An Anthology of Classical Urdu Love Lyrics. Text and Translations by D. J. Matthews; C.ShackleReview by: Annemarie SchimmelJournal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 93, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1973), pp. 569-570Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/600190 .

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Reviews of Books Reviews of Books

for whose better health the labor of writing the Dhamm al-hawd was undertaken: "For your sake... I have descended from the height of gravity... to the low level of exceptionally permitting myself to deal with the matter at hand [at-tarakhhkusi fimd ridu]. Professor Giffen translates tarakhkhus by "cheapening myself"- giving the sentence a tone which Ibn al-Jawzi did not

quite intend. On page 125, there is a translation of the hadith according to which a man tempted to unlawful sexual ventures should cure himself by having inter- course with his wife [bi-itydni mra'atihi]. The last phrase is translated "by going home to his wife," which will almost certainly be less effective in reducing the seductive

stranger's blandishments. In the discussion of the martyrs-of-love idea there is

a curious oversight. The author argues (p. 107) that the poetic tradition of woebegone lovers must be kept distinct in this respect from the formal tradition of

love-theory, that the idea of the chaste lover's martyrdom is peculiar to the formal theory, and that not a word of that idea is found until the hadith "He who loves and remains chaste and conceals his secret and dies, dies a

martyr" appears (in the K. az-zahra, cf. Giffen, 99). It is odd to deny the poetic tradition its primary con- tribution to the idea of love's martyrdom, since Ibn Da'uid himself quotes (Zahra, ed. Nykl, 332) Jamil's wa-kullu qatilin baynahunna shahidi, "Each man killed in their midst is a martyr." Granted, the line has no definite position in the Jamil poem; it seems to come from (a-la layta ayydma s-safa'i jadid . . . ya'aud) but

excluding unlikely high-jinks by Ibn Di'iid, the Zahra is at least its terminus ante quem.

Ibn Dai'fd's personality is fascinating and perhaps no longer decipherable. Professor Giffen refrains from

speculation about the motives this Zahirl jurist may have had for writing a book on love. He may have been

impelled by literary ambition, a need for self-justifica- tion, or even a desire to counter mystical notions of love. But where exact motive cannot be ascertained, an in- tellectual interest can be guessed at: Ibn Da'ud was

perhaps intrigued by the capriciousness of human love, its resistance to logical inquiry into causes, and its demand to be taken tel quel. It is not for nothing that one of the few pieces of poetry Ibn Da'id cites in his

preface asserts the uselessness of ra'y and qiyas with

respect to love. (The poem, anonymous in the Zahra, is attributed to Haruin ar-Rashid's sister, 'Ulayya bint al-Mahdi, cf. Goldziher, Die Zahiriten, 228.)

Professor Giffen has written a fine, although primarily descriptive book. Those who have read the Tawq al- hamdma and the preface to the Zahra, and have had occasion to look through Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziya's Raw- dat al-muhibbin will not find much that is new to them

for whose better health the labor of writing the Dhamm al-hawd was undertaken: "For your sake... I have descended from the height of gravity... to the low level of exceptionally permitting myself to deal with the matter at hand [at-tarakhhkusi fimd ridu]. Professor Giffen translates tarakhkhus by "cheapening myself"- giving the sentence a tone which Ibn al-Jawzi did not

quite intend. On page 125, there is a translation of the hadith according to which a man tempted to unlawful sexual ventures should cure himself by having inter- course with his wife [bi-itydni mra'atihi]. The last phrase is translated "by going home to his wife," which will almost certainly be less effective in reducing the seductive

stranger's blandishments. In the discussion of the martyrs-of-love idea there is

a curious oversight. The author argues (p. 107) that the poetic tradition of woebegone lovers must be kept distinct in this respect from the formal tradition of

love-theory, that the idea of the chaste lover's martyrdom is peculiar to the formal theory, and that not a word of that idea is found until the hadith "He who loves and remains chaste and conceals his secret and dies, dies a

martyr" appears (in the K. az-zahra, cf. Giffen, 99). It is odd to deny the poetic tradition its primary con- tribution to the idea of love's martyrdom, since Ibn Da'uid himself quotes (Zahra, ed. Nykl, 332) Jamil's wa-kullu qatilin baynahunna shahidi, "Each man killed in their midst is a martyr." Granted, the line has no definite position in the Jamil poem; it seems to come from (a-la layta ayydma s-safa'i jadid . . . ya'aud) but

excluding unlikely high-jinks by Ibn Di'iid, the Zahra is at least its terminus ante quem.

