ROSHAN ROSHAN HARF
Author and Publisher: Qamar Sambhali, 5572 Nai Sadak, Delhi – 110 006
Year: 2008
Pages: 136
Price: Rs. 125
Reviewed by DR. S. AUSAF SAIED VASFI
In each and every period, the Muslim poets have, the world over, written poetry in the praise of Allah, called Hamd and Naat, delineating the qualities of his Last Prophet (may Allah bless and greet him).
It was perhaps Hassan bin Thaabit who wrote the first Naat. In the days of the yore, no one could think of a poetic composition without a Hamd and a Naat in the very beginning of the volume.
Some eminent Urdu versifiers of this genre are Mohsin Kakorvi, Raza Barailvi, Naeem Siddiqui, Hafeez Meeruti, Mahirul Qaadri, Hameed Siddiqui and Abul Mujahid Zahid. Qamar Sambhali is also one of the umpteen.
But the truth is Qamar is not one of the umpteen. He knows very well what are the well-marked limits of eulogy in Islam. The composition or even a couplet or a part thereof should have no exaggeration at all. The Prophet’s praise (may Allah bless and greet him) should not even slightly touch the qualities of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. The Naat’s path particularly is not easy to tread. Qamar does not disappoint the literary critics. He knows his limits. The Last Prophet himself (may Allah bless and greet him) has warned to that effect in a well-known holy tradition.
Qamar Sambhali has 14 books to his credit. Roshan Roshan Harf is just one of them. It contains around 130 compositions.
Qamar’s diction is in accordance with the grandeur of the subject. What strikes most is the depth of thought.
A few examples:
“Should I take the severed limbs to the battlefield? / Grant the wherewithal to my tribe, O Allah”
“My grip over my rope has loosened, / The entire flock is in disarray.”
It looks as if Qamar has not to labour to say a verse:
The outpouring seems clearly spontaneous:
“Of course many patches were there. But there was no blot / I had laid the foundation of my life on such a sheet anchor.”
“Those who try to add to their stature, / O God! Grant them heads over their shoulders.”
The students of Hamd and Naat would ill-afford to ignore Roshan Roshan Harf.