Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are

Mir Taqi Mir Mir Muhammad Taqi (February 1723 – 20 September 1810), known as Mir Taqi Mir (also spelled Meer Taqi Meer), was an Urdu poet of the 18th century Mughal era in the Subcontinent and one of the pioneers who gave shape to the Urdu language i ...

(d.1810), Mirza Ghalib, Mir Anees,

Allama Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...

and

Josh Malihabadi Josh Malihabadi (born Shabbir Hasan Khan; 5 December 1898 – 22 February 1982) popularly known as Shayar-e-Inqalab (poet of revolution) was a Pakistani poet and is regarded as one of the finest Urdu poets of the era of British India. Kno ...

(d.1982). The language of Urdu reached its pinnacle under the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

, and it received official status. All famous writers of Urdu language including Ghalib and Iqbal were given British scholarships. Following the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

in 1947, it found major poets and scholars were divided along the nationalistic lines. However, Urdu poetry is cherished in both the nations. Both the

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

from across the border continue the tradition. It is fundamentally performative poetry and its recital, sometimes impromptu, is held in

Mushaira ''Mushaira'' ( ur, , Mušā'ira) is a poetic symposium. It is an event (called '' mehfil'', Mushairi) where poets gather to perform their works. A mushaira is part of the Culture of North India, Pakistan and the Deccan, particularly among the ...

s (poetic expositions). Although its tarannum saaz (singing aspect) has undergone major changes in recent decades, its popularity among the masses remains unaltered.

s are today held in metropolitan areas worldwide because of the cultural influence of South Asian diaspora.

Ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

singing and

Qawwali Qawwali (Punjabi language, Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nastaʿlīq, Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali language, Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali alphabet, Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Isl ...

are also important expository forms of Urdu poetry.

Forms

The principal forms of Urdu poetry are: *

غزل,s a set of two liner couplets, which strictly should end with the same rhyme and should be within one of the predefined meters of ghazals. There has to be a minimum of five couplets to form a ghazal. Couplets may or may not have the same thought. It is one of the most difficult forms of poetry as there are many strict parameters that one needs to abide by while writing ghazal. It is important to think about the topic as well as the theme of a ghazal before starting to write it. The first line of a ghazal must include a refrain, which is a word or a phrase that can be easily fitted into the other couplets. Each couplet of a ghazal is known as Sher (شعر ). The first Sher is called Matla' (مطلع ). The last Sher is called Maqta' (مقطع ), but only if the poet uses his " Takhalus (تخلص )". *

Hamd Hamd ( ar, حمد, ḥamd, praise) is a word that exclusively praises God - whether written or spoken. Thus, The word "Hamd" is always followed by the name of God (Allah) - a phrase known as the Tahmid - "al-ḥamdu li-llāh" (Arabic: ) (English ...

حمّد is a poem in praise of

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", a ...

. The word "hamd" is derived from the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

, its

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

translation is "Praise". * Manqabat مُنقبت is a

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 ...

devotional poem, in praise of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

, or of any Sufi saint. * Marsiya مرثیہ is an

elegy An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

typically composed about the death of Hasan, Husain, or their relatives. Each stanza has six lines, with the

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB r ...

AAAABB. The famous marsia writers who inherited the tradition of Mir Anis among his successive generations are Mir Nawab Ali 'Munis', Dulaha Sahab 'Uruj', Syed Mohammed Mohsin (Jaunpuri), Mustafa Meerza urf Piyare Sahab 'Rasheed', Syed Muhammad Mirza Uns, Ali Nawab 'Qadeem', Syed Sajjad Hussain "Shadeed" Lucknavi, Allama, Dr.Syed Ali Imam Zaidi, "Gauher" Luckhnavi the great-grandson of Mir Babber Ali Anis, Syed Karrar Hyder (Jaunpuri) and Syed Yadullah Haider (son of Syed Karrar Hyder). *

Masnavi The ''Masnavi'', or ''Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi'' ( fa, مثنوی معنوی), also written ''Mathnawi'', or ''Mathnavi'', is an extensive poem written in Persian by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi. The ''Masnavi'' is one of the mos ...

مثنوی is a poem written in

couplet A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...

s in bacchic

tetrameter In poetry, a tetrameter is a line of four metrical feet. The particular foot can vary, as follows: * '' Anapestic tetrameter:'' ** "And the ''sheen'' of their ''spears'' was like ''stars'' on the ''sea''" (Lord Byron, "The Destruction of Sennach ...

with an iambus for last foot. The topic is often romance.

and Sauda wrote some of this kind. The Religious Masnavi History of Islam (Tarikh-e-Islam Az Quran) written by Dr Syed Ali Imam Zaidi Gauher Lucknavi. * Na`at نعت is a

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

that specifically praises the Islamic prophet Muhammad. *

Nazm ''Nazm'' () is a major part of Urdu and Sindhi poetry that is normally written in rhymed verse and also in modern prose-style poems. is a significant genre of Urdu and Sindhi poetry; the other one is known as ''ghazal'' (). is significantly ...

