Reverence unto His Feet, English/Urdu.
Hardback - 145 pages,
by Sayyad Sabih Rehmani.
Translated by Sarah Kazmi.
Published in conjunction with the Naat Research Centre.
Description :
Review: Translation is always a difficult thing, mainly because it cannot render
the beauty of the original in an exactly similar expression.
Far
more difficult is translating poetry, especially of the devotional
kind, where the worshippers pour their heart out singing `in
full-throated ease`, because the passion and the ecstasy of the original
is impossible to render into another language with the same force. With
that caveat, Reverence Unto His Feet is a commendable attempt by Sarah
Kazmi to translate the collection of Sabih Rahmani`s devotional work.
Within
its beautifully ornamented hard cover, the book, originally titled
Sarkar Ke Qadmon Mein, presents an anthology of poems in praise of the
Holy Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, naats, and a few hamds to glorify God,
mostly in rhymed verse.
There are also some poems in blank
verse, concluding with some more in beautiful three-lined haiku. In the
preface Kazmi offers a fascinating discourse on naat poetry and adds an
English composition of her own in which she adoringly describes the
Prophet`s, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, `blessed visage`.
Poetry of the sacred kind is a genre
where poetic frenzy is at its height. In this case, the translator has
added her own feelings through complex construction and forceful
epithets for added impact. But simple words percolate into the
deepest recesses of the heart, while at the same time soothing the
senses. For example, the opening lines of the first naat are a request
from a servant to his master, for some arrangement whereby he could
present himself before the latter `Huzoor aisa koi intezam ho jaey/
Salam kar ne ko hazir ghulam ho jaey.` The simple language
conjures the picture of a worshipper in some distant land, longing to
present himself before his lord, beseeching him perhaps with quivering
lips and tearful eyes for the favour.---Reveiw by S.G. Jilanee.
Contains English Translation as well as urdu language text.
High Quality print and translation. Recommended as Gift Book Idea!