Ibn Dai'fd's personality is fascinating and perhaps no longer decipherable. Professor Giffen refrains from

speculation about the motives this Zahirl jurist may have had for writing a book on love. He may have been

impelled by literary ambition, a need for self-justifica- tion, or even a desire to counter mystical notions of love. But where exact motive cannot be ascertained, an in- tellectual interest can be guessed at: Ibn Da'ud was

perhaps intrigued by the capriciousness of human love, its resistance to logical inquiry into causes, and its demand to be taken tel quel. It is not for nothing that one of the few pieces of poetry Ibn Da'id cites in his

preface asserts the uselessness of ra'y and qiyas with

respect to love. (The poem, anonymous in the Zahra, is attributed to Haruin ar-Rashid's sister, 'Ulayya bint al-Mahdi, cf. Goldziher, Die Zahiriten, 228.)

Professor Giffen has written a fine, although primarily descriptive book. Those who have read the Tawq al- hamdma and the preface to the Zahra, and have had occasion to look through Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziya's Raw- dat al-muhibbin will not find much that is new to them

apart from the valuable bibliographic information. This

lies perhaps in the nature of the subject, because for

many writers the profound problems begin where Profes- sor Giffen, by limiting herself to profane love, leaves off: the meaning of love between God and man, the possibility of experiencing the numinous through the contemplation of earthly beauty, and so on. Its self-imposed limitations do not, however, prevent Professor Giffen's book from

furnishing the student of Islamic civilization with a first-rate means for entering an interesting area of

medieval Arabic literature. ANDRAS HAMORI

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

An Anthology of Classical Urdu Love Lyrics. Text and Translations. By D. J. MATTHEWS and C. SHACKLE.

Pp. 283. London: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1972.

$25.25.

Interest in Urdu has grown remarkably during the last decades. One of the reasons for this development was, perhaps, the 100th anniversary of Mirza Ghalib's death in 1969, which was duly celebrated all over the

world wherever Urdu-speaking people gathered. For this occasion, a number of verse-translations of Ghalib's

poetry, as well as some articles on classical Urdu were

published which-although not satisfactory in them- selves-were at least useful in kindling public interest in this newly discovered field. It is therefore most for- tunate that now the first anthology from classical Urdu love lyrics-love also in the mystical sense-has been

prepared by two young British scholars. We cannot but congratulate the authors for the work they have

accomplished, and the Press for the beautiful production of the text.

The Introduction (1-16) gives a sober and reliable

description of the form of the ghazal and its imagery; the image of the long tresses of the beloved is aptly chosen for illustration. Longish biographical notes (184- 209) about each of the 22 poets represented in this

anthology will be welcomed by the reader who will find here a more systematic treatment than in M.

Sadiq's History of Urdu Literature. Most welcome also is Appendix I, dealing with prosody and metrics; the fact that the meter of every poem is analyzed is one of the outstanding features of this book since this aspect of Urdu poetry is usually sorely neglected. Another

appendix provides some grammatical notes on the lin-

guistic features of Dakhini and Old Urdu in order to facilitate the understanding of some earlier poems. A rather comprehensive vocabulary is added; it contains

mainly words which rarely occur in everyday speech.

apart from the valuable bibliographic information. This

lies perhaps in the nature of the subject, because for

many writers the profound problems begin where Profes- sor Giffen, by limiting herself to profane love, leaves off: the meaning of love between God and man, the possibility of experiencing the numinous through the contemplation of earthly beauty, and so on. Its self-imposed limitations do not, however, prevent Professor Giffen's book from

furnishing the student of Islamic civilization with a first-rate means for entering an interesting area of

medieval Arabic literature. ANDRAS HAMORI

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

An Anthology of Classical Urdu Love Lyrics. Text and Translations. By D. J. MATTHEWS and C. SHACKLE.