نظم is the basic type of Urdu poetry. It can be written on any topic, and so a large number of Nazm exist. From Nazeer Akbarabadi,

Iqbal Iqbal, Eqbal, Ikbal, or Eghbal may refer to: Geography Iran * ''Eqbal, Iran'', a village in West Azerbaijan Province *''Eqbaliyeh'', rural district in Iran * ''Eqbal-e Gharbi Rural District'', western provincial district in Qazvin, Iran * ''Eqbal- ...

, Josh, Firaq, Akhtarul Iman to down the line Noon Meem Rashid, Faiz, Ali Sardar Jafri and

Kaifi Azmi Kaifi Azmi (born Athar Husain Rizvi; 14 January 1919 – 10 May 2002) was an Indian Urdu poet. He is remembered as the one who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures. Together with Pirzada Qasim, Jaun Elia and others he participat ...

, Urdu poets have covered common life, philosophical thinking, national issues and the precarious predicament of an individual human being. As a distinct form of

many

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Akhtar Sheerani, Noon Meem Rashid,

Zia Fatehabadi Mehr Lal Soni (9 February 1913 – 19 August 1986), better known as Zia Fatehabadi, was an Indian Urdu ghazal and nazm writer. He was a disciple (shaagird) of Syed Aashiq Hussain Siddiqui Seemab Akbarabadi (1882–1951), who was a disciple ...

, Salaam Machhalishahari and

Wazir Agha Wazir Agha ( ur, ) was a Pakistani Urdu language writer, poet, critic and essayist. He has written many poetry and prose books. He was also editor and publisher of the literary magazine "Auraq" for many decades. He introduced many theories in U ...

. *

Qasida The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; is originally an Arabic word , plural ''qaṣā’id'', ; that was passed to some other languages such as fa, قصیده or , ''chakameh'', and tr, kaside) is an ancient Arabic word and form of writin ...

قصیدہ, usually an ode to a benefactor, a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

, or an account of an event. It uses the same rhyme system as the ghazal, but is usually longer. * Ruba'i رُباعی, is a poetry style, the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

term for "

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Gree ...

". The plural form of the word, ''rubāʿiyāt'', often anglicised ''rubaiyat'', is used to describe a collection of such quatrains. * Tazkira تذکرہ is a

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically cate ...

Collection forms

The principal collection forms of Urdu poetry are: * Diwan, a collection of ghazals. *

Kulliyat Kulliyat ( ''kolliyāt'') is a collection of the poetry of any one poet. Kulliyat is one of the principal collection forms of Urdu poetry. Taken literally, the term signifies a complete collection of one author's poems, but in practice it is als ...

, a complete collection of poems by one author.

Formation

Urdu poetry forms itself with following basic ingredients: * Bait (بیت) * Bait-ul-Ghazal (بیت الغزل) * Beher (بحر) * Diwan (دیوان) * Husn-E-Matla (حسنِ مطلع) *

Kalam ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...

(کلام) * Kulyat (کلیات) *

Maqta The maqta ( ur, ) is the last '' sher'' of a ''ghazal'', a collection of Urdu poems and the poet's ''takhallus'', or pen name, is usually employed in it, often in very creative ways. A '' shayar'' can use the ''maqta'' in a variety of interesting ...

(مقطع) *

Matla The Matla (Persian/Arabic/Urdu:) is the first '' sher'', or couplet, of a ''ghazal'', a collection of poems in Urdu or Persian poetry. It is possible, although extremely rare, for there to be more than one ''matla'' in a ''ghazal''; in this case th ...

(مطلع) *

Mavra ''Mavra'' is a one-act comic opera composed by Igor Stravinsky, and one of the earliest works of Stravinsky's neo-classical period. The libretto, by Boris Kochno, is based on Alexander Pushkin's ''The Little House in Kolomna''. Mavra is about 25 ...

(ماوراء) * Misra (مصرع) *

(مشاعرہ) * Qaafiyaa (قافیہ) * Radif (ردیف) * Sher (شعر) * Shayar (شاعر) * Tah-Tul-Lafz (تحت اللفظ) * Takhallus (تخلص) * Tarannum (ترنم) * Triveni (تریوینی)

Genres

The major genres of poetry found in Urdu are: * ''

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...

