However, both these groups were extremists in their views while Faiz was a moderate and hence appeared to be sandwiched between them. As a result, he had to face a lot criticism from both ends.

Siddiqui insists that Faiz did not deem it fit to reject the traditional poetic expression. Instead, he turned to the great masters such as Hafiz and Ghalib and borrowed from them, churning out magic with his distinct mixture of poetry. Faiz, he says, did not reject mystical and religious symbolism either. He in fact employed them for the expression of revolutionary ideas.

Siddiqui also insists that Faiz’s poetic vocabulary is in continuation of Urdu’s poetic tradition. His poems seem to be the outcome of the tradition of the ghazal, infused with revolutionary hues. Even when he talked about his revolutionary ideas, he employed religious connotations to do the deed. Yet, one may say that when employed by Faiz, the traditional poetic language undergoes a transformation and turns into something belonging to our times.