Syed Hussain Sibt-e-Asghar Naqvi, commonly known as Jaun Elia ( ur, , 14 December 1931 – 8 November 2002), was an Indo-Pakistani poet, philosopher, biographer, and scholar. One of the most prominent modern Urdu poets, popular for his unconventional ways, he "acquired knowledge of philosophy, logic, Islamic history, the Muslim Shia tradition, Muslim religious sciences, Western literature, and Kabbala."

Early life

Jaun Elia was born as Syed Sibt-e-Asghar Naqvi on 14 December 1931 in

Amroha Amroha is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is located north-west of Moradabad, near the Ganga River. It is the administrative headquarters of the Amroha district. Geography Amroha is located north-west of Moradabad, near th ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. His father, Shafiq Elia, was a scholar of literature and astronomy well-versed in the Arabic, English, Persian, Hebrew and Sanskrit languages, and who corresponded with leading intellectuals like

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, a ...

. He was the youngest of his siblings. Rais Amrohvi was his elder brother. Indian film director Kamal Amrohi was his first cousin. Described as a child prodigy, he was initially educated at the Syed-ul-Madaris in Amroha. Being a communist, Elia opposed the partition of India. Elia once remarked on the creation of Pakistan that "this was the mischief of boys from Aligarh". However, he eventually migrated to Pakistan in 1957, and decided to live in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

. Poet

Pirzada Qasim Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui ( ur, پیرزادہ قاسم رضا صدیقی) (born 8 February 1943) is a Pakistani scholar, poet, scientist and educationist. He is serving as vice chancellor of Ziauddin University. Early life and career Pirzad ...

said: He began writing poetry at the age of 8 but published his first collection, ''Shayad'', when he was 60. He was inspired by the philosophy of Islam. He married writer

Zahida Hina Zahida Hina (Urdu: زاہدہ حنا) is a noted Urdu columnist, essayist, short story writer, novelist and dramatist from Pakistan. Life Zahida was born in India, after the independence of Pakistan in 1947, her father, Muhammad Abul Khair, ...

in 1970. They separated in 1992.

Works

Poetry collections

*''Sukhan Meri Udasee Hai'' *''Zakham-e-Umeed – زخمِ امید'' *''Mubada'' *''Tumharey Aur Mere Darmiyan'' *''Daricha Haye Kheyal'' *''Qitaat'' *''Jaun Elia Ki Tamam Ghazlain'' (parts I-III) *''Inshaye aur Mazaameen'' *''Farnood'' *''Is Rang Ke Tufaan'' اس رنگ کے طوفاں'' *''Shayad''

Prose work (mainly translations)

Elia was not just a poet but was also an editor and a translator, especially of old

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

Mutazili Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early Islamic ...

and Ismaili treatises. * Masih-i-Baghdad Hallaj, * Jometria, * Tawasin, * Isaghoji, * Rahaish-o-Kushaish, *

Hasan bin Sabah Hasan-i Sabbāh ( fa, حسن صباح) or Hassan as-Sabbāh ( ar, حسن بن الصباح الحميري, full name: Hassan bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ja'far bin al-Husayn bin Muhammad bin al-Sabbah al-Himyari; c. 1050 – 12 June 1124) was the ...

* Farnod, Tajrid, * Masail-i-Tajrid, * Rasail Ikhwan al Safa Above are some of his translations from Arabic and Persian. Not only did he translate these books but also introduced several new words in the Urdu language. Muneeb arfan

Politics

Jaun Elia was a communist who, in his poems, supported

communism in Pakistan The influences of socialism and socialist movements in Pakistan have taken many different forms as a counterpart to political conservatism, from the groups like The Struggle, Lal Salam which is the Pakistani section of the International Marxis ...

. References to class consciousness are also seen in his poems.

In media

In 2020, Punjabi rapper Kay Kap's album ''Rough Rhymes for Tough Times'' featured a song entitled "Bulaava" which had couplets from the poem 'Pehnaayi Ka Makaan' written & recited by Jaun Elia.

References

External links

BBC Urdu's collection of writings on Jaun Elia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elia, Jaun 1931 births 2002 deaths Muhajir people Pakistani poets Pakistani scholars Linguists of Urdu Linguists from Pakistan Pakistani literary critics Urdu critics Pakistani Shia Muslims Poets from Karachi Urdu-language theologians 20th-century Urdu-language writers Urdu-language poets from Pakistan 20th-century poets Indian emigrants to Pakistan People from Amroha Pakistani agnostics Members of the Pakistan Philosophical Congress 20th-century linguists 20th-century Pakistani philosophers Indian Communist poets Pakistani Communist poets