Pp. 283. London: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1972.

$25.25.

Interest in Urdu has grown remarkably during the last decades. One of the reasons for this development was, perhaps, the 100th anniversary of Mirza Ghalib's death in 1969, which was duly celebrated all over the

world wherever Urdu-speaking people gathered. For this occasion, a number of verse-translations of Ghalib's

poetry, as well as some articles on classical Urdu were

published which-although not satisfactory in them- selves-were at least useful in kindling public interest in this newly discovered field. It is therefore most for- tunate that now the first anthology from classical Urdu love lyrics-love also in the mystical sense-has been

prepared by two young British scholars. We cannot but congratulate the authors for the work they have

accomplished, and the Press for the beautiful production of the text.

The Introduction (1-16) gives a sober and reliable

description of the form of the ghazal and its imagery; the image of the long tresses of the beloved is aptly chosen for illustration. Longish biographical notes (184- 209) about each of the 22 poets represented in this

anthology will be welcomed by the reader who will find here a more systematic treatment than in M.

Sadiq's History of Urdu Literature. Most welcome also is Appendix I, dealing with prosody and metrics; the fact that the meter of every poem is analyzed is one of the outstanding features of this book since this aspect of Urdu poetry is usually sorely neglected. Another

appendix provides some grammatical notes on the lin-

guistic features of Dakhini and Old Urdu in order to facilitate the understanding of some earlier poems. A rather comprehensive vocabulary is added; it contains

mainly words which rarely occur in everyday speech.

569 569

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Journal of the American Oriental Society 93.4 (1973) Journal of the American Oriental Society 93.4 (1973)

The anthology begins with Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the finest representative of Dakhini style, and reaches-through Vali, Siraj and Hatim-the Four Pillars of Urdu; i.e., Mazhar, Sauda, Dard and Mir. It then offers elegant selections from the Lucknow school -Jur'at, Mushafi, Insha and Atish; returns to the second Delhi School with Zauq, Ghalib, Zafar, Momin and Shefta and comes down almost to modern times with

Dagh, Hali, Iqbal and Hasrat Mohani. One wonders

why Nazir Akbarabadi (d. 1828), so prominent in his- tories of Urdu literature during the last years, has not been included.

The selection of poems for an anthology is always a matter of taste; personally I would have chosen dif- ferent ghazals from Dard's divan, and also a few other lines from Ghalib, but on the whole, the broad variety of Urdu love poetry is well represented. The translations are trustworthy and make a good reading, better, in

any case, than some of the attempts by certain authors to reproduce such lyrics in English "verse." The foot- notes supply additional information and explain quite a number of difficult passages; but here, one could go on almost ad infinitum to point out more nuances of style, puns, and wordplays. A few remarks may be useful:

1.2.10 qutb-e Mani, read Qutb-e ma'dni, the Pole of Inner Meaning, a mystical title assumed here by the king.-1.4. note 6 should read: second misra' instead of

first, then: first verse of 7.-2.1.8. The verse which plays with the green down on the ruby lip has a further pun by introducing ydqut in the second hemistich: in relation to khatt in the meaning 'handwriting' it is the name of the famous 13th century calligrapher Yiaqt al-Musta'si- mi.-2.5.4. Ayaz was not a slave-boy, but a Turkish slave officer in Mahmud's army.-3.2.4. contains a subtle allusion to the four elements.-3.3.1 The connection of the pari, fairy, with junuin, madness, is a well known

topos.-5.1.2. The beautiful description of spring as

qiydmat, resurrection, is based on Quranic statements; it occurs frequently in Rumi's poetry.-7.1.6. Instead of 'glass,' shisha should be 'bottle,' connected with the

