Spirit of Islam, July-Aug 2023

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S DESK Prof Farida Khanam is an author, editor, translator, public speaker and former professor of Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Among her books are ‘A Simple Guide to Islam’ and ‘A Study of World’s Major Religions’. She has translated into English many books authored by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Currently the chairperson of CPS International, she is a regular contributor of articles to various publications. Prof Khanam has edited Maulana’s English translation of the Quran and has also translated his Urdu commentary on the Quran into English. She can be reached at spiritofislamperiodical@gmail.com I WAS IMPORTANT M IR TAQI MIR (1723-1810) was an Indian Urdu poet and one of the pioneers who gave shape to the Urdu language itself. He is remembered as one of the best poets of the Urdu language. He wrote a verse that goes like this: “Kehne laga ke dekh ke chal rah bekhabar, Mein bhi kabhi kisi ka sar-e-pur ghurur tha.” (Trans: It told me, “O ignorant man! Walk carefully, I once held a place of pride on an able body.) The context of this couplet is that once the poet went to a graveyard, where his foot hit a dead human skull. He felt as if the skull that his foot had hit was in communion with him. The skull seemed to say that a person should never forget his reality, no matter how rich or famous he might have been during his life in the world. Everyone must leave the world empty-handed to return to the dust after death. All their pride and arrogance will vanish into thin air. There is another incident about a gentleman who once went to a cemetery during a funeral and saw an inscription on a grave that said, “Main aham tha, yahi waham tha.” (I was important, this was the illusion).