Call of the Marching Bell
(Bāng-i-Darā)
By: M. A. K. Khalil
Reviewed by: Muhammad Sarwar Rija

Call of the Marching Bell – English Translation Notes and Commentary of Bang-i-Dara (Allamah Muhammad Iqbal) By. M. A. K. Khalil, 106 Highland Drive, St. John’s, Newfoundland, A1A 3C5, Canada. Pp. 477. ISBN 969-416-023-9 (Distributed by Iqbal Academy Pakistan)

Translating prose of any language into prose of an other is quite a daunting job, as every language has unique characteristics which reflect the religious, cultural and social backgrounds of the people who speak it. The task of translation becomes far more difficult when one is trying to translate poetry of one language into idiomatic prose of another, simply because, in general, poetry has a ‘language of its own’ which may be quite different from the everyday idiom of the people.

The work under review is a gallant attempt at translating Urdu poetry of very high caliber into English verse. Bang-i-Dara is indubitably the most well– know and arguably the best Urdu work of Allamah Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938), who was one of the most prominent and influential thinkers of the twentieth country. His philosophy of khudi (self– realization) has been instrumental in awakening the poor and suppressed masses of he East, particularly of the Muslim world. He wrote several books of poetry in Urdu and Persian. His prose writings in English have world-wide appeal, especially because, in these he has explained, elaborated upon and justified the universality of Islam and its relevance to modern times.

His Urdu poems collected in Bang-i-Dara deal with a large variety of subjects and ideas, but concentrate mainly on the state of the Muslim in modern times and exhort them to learn from their glorious past, wake from their present slumber and build a worthy future of one united Ummah (community), ‘from the banks of the Nile to the plains of Kashghar’ as God enjoined them to ‘promote the good and forbid the evil in the world.

Khalil’s attempt to translate these poems which are replete with reference to the Qur’an, the traditions of the Prophet (PBUH), Islamic history, culture and civilizations, important Personalities as well as events of world history and much more, and, above all, examples of Urdu poetry of incomparable beauty and feeling, is indeed praiseworthy. Even from the quantitative aspects of the original book, to embark on its translation in its entirety was a mammoth task. In addition to translating every couplet in every poem, Khalil has given the gist of every poem before translation, which helps an English reader to better understand and appreciate the poem.

Two early chapters, ‘The Life and Times of Allamah Iqbal’ (Chapter 2) and ‘The Philosophy of Iqbal: Sources and Expressions in Bang-i-Dara (Chapter 3), are extremely useful as they contain well-researched material in a concise form and are important addition to the literature on Iqbaliyaat in English. A section on the ‘Sources of the Philosophy of Allamah Iqbal’ lists, first in order of importance and then chronologically, all the influences on the poet’s thinking, starting with the Qur’an and th Sunnah (traditions) of th Prophet, through Muslim philosophers and Sufis etc., down to modern literature, including Western philosophy.

Again, the last 84 pages of Khalil’s book contain five most useful appendices, which appreciably enhance its informational and explanatory value. Appendix I ‘Biographical Notes’ has 82 entries, each of which refers to one or more verses of Bang-i-Dara. The notes are adequately detailed and explain why these persons found a place in Iqbal’s poems. A two– page note on Shah Waliullah of Delhi is particularly noteworthy, perhaps because Allamah Iqbal was greatly impressed by shah Waliullah’s writings on the subject of and efforts towards reforming the eighteenth– century Muslim society, especially in the Indo– Pakistan subcontinent.

Appendix II, ‘Glossary and Explanatory Notes’, is also extremely useful; a collection of Qur’anic and other terms which all writers on and about Islam have to use– often without explaining their origin, historical background or even dictionary meaning. Very often these words and terms are simple expressions of everyday use and are commonly understood by Urdu speakers, but in Iqbal’s poetry they have special connotations. Aql (intellect) is one such word. By defining them, in their proper context, khalil has helped the English reader tremendously.

Appendix III ‘Bibliography’, which is quite comprehensive and varied is further testimony to Khalil’s extensive research which is reflected thought the book.

The translation itself is by far and large accurate. However, at places, it is too literal and does not fully convey the beauty and elegance of the original Urdu– although, as has already been said, in translation it is almost impossible to achieve this anyway! Nevertheless if an Urdu word or phrase is capable of being translated in more than one way Khalil has found the one which approximates most closely to the essence of the original Urdu.

Whether or not we accept Khalil’s translation of Bang-i-Dara as an example of high class English verse, the fact remains that he has eminently succeeded in making Iqbal’s ideas, as displayed in Bang-i-Dara accessible to the English speaking world, and this is no mean achievement. English translations of Iqbal’s works are few and far between and the few which do exist have not found their way to a mass readership. The book under review seems to possess some of the qualities which would appeal to an English reader who is interested in the best of other languages’ literature. Khalil is to be congratulated on his work. The excellent quality of its paper, printing, binding, etc, have made this a book that every admirer of Iqbal who knows English would be delighted to have on his/her bookshelf.