''The Mosque of Cordoba'' ( ur, مسجد قرطبہ, translit=Masjid-e Qurtaba) is an eight-stanza Urdu poem by
Muhammad Iqbal, written circa 1932 and published in his 1935/6 collection
''Bāl-e Jibrīl'' ('The Wing of
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር ...
'). It has been described as "one of his most famous pieces" and a "masterpiece". It has also been compared to
Ahmad Shawqi's Arabic poem ''Siniyyah'' for its locating in Islamic Spain "the embodiment of the ideal, non-territorial Islamic nation" that is, in both poems' world-views, "the source of world history."
Context of Composition
Iqbal travelled to England in 1931 to participate in the second and third
Round Table Conferences
The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in Dec ...
in London. He returned to India via Spain (as well as France and Italy), and it was at this time that he visited the eponymous mosque, though by that time it had long since been converted to a cathedral. Nevertheless, it was at what has been described as one of the "high points of his emotional life" that he composed the majority of the poem, as its subtitle clearly indicates:
:''"Hispānīya kī sarzamīn bālkhusūs qurtaba men likhī ga'ī"'', or, "Written in the land of Spain, particularly in Córdoba".
The visit must indeed have inspired him, as the resultant poem is one of the very few occasions in which Iqbal praises art or architecture. Annemarie Schimmel has observed,
:''"He was most critical to the existence of fine arts in Islamic culture, and has admired most those buildings which seem to express the vigorous character of the young and powerful Islam, like the mosque of Cordova, and the
Qutub Minar
The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and "victory tower" that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO Worl ...
of Delhi. But on the whole the beautiful form as such did not appeal that much to him."''
Structure
The poem is written in the ''rajaz'' metre, with the following pattern of long (–) and short ( ˘ ) syllables divided into four
feet
The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...
:
:– ˘ ˘ – / – ˘ – / – ˘ ˘ – / – ˘ –
with an optional
caesura
image:Music-caesura.svg, 300px, An example of a caesura in modern western music notation
A caesura (, . caesuras or caesurae; Latin for "cutting"), also written cæsura and cesura, is a Metre (poetry), metrical pause or break in a Verse (poetry), ...
or additional short syllable at the end of each line.
[Pritchett & Khaliq § 6.1]
The eight stanzas are thematically quite distinct, but linked together in a natural progression of ideas.
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:''Stanza 1'': A description of the nature of time, as an unending and cyclical chain of days and nights (''"Silsila-e roz-o shab"'') which is nevertheless only an apparent reality; everything that man creates is therefore ephemeral, and the end result is annihilation (''"Kār-e jahān be ṣabāt!"'').
:''Stanza 2'': Here Iqbal focusses on the one quality that transcends time and is, as such, indestructible: true, spiritual love ( ''"'ishq"'').
:''Stanza 3'': It was this love, then, that created the mosque of Cordoba; it is the ability to feel the "burning and melting" of worship that places man in a more privileged state even than the forms of light (''"paikar-e nūrī"'').
:''Stanza 4'': The glory and beauty (''"jalāl-o jamāl"'') of the mosque causes Iqbal to think on the nature and qualities of the true believer, whose refuge in times of trouble is in the declaration of faith
A declaration of faith is a phrase that is said by a member of any religion to show either to themselves, their God or other members of the religion their belief and faith in the religion. Notable declarations of faith include confirmation and adu ...
(''"Sāyah-e shamshīr men us kī panā lā 'ilāha"'').
:''Stanza 5'': Here Iqbal outlines the characteristics of a true Muslim.
:''Stanza 6'': The centrality of the mosque of Cordoba to Islamic Spain is compared to the centrality of the Kaaba
The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...
to Islam generally; while the positive impact of Islam on Spain and Europe are extolled.
:''Stanza 7'': Iqbal bemoans the waning of Islam in Europe, and outlines the great upheavals that swept Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. He observes that a similar turmoil currently existed in the Muslim world.
:''Stanza 8'': This is a call for revolution and reform, as well as a summary of the poem in general.
See also
* Index of Muhammad Iqbal–related articles This page list topics related to Muhammad Iqbal.
* Muhammad Iqbal’s concept of Khudi
* Muhammad Iqbal’s educational philosophy
* Madani–Iqbal debate
* Muhammad Iqbal bibliography
* Allahabad Address
* Works of Muhammad Iqbal
* Iqbal Acad ...
References
Notes
- ^ This summary draws on that of David Matthews, supplemented by direct quotations from the poem. See Matthews, pp. 173–175.
Citations
Cited works
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External links
;Read online
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;Iqbal Academy, Pakistan
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosque of Cordoba (poem)
Poetry by Muhammad Iqbal
1932 poems