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=Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali=

'''  Poet Laureate and Nationalist ''' 

'' India Harmony ''  VOLUME - 1 : ISSUE - 5 JULY-AUGUST, 2012

[[File: Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali.png| Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali|frame|500px]] 

Altaf Husain Hali, undoubtedly one of the
most renowned sons of Panipat, became the pride not only of Haryana but of
people all over India. He possessed the highest
qualities of both heart and mind. Altaf Husain was
born in 1837 in Panipat, rightly known as the
abode of Sufis like Bu Ali Qalander, scholars and
reformers and has a unique ambience and tradition
of culture. It was called “Shaan-e-qalandari”
where people followed their hearts and dreams;
lived in peace, and harmony; and had deep
respect for others. A poet, a powerful essayist,
teacher, a scholar and a reformer Hali was a
descendant of Khwaja Malik Ali, the great scholar
of Islam who had come to Panipat on the
invitation of Ghyas ud din Balban. He was the last
pupil of Mirza Ghalib – who was known not to
take a pupil easily, much less to praise him. But
when Hali very hesitantly showed him his writing,
he told him “Mian a gar tum naheen likho ge to
apni tabiyyat per zulm karo ge” young man, if you
do not write, you will be inflicting cruelty to your
soul”

Circumstances did not permit Hali to receive
formal education in a proper school or college. Yet
his love for reading books enabled him to acquire,
through sustained self-effort, a perfect command
of Urdu, Persian and Arabic, and a good working
knowledge of English. After finishing his basic
education in Panipat, he moved to Delhi to study
Islamic theology and poetic tradition.

As a poet he did not confine himself to penning
“ghazals”, as was the custom in those days, but
soon started to explore the other poetic forms such
as the “nazm”, the “rubai yyat” and the
“Marsiya”. He dedicated his poetic abilities to the
higher aims of social and moral upliftment, and
came to occupy a special position in the history of
Urdu literature.. His famous epic. Musaddas-e-
Hali, examines the state of social and moral
degradation prevalent in the then contemporary
Muslim society. .

In 1854, circumstances forced him to return to his
native Panipat and take up against his
temperament a government job in Hissar. He
continued in it until he was displaced by the
Mutiny of 1857. The Mutiny affected Hali greatly
and his sensitive heart cried out seeing the
slaughter and the destruction of his beloved city of
Delhi particularly its culture and its beauty. He
then wrote his famous Marsiya.

“Tazkira Dilli-e-marhoom ka ai dost na chher
Na suna jaye ga hum se yeh fasana hargiz

“Do not talk to me, O friend of Lost Dilli.
I will not be able to hear this tale”

Chappe chappe pe hain yan gauhar e yakta teh e khak
Dafan hoga na kahin aisa khazana hargiz

Every few yards are buried unique pearls under the earth
Now where else would one be able to find such treasure

Raat aakhir hui aur bazm hui zer o zabar
Ab na dekhen gey kabhi lutf e shabana hargiz
The evening of merriment is over and the mehfil is in
disarray.

Never will we see this night of pleasure ever again

After this turning point in his life, Hali drifted
from job to job for several years, arriving
eventually in Lahore in the mid 1870s, and began
to work on correcting old manuscripts which were
translated from English to Urdu.Though he took
part in several “mushairas” his heart was not in
Lahore and soon he returned to his beloved Delhi
and started teaching at the Anglo Arabic while
pursuing his writing vigorously and seriously.
This was a piece of history because as a famous
writer wrote about Hali's contribution in that
period. ”The nation got its poet and the poet got
his nation”.

[[File: Altaf Hussain Hali with Sir Syed Ahmed at Aligarh.png| Altaf Hussain Hali with Sir Syed Ahmed at Aligarh|frame|500px]] 

Hali wanted to reach out to his people, but could
not do so through traditional poetry, It was at this
juncture that he met Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and
there was an instant rapport between the two. Sir
Syed wanted his people to take their rightful place
in the world through education. This was what
Hali also desired and so he started to compose at
the request of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, his epic
poem the Musaddas e-Madd o-Jazr e-Islam “An
elegiac on the Ebb and Tide of Islam") under his
poetic pseudonym of Hali ("The Contemporary"),
in which he, examines the state of social and
moral degradation prevalent in contemporary
society. The “Musaddas” was written in 1879. It
heralded the modern era of Urdu poetry. It is one
of Hali's most famous works and describes the rise
and fall of the Islamic empire in the sub-continent.
It speaks about the Islamic empire at its best and
its worst and ends with a message of hope and
good cheer. It is the outpouring of a soul in
anguish and not a didacticism of a moralist

The aim of this writing was to forewarn the
Muslims of the sub-continent and make them
aware of their past and help them learn from their
forefathers' mistakes. Written at the request of his
friend and mentor, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, such
was the input it had on him that he said after it
was completed and published to great acclaim, “If
God would ask me what have you achieved in
your earthly life, I would say “Nothing, except
that I made Hali write his Mussadus .”

It was a great literary masterpiece and the essence
of that morality and spiritual beauty which is
valued by all noble souls the world.

It captured people's imagination like no book
before it. Its extracts were taught in schools and
recited in religious and intellectual gatherings. Its
lines were on everyone's lips, were recited in
“milads”, “qawwalis and “Mehfils” and touched
every aspect of human life.

Hali occupies a special position in the history of
Urdu literature for his incomparable versatility.
His treatise, in prose – Muqaddama-e-Shair-o-
Shairi, – is a pioneering work of literary criticism,
which express the hollowness of its hackneyed
theme and imagery , especially when handled by
incompetent or less talented poets.

