# An Urdu poem of living on after the beloved

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zz85auzek5w/s/3/
- Date: 2021-04-06 · Kind: other · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #209 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (12:37–19:36)
- Status: latest answer on its topic
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ85AUzeK5w&t=757s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zz85auzek5w/

**Topics:** Urdu poetry

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth reads and explains an Urdu poem on living on after the beloved, a mix of despair and hope.

## Longer summary

To lighten the mood Mufti Abu Layth reads an Urdu poem by a poet who writes under a pen name made by rearranging the letters of his name. He explains its lines: that life after the beloved is no more than a pulse that beats and a breath that flows, a show put on for the world's sake, and that each night consoles the speaker that this is the last night to bear. He draws out the line that the speaker may have lost to life but life has not yet lost to death, which he reads as despair underlined with hope, and contrasts it with the more hopeful image elsewhere in Urdu poetry that the evening of sorrow is long but is only an evening. He says poetry can offer a kind of solace.

## Transcript (machine tier, 12:37–19:36)

[12:37] [music] Not whom? [music] Why not? Always something to lighten the mood, people. Lighten the mood. And I do actually have a poem [snorts] I'd like to read a bit out for you people.

[13:06] Yeah, people. This is for you people to appreciate the finer arts in life. This is called right. So this is by someone. What is he goes by the name? This is weird. He goes by the name that Abra and that's not his real name.

[13:33] It's a kind of he's kind of twisting the letters of his name around which is actually a Akbar. That's it. AFab Akbar. But he kind of swap swaps the letters around to make something which doesn't really mean anything. Abra. It doesn't really Abra could mean something in Arabic but abaf not really.

[13:55] So but this poem anyway he says Allah the fact that without you we are still living [laughter] to my beloveds. But this is you know this is something it touches heartstrings people heartstrings man heartstring man.

[14:21] [laughter] So this he says, "Check this out. Let me just right." So I'll also got to bring up your comments. They're moving way too fast. [snorts] Right. But the pulse is beating. Breath remains flowing. I mean there's a breath flow.

[14:51] says, "And that is the summary of how it was spent after." Life was spent after simply that the heart remained beating and the breath remained flowing. That's it. That's all that was left alive. Now it's just

[15:28] a a neverending series of ah [laughter] of pain of sigh and and anguish. [laughter] Epic line people. Epic. He says and this that we are alive without you that it is but just a show you know it's just inudu is like when

[16:08] you know things you do have to do for the world world's sake you know for the sake of society it's not there isn't really no reality to it people just put on a show it's a facade but duna that that he says each night consoles me with this message that it's just this night as in it's just tonight the final night that you have to bear through and then the rest

[16:46] will be easy. He says even though we may and sometimes you know I I've said this before udu poetry can kind of have a bit of melancholy to it but he says that we seem to have lost to life but life hasn't yet lost to death.

[17:15] See, it's weird because it's a he's kind of grouping together a sense of despair but underlined with a sense of hope. You know, it's strange because on Zindi, you know, it's a bit a bit I mean you have uh F his uh um you know it's that yes the evening of sorrow or anguish is long but he says but it's only an evening [laughter]

[17:55] that's kind of more hopeful I mean hope seems to propoundy but here he's kind of got it a bit which is decisive says the judgment you did you did it is decisive. That is an outstanding quality you have.

[18:25] Whatever we had to live, we have done so. What's left is simply a formal [laughter] and that we are alive after you [laughter] honestly I read that and I was like oh my god that really wow it's it's amazing you know in poetry one can find

[19:03] you can find I don't a a a solace I guess but yeah so [snorts] uh MUI the Yasid Khadi response we're going to do some of that tonight uh disclosure with the big D the series continues man continues you know we've got so much to do with that uh so we're breaking it down um what I'll take a look at today is this a bit of the aspect of one where he says how can a person claim to be Maliki and still not believe in say that

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment zZ85AUzeK5w/s/3. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zz85auzek5w/s/3/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.