http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_20-11-2002_pg3_4
Syed Abid Ali
Faiz Ahmad Faiz was charitable to all and malicious to none. While thinking of Faiz Sahib’s large heartedness and lack of malice, one episode after another passes through my mind
Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a great poet, a profound scholar, a revolutionary thinker, a remarkably multi-dimensional intellect, and an exceptionally affectionate and ireless person.
His most endearing, and to some, his most, baffling trait of character was summed up by the phrase: “charity towards all and malice towards none.” He never ran down or even criticised his worst enemies, not even those who never let an opportunity slip to denigrate him even to the extent of casting doubts on his patriotism by dubbing him a traitor. Nawa-e-Waqt and like-minded journals invariably referred to him as the “Rawalpindi conspiracy case convict” and took malicious pleasure in disparaging him. I think it was Abdullah Malik who once vented his ire at a particularly nasty piece. Faiz just gave his typical half smile and told him not to forget that the same journals also freely quoted his poetry to embellish their editorial columns.
My friend and erstwhile colleague, Fateh Muhammad Malik, in the early days of his career as critic, wrote a couple of unduly harsh articles about Faiz’s poetry and its underlying political thought. I recall mentioning this in passing to Faiz. His reaction was to praise Malik by saying he had the makings of a true scholar and only had to shed off some of his preconceived notions and prejudices to make his mark as a scholar. In due course, Malik widened his mental horizon and became an internationally acknowledged scholar. He has to his credit the well-researched book “Faiz — Shairi our Siasat”.
Once a group of friends had gathered in my home in Karachi — Faiz, Ahmed Faraz and Munir Niazi were present. The former two were constantly being requested to recite their poetry. Munir Niazi took me aside to say that all his life he had been sandwiched between the two “Fs” — Faiz and Faraz — whereas he was a greater poet than either of them! A few weeks later, Munoo Bhai and I were over at Faiz Sahib’s residence in Lahore when Munir Niazi’s name cropped up in some context. Some one complained of his larger than life-sized ego. Faiz defended Niazi by saying that perhaps his ego was not too misplaced, as he was an outstanding contemporary poet whose true worth had not been recognised. He went on to recite a few of Munir’s verses to prove his point.
Dr Mohammad Ajmal told me many times that he did not rate Faiz too highly as a poet and had serious reservations about his political philosophy. Faiz knew what Ajmal thought of his work but that did not deter him from admiring him as an educationist, psychologist and intellectual. This, despite the fact that he had some serious problems with Ajmal when he was the Federal Education Secretary and Faiz headed the Pakistan National Council of Arts.
Faiz had genuine respect and deep affection for Josh Malihabadi whom he considered an icon of Urdu revolutionary poetry, and a lovable human being. Josh reciprocated Faiz’s feelings but was, at times, unduly harsh in his criticism of Faiz’s diction, which he thought lacked the elan of the “ahl-e-zaban”. After his migration from India in the late fifties, Josh was not given due recognition by the establishment. In fact, for his doggedly progressive and “anti-mullah” views, he was even dubbed a “Kafir” and “anti Pakistan”. It was Faiz, however, who brought him out of the wilderness. He advised Prime Minister Z.A. Bhutto to create an Academy of Letters and had Josh Malihabadi appointed as its first chairman.
It pains me to mention that some time ago Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi came out with an unpalatable diatribe against Faiz in a Lahore periodical. Without ascribing any motive to Qasmi Sahib, 1 would only like to vouchsafe that Faiz always held Qasmi in high esteem for his contribution to literature and recalled with nostalgia their long association in the progressive writers movement. A lot has also been said of the perceived differences between Faiz and Noon Meem Rashed. But I know it for a fact that there was never any personal acrimony between them and Faiz admired Rashed’s poetry tremendously. As for Rashed, he also had nothing but admiration for Faiz, both as a poet and a human being. I recall an evening at Rashed Sahib’s residence in Tehran in the late sixties when just the two of us were present. He lovingly narrated a few anecdotes about Faiz and recited his latest nazm, which he had read in an Indian magazine.
On the eve of Faiz’s “self-exile” departure in February 1978, we were having an enjoyable evening at my house in Lahore. Present on the occasion were Sadequain, Munoo Bhai, my wife Nazi and our teacher-cum-friend, Sufi Tabassum. Sufi Sahib was raging black and blue and using the choicest Punjabi invectives about Hafeez Jallandhri — who had published a cock and bull story regarding Faiz’s “futile” efforts to convert him to Soviet Communism while both of them were attending the Afro-Asian Writers Conference in Moscow! Faiz intervened to say that one should forget and forgive what Hafeez had done. Taken aback, Sufi Sahib looked at me and said: “Yaar, Faiz ke walid nay to bus naam hi rakha tha, yeh serious ho gaya hay”. (Faiz’s father had given him a name, but Faiz has taken it very seriously.”)
While thinking of Faiz Sahib’s large heartedness and lack of malice, one episode after another passes through my mind. I would like to end with an incident that took place just about five or six weeks before he passed away. Our mutual friend Tajammul Hussain had gathered together Faiz’s admirers at his house in mid October, 1984. While in high spirits, Tajammul spoke of Sialkot having given birth to the two greatest poets of the century, Iqbal and Faiz. Then in a lighter vein he quipped that only one of the two poet was great and he happened to be present that evening. Faiz went red in the face and in an unusually crisp tone told Tajammul never to bracket him with Iqbal even in a non-serious manner. Then he added “Bhai hum tau Allama ki khak-e-pa bhi naheen hain”.
The following words of Ghalib aptly describe Faiz Ahmad Faiz:
“Chup raho gar bura kahay koi
Bakhsh do gar khata karay koi”.
Syed Abid Ali is a former Director General Public Relations Pakistan, Punjab and the founding Secretary-General of the PNCA. Today is the 17th death anniversary of Faiz Ahmad Faiz