As i understand it, alcohol is prohibited in Islam…right? how strict is this prohibition? and how come in urdu shayari there are so many references to sharab, maikhana, sakia, jaam, paimana, khumaar… u get my drift. is such shayari considered anti-islamic and is frowned upon? if not then why not?
Shayari itself is not encouraged in Islam as it's a fazool shughal. Drinking is strictly prohibited and ash-aars containing stuff about sharab and maikhanas are definitly frowned upon as these lead to nothing but useless thoughts.
As for why so much sharab is mentioned in Urdu poetry, well, not all the Urdu poets have been great Muslims :)But we've also had Sufiyana Shaayars like Haali etc. That kinda shaayari is definitly encouraged but not the type containing material about sharab and stuff.
In some cases, sharab is meant as sharab-e-tahoora (the pure sharab promised in Jannat) or some other thing....not necessarily as alcohol!
ananya ji..what HSHTSA says is basically correct lekin not quite :)
The Islamic opinion on shairee is that it in itself is not a bad thing or a good thing, it depends on the content of the poems :)
Sharaab is used throughout Islamic history by all Muslims including Arabs, persians, turks and indians as a metaphor for Ishq-e-Ilaahi, divine love or Divine Knowledge [called ma'arifat]. This is becoz nearly all the famous poets of islam have been Sufis as well, i.e. saints, may Allah be pleased with them all.
As for the wine which is found in bottles, well..many poets have also been drinkers, eg Ghalib drank regularly :)
The use of sharaab metaphor in poetry is a MASSIVE topic--books have been written on it..
Even great Islamic scholars like Ala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan of Bareilly, India have used the wine metaphor in their poems about Islam and the Holy Prophet sal allahu alayhi wa sallam; obviously alcohol is not what is meant :)
But it makes a wonderful metaphor and image :)
:)
Humsa and Asif, thank you for the input. humsa, shayari a fazool shugal, huh. lol, i like that expression.
Asif, using wine as metaphor is understandable, just as love is also used in sufi poetry as symbolic love for God. it is also heartening to note that even the non-metaphoric usage is taken in stride and perhaps attributed to whims and quirks of shayrana tabiyat.
well, jhoom barabar jhoom sharabi by Naza Sholapuri stays one of my all time fav in (jhoomti) qawwalis... (hope doesn't offend anyone)
kaali ghata hai, aa aa..., mast fiza hai, aa aa...
kali ghata hai mast fiza hai, jaam utha kar ghoom ghoom ghoom
jhoom barabar jhoom sharabi, jhoom barabar jhoom...
aaj angoor ki beti se muhabbat kar le
shekh saahab ki naseehat se baghavat kar le
iski beti ne utha rakhi hai sar par duniya
ye to achchha hua angoor ko beta na hua
kam-se-kam sUrat-e-saaqi ka nazara kar le
aake maikhane mein jine ka sahara kar le
aaNkh mil-te hi javani ka maza aayega
tujhako angoor ke paani ka maza aayega
har nazar apani bakad shauq gulaabi kar de
itani pile ke zamaane ko sharabi kar de
jaam jab samne aaye to mukarna kaisa
baat jab pine ki aajaye to darnaa kaisa
dhoom machi hai, aa aa..., maikhane mein, aa aa...
dhoom machi hai maikhane mein, tu bhi macha le dhoom dhoom dhoom
jhoom barabar ...
i better stop before i get into trouble, later! ;0)
I dont think there is anything wrong with this ..that you will get into trouble....it is avery good song.
also munni begum sang it very nicely.
dil..dilseee
Yo yo yo! me a poet ma self (both Urdu n English) but u see....it IS a fazool shughal ;)
cool Humsa, cause i am rather partial to this (not so) fazool shugal. =0)
how about sharing your poems sometime?
Ananya err i DID post some of my poetry on the poetry forum longgggg time back but haven't posted since. I'll try to do that again though :)
I am moving this thread to the religious affairs section...please post all replies there.
oh ok, but now the religious question is almost over. i wasn't sure about the symbolic angle of reference to jaam/saaqi etc. now the use of jaam in following qawwali makes sense to me:
jaaega kaun aake, pyasa tumhare dar se
kuch jaam se piyenge, kuchh meharban nazar se
ek pyali bhar ke de saaqi mai-e-gulafaam ki
ek apane naam pi, aur ek allaah naam pi
meT de poori meri hasarat dil-e-naakam ki
dede dede dard mein koi soorat aaram ki
ghoonT hi pila magar josh-e-tamanna daal kar
ek qatara de magar qatare mein dariya daal kar
kuch jaam se piyenge, kuch meharban nazar se
ye sang-e-dar tumhaara, toDenge apane sar se
ye dil agar tumhaara toota salim chishti
maula salim chishti aaqa salim chishti...
Humsa, i only joined this forum last month. so looks like i missed your postings in poetry section. but i am sure others won't mind the re-runs or if u decide to post your new poems there. some fazool shugals are fun indulging in eh? ;0)
Hehe Ananya yup. Some fazool shughals r definitly addicting ;)