In 1886 he was chosen to be a member of the first
teaching faculty at Aitcheson College, Lahore.
Today the College holds an Urdu elocution
competition called the Maulana Altaf Hussain
Hali Challenge Cup, in his honour.

He has also written memorable biographies of
Ghalib, Yaadgar-e-Ghalib, Saadi Sheerazi, Hayate-
Saadi, and Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan and Hayat-e-
Javed. His poem "Barkla Rut," describes the
beauties of nature in the rainy season; "Hub-e-
Watan," underscores the virtues of patriotism;
while "Bewa ki Munajaat" focuses on the plight of
windows in Indian society. Hali's amazing
depiction of the pain and suffering of a widow at
that time is testimony to the sensitivity of his
heart. The story goes that his mother had sheltered
a mother and daughter during the Mutiny who had
lost everything in the riots in Delhi, including the
girl's husband. Hali watched her suffer quietly and
tried to give her courage to live. Little did his
mother know that the child she had sheltered
would become the raison d'etre of his famous
poem. Her suffering finds expression in such
beautiful and simple words that even Gandhiji
said, “If one wants to know the common, simple
language of India, it, should be the language used
in Hali's “Munajat-e-Bewa.

[[File: Grave of Maulana Hali alongside Bu Ali at Panipat.png| Grave of Maulana Hali alongside Bu Ali at Panipat|frame|500px]] 

Hali was a great champion of women. In his
Panipat, women were given great dignity and
respect. The properties were in their names and
they controlled the household. He promoted
women's education as well. In this matter he even
courageously opposed Sir Syed's view that first
the men should be educated which the women can
learn at home. In 1904, he started the first school
for girls in North India in his own house in
Panipat where the first students were the girls of
his own family. The Hindu families of Panipat
would not let their girls go to any other school,
but his.

One of his most famous poems is addressed to all
women, – mothers, sisters and daughters, – and to
this day is sung in several women's institutions,
big or small.

Ai Maon, Behno, Betiyon, Duniya ki Zeenat tum se hai
Mulkon ki basti ho tumhin, qaumon ki izzat tum se hai.
Mothers, sisters, daughters, you are the honour of the
World

You are the source of the creation of generations,
greatness of nations.

Jo ilm mardon ke liye samjha gaya aab e hayat
Thaira tumharey haq mein woh zehr e halahal sar
Basar

That education which for men was regarded as the
elixir of life

Was considered the fatal poison for your lot.
Aata hai waqt insaf ka nazdik hai yom e hisab
Duniya ko dena hoga in haq talfiyon ka wan jawab
The day of judgement is coming, not far is the day of
reckoning.

When the world will have to answer for all the injustice
they have done to you.

Hali was not only a poet of Muslims, but of the
entire Nation. There was no truer lover of Hindu
Muslim unity. He had scores of Hindu friends and
pleaded for unity at every stage of his life.

In his poem “Patriotism” he writes,

Chahtay ho agar Watan ki khair….Na kisi hum watan
ko samjho ghair
Sab ko meethi nigah se dekho……Samjho ankhon ki
putliyan sab ko
If you desire your country to survive Never consider
any countryman a stranger
Look at all of them with tenderness Regard them as the
twin, up of your eyes. precious pupils in one's
sight………
In another Nazm he reiterates his philosophy
Qom gar ittefaq kho baithi…/…Apni poonji se haathh
dho baithi
Hind mein ittefaq hota agar…...Khatay gairon ki
thokrein kyon kar
If a nation has lost its unity, It is like losing all you
possess.
If there had been unity in India. Never could strangers
have kicked us around.
His ideal of perfect “ibadat” or true forth was:
Yehi hai ibadat yehi deen o imaan…ke kaam aye
duniya mein insaan ke insaan

This is the true prayer, the true religion and faith-
That man helps man in this world
His love for his country “Watan” was so great that he
says to his Watan in one of his couplet:
Teri ek musht e khak ke badlay Loon na hargiz agar
bahisht milay
Never for just one fistful of your dust
Would I accept even heaven if offered

Not only did he preach inter communal harmony
in his poetry, he emphasized unity of language as
well. He realized the importance of language in
building common thought, evolving common
literature and keeping one community informed
about the feelings, dreams, and aspiration of the
other. He tried to bridge this gap by using a very
simple form of Urdu which would be understood
by Hindus and urged them to do the same with
Hindi.

Hali had no attachment to any worldly goods or
belongings, except to give them away to the
needy. He lived simply and did not even bother to
get any Royalty for his books, which she
bestowed to the nation. When he received the title
of Shams-ul-Ulema (The sun among scholars,) for
his book “Majalis un Nissa” in which he writes
how women should conduct their lives,) he was
quite unhappy as he did not want to go through all
its accompanying trappings. Hordes people
congratulated him, Maulana Shibli who was also a
great scholar said to him “I congratulate the title
that finally it has received a rightful custodian.
Once Sir Syed's own son Syed Mehmud told him.
”Father, if ever God asks me that of all my people
you have met, is there any one whom you would
like to worship; my answer will be, Yes, he is
Altaf Husain Hali.”
In 1941 at a t the age of 77 Hali passed away in
his native Panipat. He had written a Marsia for
Ghalib, but it could apply to him as well.

Bulbul e Hind mur gaya hehaat
Jis ki thhi baat baat mein ek baat

Alasthe nightingale of Hind is no more-
In whose utterance there was something profound.

The Persian couplet which Iqbal wrote for both
Hali and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan at Hali's first
centenary captures it all.

“The tulip of the desert encountered autumn and
withered away

Syed gave it a new life with the dewdrops of his
morning tears

And Hali did not cease his heart - warming melodies
Until the bedewed Tulip had once again got its shining
spot”

''' (Contributed by Begum Zakia Zaheer) '''

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