Muhammad Iqbal, Javed Nama [Book of Eternity]

Javed Majeed (King's College London)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.3.2: Pakistani and Bangladeshi Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Claire Gallien (Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3), Pavan Kumar Malreddy (J W Goethe University of Frankfurt), Delphine Munos (Université de Liège), Muneeza Shamsie (Independent Scholar - Asia), Niaz Zaman (Independent University Bangladesh)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1932

Places

India (Publication/ performance)
Pakistan (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Epic

Resources

This epic Persian poem of 1805 verses is a “masnavi” [a narrative poem composed of distichs corresponding in measure, each consisting of rhyming couplets]. It includes set-pieces in other genres, such as the “ghazal” [roughly speaking, lyric], “naghma” and “nava” [songs and airs], “zamzama” [chants], and “nala” [laments] uttered by some of the characters in the poem. The poem relates the poet’s imaginary journey through the cosmos, travelling through spheres named after planets in the solar system, and ends with the poet’s vision beyond the spheres of an epiphany of divine majesty. His guide in this journey is the famous Sufi poet, Rumi (1207-73). In his ascent through the cosmos, the poet, who i…

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502 words

Citation: Majeed, Javed. "Javed Nama". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 July 2010 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=30675, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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