Saara Rahman

MA English
Semester II
Topic: Discuss how Faiz Ahmad Faiz has combined his
love for the beloved and social criticism in his nazm
“Mujhse Pehli Si Mohabbat, Meri Mehbub, Naa Mang”

“Like love, imprisonment is a basic experience for it

opens many new windows for the soul” says Faiz Ahmad
Faiz (1911-1984), on his frequent detention for his pro
communist ideas and anti establishment propagation.
The Pakistani writer is celebrated for his layered
meanings, the usage of metaphors and idioms. His
craftsmanship lies in the way he plays with language and
phrases, going deep into it’s technical superiority,
meanings and nuances. His intellectual prowess gave him
an esteemed position among the elite group of poets and
brought him numerous awards including Lenin Peace
Prize. He has composed many ghazals and nazms like “
Hum Dekhenge”, “Subh-e-Azaadi” and “Mujhse Pehli Si
Mohabbat, Meri Mehbub, Na Maang” that gave hope to
people to strive for better days when autocratic regimes
would be overthrown and the world would become a
better place to live in.
The poet is a true social critic who breaks conventions by
the mingling of political, social and romantic notions that
pervades his poetry. This can be remarkably seen in his
ghazal “Mujhse Pehli Si Mohabbat, Meri Mehbub, Na
Mang” which begins with the same line giving a hint as
though the poet’s beloved had been complaining about
the lack of similar passion and intensity by which he used
to adore her earlier.Here Faiz has broken the traditional
style of ghazals where either everything is green and
associated with the beloved or the world is barren in her
absence. He will still continue to pay the due of love but
simultaneously emphasized on his responsibilities as a
social reformer.
He creates a beautifully nostalgic picture of his
premature days of love when he, like an ardent lover,
was under an illusion that the sheer presence of his
beloved illuminated his life with splendid radiance. The
idea of love has always been associated with pain and
longing in traditional ghazals and Faiz extends this
further by claiming that he was engrossed with the grief
he felt in loving her and the torments of the world hardly
affected him. Any discerning reader would notice that
earlier he loved her at the expense of everything in life
but now she has lost that position as he is also embracing
his duties as a socialist.
He praises the youthful hue and ravishing beauty of his
beloved by stating that the season of spring owed its
lustre to her and except for her captivating eyes,
everything in the world seems distasteful. Her company
would make faith bow before the poet because she
embodied the whole world for him. Suddenly there’s a
change in the tone of the poem and Faiz claims that
these were just illusions and he could only wish if they
were true. He accepts that he has been encountered
with the realities of life and now he can see what
Wordsworth said “The still,sad music of humanity”.
He delves into the ugly custom of the world that has cast
a spell on mankind, accentuating the human suffering.
These countless ugly realities have chained down the
people and made them mechanical. He voices his
disapproval of the diabolic authoritative control and
urges people to rebel against power instead of
succumbing to it that suffocates them under the veils of
satin, silk and gold. Faiz shows mirror to the ugly truth of
the society of that time with his hard-hitting multifaceted
line “ jaa-ba-jaa bikte hue kucha o bazaar me jism” which
is a stark commentary on prostitution and slavery. The
poet is sensitive towards his surrounding and feels
compassionate for his fellow countrymen who are
enduring the tyrannical rule.
In the end, the poet does claim that he is still a
connoisseur of his beloved's beauty and grace, but now,
he has to look at the broader canvas. He can see the
hardships beyond the pangs of love and can find
happiness beyond the warm embrace of his beloved. The
best way to illustrate the interconnection between love
and social humanity is by taking into account the two
lines from the ghazal
“Aur bhi dukh h zamane men mohabbat ke siwa,
Raahatein aur bhi hain vasl ki rahat ke siwa”
It seems that he is forming a line of demarcation
between his romantic side that acknowledges his
beloved's immense importance in his life and his
socialist side that cannot unsee the suffering of the
people or ignore the radical ideas brooding in his head.
Thus the poet brilliantly incorporates his love for his
beloved and social criticism in his nazm which has
crossed the barriers of time, finding it’s universal
application in the contemporary society.