'' (دوہا) * ''

Fard ' ( ar, فرض) or ' () or fardh in Islam is a religious duty commanded by God. The word is also used in Turkish, Persian, Pashto, Urdu (''spelled farz''), and Malay (''spelled fardu or fardhu'') in the same meaning. Muslims who obey such ...

'' (فرد) * '' Geet'' (گیت) * ''

'' (غزل), as practiced by many poets in the Arab tradition.

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

Ghalib ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Kala Mahal, Agra, Maratha Confederacy , death_date = , death_place = Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, British India , occupation = Poet , language ...

, Dagh are well-known composers of ''ghazal''. * ''

'' (حمد) * '' Hazal'' (ہزل) * '' Hijv'' (ہجو) * '' Kafi'' (کافی) * ''

Madah Badakhshan is a region of Tajikistan and Afghanistan with a unique musical heritage, especially that of the remote Pamiri Ismailis. Badakhshan's unique folk scene is said to be characteristed by the use of many chromatized tones (especially in fa ...

'' (مدح) * '' Manqabat '' (منقبت) * ''

Marsia A marsiya ( fa, مرثیه) is an elegiac poem written to commemorate the martyrdom and valour of Hussain ibn Ali and his comrades of the Karbala. Marsiyas are essentially religious. Background The word ''Marsiya'' is derived from the Arabic word ...

'' (مرثیہ) * ''

'' (مثنوی) * '' Munajat'' (مناجات) * '' Musaddas'' (مسدس) * '' Mukhammas'' (مخمس) * '' Na`at'' (نعت) * ''

'' (نظم) * '' Noha'' (نوحہ) * ''

'' (قصیدہ) * '' Qat'ã'' (قطعہ) * ''

'' (قوالی) * '' Rubai'' (رباعی) (a.k.a. Rubayyat or Rubaiyat) (رباعیات) * '' Salam'' (سلام) * '' Sehra'' (سہرا) * '' Shehr a'ashob'' (شہر آشوب) * '' Soz'' (سوز) * '' Wasokht'' (وسوخت)

Pen names

In the Urdu poetic tradition, most poets use a

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

called the '' Takhallus'' (تخلص). This can be either a part of a poet's given name or something else adopted as an identity. The traditional convention in identifying Urdu poets is to mention the takhallus at the end of the name. The word ''takhallus''A Brief History of Persian Literature
by the Iran Chamber Society. is derived from Arabic, meaning "ending". This is because in the Ghazal form, the poet would usually incorporate his or her pen name into the final couplet (شعر) (

maqta The maqta ( ur, ) is the last '' sher'' of a ''ghazal'', a collection of Urdu poems and the poet's ''takhallus'', or pen name, is usually employed in it, often in very creative ways. A '' shayar'' can use the ''maqta'' in a variety of interesting ...

) of each poem.

Scripts used in poetry

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and Deccan region of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), 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 and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, Urdu poetry is written in the standard Nasta'liq calligraphy style of the

Perso-Arabic script The Persian alphabet ( fa, الفبای فارسی, Alefbâye Fârsi) is a writing system that is a version of the Arabic script used for the Persian language spoken in Iran ( Western Persian) and Afghanistan ( Dari Persian) since the 7th ce ...

. However, in north India, where Urdu poetry is very popular, the

Perso-Arabic The Persian alphabet ( fa, الفبای فارسی, Alefbâye Fârsi) is a writing system that is a version of the Arabic script used for the Persian language spoken in Iran (Western Persian) and Afghanistan (Dari Persian) since the 7th ce ...

is often found transliterated into the Devanāgarī script, as an aid for those Hindī-speakers, who can comprehend Urdu, but cannot read the

. With the dawn of the internet and globalization, this poetry is often found written in

Roman Urdu Roman Urdu ( ur, ) is the name used for the Urdu language written with the Latin script, also known as the Roman script. According to the Urdu scholar Habib R. Sulemani: "Roman Urdu is strongly opposed by the traditional Arabic script lovers. ...

as well as in Hindi script.

Example of Urdu ghazal

The following is a verse from an Urdu

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

by Syed Khwaja Mir Dard:

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Roman Urdu Roman Urdu ( ur, ) is the name used for the Urdu language written with the Latin script, also known as the Roman script. According to the Urdu scholar Habib R. Sulemani: "Roman Urdu is strongly opposed by the traditional Arabic script lovers. ...

: :''dosto dekhā tamāśhā yaāhaN kā bas.'' :''tum raho ab hum to apne ghar chale'' English translation: :Friends, I've seen the spectacle of this place – enough! :You stay here; I'm heading home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urdu Poetry Pakistani literature Indian poetics Poetry by language Pakistani poetics Indian literature