tavern; it is the general term for the heart which resembles a brittle glass-bottle; and, as in other connections (13.1.21) the bottle Heart is the home of the fairy; i.e., the beloved, an image used in Persian since at least the 13th century in connection with Solomon's sealing up the spirits in bottles.-7.3.2 Ha should be explained as 'He,' i.e., God.-7.3.7. The witty aspect in the relation of bai'at,

doing hommage, with the 'hand of the wine-jug' is, that bai'at is performed by seizing the spiritual master's hand.-8.1.6 'rake' seems too crude for rind which has

always a spiritual connotation.-In 8.2. the verses 7 and 8 are interchanged in the text.-8.3.7. The ref-

erence to Hallaj would require some more explanation.-

The anthology begins with Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the finest representative of Dakhini style, and reaches-through Vali, Siraj and Hatim-the Four Pillars of Urdu; i.e., Mazhar, Sauda, Dard and Mir. It then offers elegant selections from the Lucknow school -Jur'at, Mushafi, Insha and Atish; returns to the second Delhi School with Zauq, Ghalib, Zafar, Momin and Shefta and comes down almost to modern times with

Dagh, Hali, Iqbal and Hasrat Mohani. One wonders

why Nazir Akbarabadi (d. 1828), so prominent in his- tories of Urdu literature during the last years, has not been included.

The selection of poems for an anthology is always a matter of taste; personally I would have chosen dif- ferent ghazals from Dard's divan, and also a few other lines from Ghalib, but on the whole, the broad variety of Urdu love poetry is well represented. The translations are trustworthy and make a good reading, better, in

any case, than some of the attempts by certain authors to reproduce such lyrics in English "verse." The foot- notes supply additional information and explain quite a number of difficult passages; but here, one could go on almost ad infinitum to point out more nuances of style, puns, and wordplays. A few remarks may be useful:

1.2.10 qutb-e Mani, read Qutb-e ma'dni, the Pole of Inner Meaning, a mystical title assumed here by the king.-1.4. note 6 should read: second misra' instead of

first, then: first verse of 7.-2.1.8. The verse which plays with the green down on the ruby lip has a further pun by introducing ydqut in the second hemistich: in relation to khatt in the meaning 'handwriting' it is the name of the famous 13th century calligrapher Yiaqt al-Musta'si- mi.-2.5.4. Ayaz was not a slave-boy, but a Turkish slave officer in Mahmud's army.-3.2.4. contains a subtle allusion to the four elements.-3.3.1 The connection of the pari, fairy, with junuin, madness, is a well known

topos.-5.1.2. The beautiful description of spring as

qiydmat, resurrection, is based on Quranic statements; it occurs frequently in Rumi's poetry.-7.1.6. Instead of 'glass,' shisha should be 'bottle,' connected with the

tavern; it is the general term for the heart which resembles a brittle glass-bottle; and, as in other connections (13.1.21) the bottle Heart is the home of the fairy; i.e., the beloved, an image used in Persian since at least the 13th century in connection with Solomon's sealing up the spirits in bottles.-7.3.2 Ha should be explained as 'He,' i.e., God.-7.3.7. The witty aspect in the relation of bai'at,

doing hommage, with the 'hand of the wine-jug' is, that bai'at is performed by seizing the spiritual master's hand.-8.1.6 'rake' seems too crude for rind which has

always a spiritual connotation.-In 8.2. the verses 7 and 8 are interchanged in the text.-8.3.7. The ref-

erence to Hallaj would require some more explanation.-

10.R.3. Mark the witty relation between the name of Sauda in its meaning 'trade, bargain' and bazaar 'mar- ket' 1-12.1.3. Peacock and snake are both animals of Paradise.-12.2.14. Recite the name of God, O idol- the last two words which give the verse its true sense

(juxtaposition of God and Idol) are missing in the trans- lation.-14.2.1. The Arabic phrase is a paraphrasis of the Quranic verse Sura 81/9 'And when the girl buried alive is being asked for which sin she was killed.'- 15.1.8. Can one translate dimdgh in this most beautiful verse of Ghalib by 'self-respect'? It means, among its

many connotations, also 'intoxication' which seems to fit better.-15.3.1. The literal translation 'It is a real

heart, not...' would be more impressive. In the text of the same poem v. 8, correct the misprint ghariz to

'aziz.-19.9.15 The only gross mistranslation: labbaik is not 'What wouldst Thou with me ?' but 'At Thy Service' -the call of the pilgrims when entering the sacred environment of Mecca.

