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Abul-Ma'ānī Mīrzā Abdul-Qādir Bēdil (, or Bīdel, ), also known as Bedil Dehlavī (; 1642–1720) and Bedil Azimabadi, was an Indian
Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
, and considered one of the greatest Indo-Persian poets, next to
Amir Khusrau Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253 – 1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau, sometimes spelled as, Amir Khusrow or Amir Khusro, was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar, who lived during the period of the Delhi Sult ...
, who lived most of his life during the reign of
Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
, the sixth
Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...
. He was the foremost representative of the later phase of the
Indian style Sitting is a basic action and resting position in which the body weight is supported primarily by the bony ischial tuberosities with the buttocks in contact with the ground or a horizontal surface such as a chair seat, instead of by the low ...
of Persian poetry, and the most difficult and challenging poet of that school.M. Sidiqqi
Abdul-Qādir Bīdel
Encyclopaedia Iranica An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...
. 1989. Vol. IV, Fasc. 3, pp. 244-246


Life

Bedil was born in Azimabad (present-day
Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...
) in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
to Mirza Abd al-Khaliq (d. 1648), a former Turkic soldier who belonged to the
Barlas The Barlas (;Grupper, S. M. 'A Barulas Family Narrative in the Yuan Shih: Some Neglected Prosopographical and Institutional Sources on Timurid Origins'. Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 8 (1992–94): 11–97 Chagatay language, Chagatay/ ''Barlās'' ...
tribe of the Chaghatay. The descendants of the family had originally lived in the city of
Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
in
Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
, before moving to India. Bedil's native language was Bengali, but he also spoke
Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
(then known as ''rikhta''),
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
and Turkic, as well as Persian and Arabic, which he learned in elementary school. Bedil mostly wrote
Ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...
and Rubayee (
quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four Line (poetry), lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India ...
) in Persian, the language of the Royal Court, which he had learned during his childhood. He was the author of 16 books of poetry, which contained nearly 147,000 verses and included several
masnavi The ''Masnavi'', or ''Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi'' (, DIN 31635, DMG: ''Mas̲navī-e maʻnavī''), also written ''Mathnawi'', or ''Mathnavi'', is an extensive poem written in Persian language, Persian by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, also known as Rumi. I ...
in that language. He is considered one of the prominent poets of ''Indian School of Poetry'' in
Persian literature Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...
, and is regraded as having his own unique style. Both Mirza Ghalib and Iqbal-i Lahori were influenced by him. His books include ''Tilism-i Hairat'' (طلسم حيرت), ''Tur i Ma'rifat'' (طور معرفت), ''Chahār Unsur'' (چهار عنصر) and ''Ruqa'āt'' (رقعات). Possibly as a result of being brought up in such a mixed religious environment, Bedil had considerably more tolerant views than his poetic contemporaries. He preferred
free thought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other met ...
to accepting the established beliefs of his time, siding with the common people and rejecting the clergy who he often saw as corrupt. Bedil's work is highly regarded in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
,
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
and
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
. Bedil came back to prominence in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
in 1980s. Literary critics Mohammad-Reza Shafiei-Kadkani and Shams Langrudi were instrumental in Bedil's re-emergence in Iran. Iran also sponsored two international conferences on Bedil. The Indian school of Persian poetry, especially Bedil's poetry, is criticised for its complex and implicit meanings. As a result, However, it better regarded in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and India than in Iran. In Afghanistan, a unique school in poetry studying is dedicated to Bīdel's poetry called ''Bedilšināsī'' (Bedil studies), and those who have studied his poetry are called ''Bedilšinās'' (Bedil experts). His poetry plays a major role in Indo-Persian classical music in
central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
. Many Afghan classical musicians (e.g. Mohammad Hussain Sarahang and Nashenas) have sung Bedil's ghazals.


Grave

His grave, called ''Bāġ-e Bedil'' (Garden of Bedil) is situated across Purana Qila, at Mathura Road next to the
Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium The Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, commonly known by its former name National Stadium, is a field hockey stadium in New Delhi, India. The stadium is named after former Indian field hockey player, Dhyan Chand. It served as the venue for th ...
gates and the pedestrian bridge over Mathura Road in
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
.


