Iqbal
From the Lahore debates of the 1870s to Bal-e-Jibril: the collections that shaped modern Urdu poetry.
Read the article: IqbalUrdu literature, poetry and criticism
Urdu literature and poetry
An independent site on verse, criticism and translation, written one line of ink at a time.
Certain dates offer useful starting points for exploring Urdu literature. Muhammad Iqbal published Asrar-i-Khudi in 1915 and Bang-e-Dara in 1924. Publications such as these are where our account of modern Urdu poetry begins. Siyahi means ink in Urdu, and we are an independent information site devoted to poetry, literature and literary criticism. Our aim is to write clearly and precisely, making each article accessible even to readers encountering this poetic tradition for the first time.
How a poem takes shape
- 01
It begins with a single line of ink.
- 02
Two lines make a sher, a verse that stands on its own.
- 03
Many verses make a ghazal. One thought carried to the end makes a nazm.
What we cover
We explore this tradition through a few central themes: how a ghazal is structured, how it differs from a nazm, how Urdu poetry changed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and how to approach the poets whose work became part of the canon. Each article is grounded in dates and facts rather than broad generalisations.
A ghazal consists of self-contained two-line verses called sher. Its opening verse is the matla. The refrain is known as the radif, and the rhyme immediately before it is the qafia. A nazm, by contrast, develops a single subject throughout, rather than bringing together independent couplets. This distinction shapes the way we read: each sher in a ghazal can be considered on its own, while a nazm invites us to follow a continuous line of thought.
Ghazal
Self-contained two-line verses. Each sher can be read on its own.
Nazm
One subject developed from the first line to the last, in a single line of thought.
Dates to hold on to
- Early 1870s
Anjuman-e-Punjab
Azad and Hali call in Lahore for a nazm built around a subject.
Read more about Anjuman-e-Punjab - 1915
Asrar-i-Khudi
Iqbal's philosophical poem, written in Persian.
Read more about Asrar-i-Khudi - 1924
Bang-e-Dara
Iqbal's first collection of poems in Urdu.
Read more about Bang-e-Dara - 1935
Bal-e-Jibril
A collection linked to the poet's journey to Spain.
Read more about Bal-e-Jibril - 1951
Rawalpindi conspiracy case
Faiz Ahmad Faiz is arrested and spends about four years in prison.
Read more about Rawalpindi conspiracy case - 1962
Lenin Peace Prize
Awarded to Faiz, though some sources give 1963.
Read more about Lenin Peace Prize
Ghazal and nazm: where the new poetry came from
In the early 1870s Muhammad Hussain Azad and Altaf Hussain Hali, associated with the Anjuman-e-Punjab in Lahore, called for poetry organised around a subject: the modern nazm. We examine this development as an important turning point in literary history. Iqbal published Bal-e-Jibril in 1935, and we devote a separate article to his work.
We also write about Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Arrested in 1951 in the so-called Rawalpindi conspiracy case, he spent most of four years in isolation. In 1962 he received the Lenin Peace Prize. These biographical details help us read his poems in context without embellishing his life with legends.
Criticism and translation: why read with us
On our site, literary criticism serves a practical purpose. We explain how to approach a text, trace the origins of its forms and consider what happens when a poem moves from one language into another. The links with Turkish literature offer a useful example. Iqbal became known in Turkey largely through Mehmet Akif Ersoy, while Celal Soydan of Istanbul University translated Iqbal's works into Turkish.
What you will find here
The site has four articles: Iqbal and modern Urdu poetry, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, ghazal and nazm, and the links between Urdu and Turkish literature. Each explores a distinct subject, allowing you to read them in sequence or begin with whatever interests you most.
Faiz
Imprisonment in 1951, two collections from those years and a classical form turned toward shared experience.
Read the article: Faiz
Ghazal and nazm
Sher, matla, radif, qafia: a short guide to recognising the ghazal and telling it from the nazm.
Read the article: Ghazal and nazm
Urdu and Turkish
A shared Persian tradition, a poet who carried Iqbal to Turkey and the translators who followed.
Read the article: Urdu and TurkishExplore the articles on Iqbal, Faiz, the ghazal and Turkish literature to discover this tradition through its forms, history and translations.