In the biographical part, the notes on Mir Dard repeat the story that he was an army officer until he was 29

years old; but nothing in his autobiographical remarks in the 'Ilm ul-kitdb points to that; at the age of 20, in

1740-41, he was almost continuously engaged in writing down his father's huge Persian work Nale-yi 'Andalib, an occupation quite inconsistent with military service. I hope to give more evidence about Dard in a forth-

coming article. These are only a few small remarks which by no

means detract from our admiration for the work done

by the two authors. We sincerely hope that everyone interested in Urdu poetry, and all those who look for a

trustworthy introduction into the character of Indo- Muslim poetry, will read and enjoy this book. Its only real flaw is its exorbitantly high price.

ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL

H:ARVARD UNIVERSIIY

The Oxford English-Arabic Dictionary of Current Usage. Edited by N. S. DONIACH. Pp. xii + 1392. Ox- ford: CLARENDON PRESS, 1972. $ 41.00. (In U.K. ? 12.00).

Compiling dictionaries has always been a productive scholarly occupation. Of course, in this kind of academic

endeavor, the credit is shared by all: compiler, editor, and helpers, past and present. The dictionary under

review is the work of N. S. Doniach and a score of native

Arab and foreign assistants, some known to be good

Arabists, others unknown. Here we should pause to

make our first critical statement: parts of this dictionary are better than others. To illustrate, consider the Arabic

10.R.3. Mark the witty relation between the name of Sauda in its meaning 'trade, bargain' and bazaar 'mar- ket' 1-12.1.3. Peacock and snake are both animals of Paradise.-12.2.14. Recite the name of God, O idol- the last two words which give the verse its true sense

(juxtaposition of God and Idol) are missing in the trans- lation.-14.2.1. The Arabic phrase is a paraphrasis of the Quranic verse Sura 81/9 'And when the girl buried alive is being asked for which sin she was killed.'- 15.1.8. Can one translate dimdgh in this most beautiful verse of Ghalib by 'self-respect'? It means, among its

many connotations, also 'intoxication' which seems to fit better.-15.3.1. The literal translation 'It is a real

heart, not...' would be more impressive. In the text of the same poem v. 8, correct the misprint ghariz to

'aziz.-19.9.15 The only gross mistranslation: labbaik is not 'What wouldst Thou with me ?' but 'At Thy Service' -the call of the pilgrims when entering the sacred environment of Mecca.

In the biographical part, the notes on Mir Dard repeat the story that he was an army officer until he was 29

years old; but nothing in his autobiographical remarks in the 'Ilm ul-kitdb points to that; at the age of 20, in

1740-41, he was almost continuously engaged in writing down his father's huge Persian work Nale-yi 'Andalib, an occupation quite inconsistent with military service. I hope to give more evidence about Dard in a forth-

coming article. These are only a few small remarks which by no

means detract from our admiration for the work done

by the two authors. We sincerely hope that everyone interested in Urdu poetry, and all those who look for a

trustworthy introduction into the character of Indo- Muslim poetry, will read and enjoy this book. Its only real flaw is its exorbitantly high price.

ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL

H:ARVARD UNIVERSIIY

The Oxford English-Arabic Dictionary of Current Usage. Edited by N. S. DONIACH. Pp. xii + 1392. Ox- ford: CLARENDON PRESS, 1972. $ 41.00. (In U.K. ? 12.00).

Compiling dictionaries has always been a productive scholarly occupation. Of course, in this kind of academic

endeavor, the credit is shared by all: compiler, editor, and helpers, past and present. The dictionary under

review is the work of N. S. Doniach and a score of native

Arab and foreign assistants, some known to be good

Arabists, others unknown. Here we should pause to

make our first critical statement: parts of this dictionary are better than others. To illustrate, consider the Arabic

570 570

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