Works

* Bıdil, ‘Abd al-Qadir. ''Avaz-hayi Bidil: Nasri adabi (Ruq‘at - Nukat – Isharat – Chahar - ‘Unsur)''. Edited by Akbar Bihdarvand. Tihran: Nigah, 1386
007 The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
* Bıdil, ‘Abd al-Qadir. ''Kullıyat.'' Lakhnahu: Naval Kishor, 1287 870 or 1871 * Bıdil, ‘Abd al-Qadir. ''Ghazaliyati Bidil Dihlavi''. Edited by Akbar Bihdavand. Shiraz: Navid-i Shiraz, 1387 008 or 2009


References


Notes

* Erkinov A. "Manuscripts of the works by classical Persian authors (Hāfiz, Jāmī, Bīdil): Quantitative Analysis of 17th-19th c. Central Asian Copies". Iran: Questions et connaissances. Actes du IVe Congrès Européen des études iraniennes organisé par la Societas Iranologica Europaea, Paris, 6-10 Septembre 1999. vol. II: Périodes médiévale et moderne. ahiers de Studia Iranica. 26 M.Szuppe (ed.). Association pour l'avancement des études iraniennes-Peeters Press. Paris-Leiden, 2002, pp. 213–228. * Gould R. "Bīdel," Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Ed. Arvind Sharma.. New York: Springer, 2013. * R. M. Chopra, "Great Poets of Classical Persian", Sparrow Publication, Kolkata, 2014, ()


Citations


Bibliography

* Ahmad, Mohamad Bohari Haji. "The Ideas of Wahdat Al-Wujud in the Poetry of'Abd Al-Qadir Bidil (Persian), Ibrahim Hakki Erzurumlu (Ottoman Turkish), and Hamzah Fansuri (Malay)." PhD diss., 1990. * Faruqi, Shamsur Rahman. "A stranger in the city: The poetics of Sabk-i Hindi." ''Annual of Urdu Studies'' 19, no. 1 (2004): 93. * Fekrat, Nasim. "''Esoteric Keys of Mirza Abd al-Qadir Bidel''." MA Thesis., University of Georgia, 2018. * Ghani, Abdul. ''Life and Works of Abdul Qadir Bedil''. Lahore: Publishers United, 1960. * Iqbal, Allama Muhammad. ''Bedil in the light of Bergson. Edited by Tehsin Firaqi''. Lahore: Universal Boks/Iqbal Academy Pakistan, 1988. * Keshavmurthy, Prashant. ''Persian Authorship and Canonicity in Late Mughal Delhi: Building an Ark''. Routledge, 2016. * Kovacs, Hajnalka. ''"‘The Tavern of the Manifestation of Realities’: The ‘Masnavi Muhit-i azam’by Mirza Abd al-Qadir Bedil'' (1644–1720)." PhD diss., University of Chicago (2013).} * Siddiqi, Mohammed Moazzam. ''An Examination of the Indo-Persian Mystical Poet Mīrzā ʻAbdul Qādir Bēdil with Particular Reference to His Chief Work ʻIrfān.'' University of California, 1975.} * Zipoli, Riccardo. "A computer-assisted analysis of Bidel's' Tur-e Ma ‘refat'." ''Annali di Ca'Foscari: Rivista della Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature straniere dell'Università di Ca'Foscari, 2005, vol. 44 (3), pp. 123–138'' (2005). * Zipoli, Riccardo. ''Riflessi di Persia-Reflections of Persia''. Venezia: Libreria Editrice Cafoscarina, 2013. * *


External links


internationaler Kongreß auf Bidel Dehlavi (Tehran 2006)
(BBC Persian)] * [ابوالمعالی بید�
A brief Article in Urdu

collected poetry of Bīdel in scanned authentic version uploaded by Javed Hussen

Poems of Bīdel (Persian)

Some of Bedil's eclectic lines and quatrains.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bidel, Abdul-Qadir 1642 births 1720 deaths 17th-century Persian-language poets Indian Sufis 17th-century Indian Muslims Poets from Delhi Poets from the Mughal Empire 17th-century Indian poets Writers from Patna 18th-century Indian poets 18th-century Persian-language poets