Ab ke baarish mein ye kar e ziyaan hona hi tha
Apni kacchi bastiyon ko be nishaan hona hi tha
Born in the town of Dera Ghazi Khan near Lahore, Pakistan, Ghulam Abbas Shah was the son of a saddle maker, Syed Chirag Hussain Shah. Born in a family of sayyads, Ghulam Abbas Shah adopted the name of Mohsin Naqvi during his early days when he began reading and writing poetry. A post graduate from the University of Punjab, Mohsin idolized Muhammad Iqbal and Josh Malihabadi, and aspired to write like them some day. During his last days of college he published his first book Band-e-Qaba.
His first few jobs included working at a radio station, editor for a newspaper, and for television talk shows. It was his love for the family of the prophet that finally gave him fame in his nation and around the world. Crowned with the title of “Shayar-e-Ahl-e-Bayt” or “Poet of the Family of The Prophet”, Mohsin began composing verses in remembrance of the family of the prophet and about the Battle of Karbala.
Early Days of Poetry
After reading Mohsin extensively, one can never fail to notice the masochism that lies within the subcutaneous layer of each and every poem he writes. His ghazals are infused with words that speak of the immense pain he felt all during his life. He often said, that poets like Iqbal, Faiz, and Ghalib were true poets. He once said,” Maine to apni poori zindagi khwaabon ki dhoop se tabeer ki chaanv chhanTne mein hi nikaal di.”
His poetry resembles the kind of pain and discomfort one can see in only one of his contemporaries, and that is Parveen Shakir. With lines like, “Aankhen jo zid karen to inhe phorh dijiye”, Mohsin depicts a kind of helplessness in his love.
He never described the woman or women he wrote for, but his poems create a muddy picture of a beautiful woman, who was as distraught as Mohsin himself. Though he always ended his poems with a ray of hope, one can feel the trembling of his pen through the spine of his words.
His Love For the Family of The Prophet
Known as the Ahl-e-Bayt, the family of the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) is a group of the most respected individuals in the entirety of Islam. Mohsin was often seen in the villages and small towns of Punjab reciting poetry written in the praise of this family. During the days of Moharram, Mohsin could be seen enunciating some of the most powerful eulogies in the memory of Hussain Ibne Ali, the martyr of Karbala.
He quoted, “Maula Hussain mujhse utne hi shanasa hai jitna ki rag-e-jaan se lahu. Aaj agar main zinda hun, to ye quwat Hussain ki hai. Mere rabb ne mujhpe inaayat ki hai, ki mujhe gham-e-Shabbir mein likhne ka hunar ata kiya.”
Mohsin was named after one of the mightiest warriors in the history of Islam and the world, Abbas Ibne Ali. A name that literally meant roaring lion, Abbas was the brother of Imam Hussain. Mohsin believed his parents named him Abbas because they knew that their child will face the same hardships that Abbas faced. But Mohsin often said that even a day in the life of Abbas is not equal to a hundred lives of Mohsin.
A Shia by belief, Mohsin’s faith rested in the love for Ali Ibne Abi Talib, the first Imam and the source of all Sufisim. His poems in praise of Ali are some of the finest pieces of poetry written in the history of Islamic literature. Ali was the only person he wrote for in Punjabi. When asked about this he said, ” Punjabi meri maadri zabaan hai. Ye sirf tab hi zubaan pe aati hai, jab ishq apne urooj pe hota hai. Ali ki muhabbat, meri aashiqi ka urooj hai.”
One of his most popular poems is today recited at the start of every congregation of Muharram around the world.
“Ae rabb-e-jahaan panjatan-e-paak ka sadqa
Is qaum ka daaman gham-e-Shabbir se bhar deGham koi na de hamko siva-e-gham-e-Shabbir
Shabbir ka gham baanT raha hai to idhar de”
A Maestro of Ghazals
One of the most difficult things in ghazal writing is to play with the meter of the ghazal and still produce couplets that blow people’s socks off. Many poets in Urdu history have usually structured their work around a specific set of bahar or meter all their life. Mohsin was different. His entire body of work contains multiple experiments with various combinations of meter, in different rhythmic notes, and all of them with exceptional literary quality.
Mohsin is still recognized among the poetry circles of Urdu as one of the greatest ghazal writers ever.
A Born Revolutionary
One can say that Mohsin spent most of his adult life as a poet for this religion, but what remains unseen is his zeal for justice and the truth. Mohsin became popular during the time Zia Ul Haq gained power. Zia was a military dictator who ruled Pakistan for 10 years until his death in a plane crash.
Mohsin considered the rise of Zia as the rebirth of the tyrant Ummayad ruler, Yazeed Ibne Muaviya in Pakistan. Zia totalitarian and tyrannical ways did not go down well with Mohsin since day one. And so, Mohsin launched a de-facto campaign against Zia, raising his voice in public gatherings and prayer gatherings against the malpractices of the Zia government.
Mohsin was also very vocal against the rising terrorism in Pakistan and the neighboring Afghanistan. His powerful pieces of poetry often wrecked havoc among the ranks of fundamentalist mullahs who considered Mohsin as a threat to the fundamental Islamization of Pakistan.
A believer of ijtehaadi Islam or Islam by rational thinking, Mohsin was often condemned in the religious circles around the nation. But there were many in India and Pakistan who supported Mohsin’s view of changing Islam according to the changing times.
Martyrdom and Legacy
The clerics and people that supported Mohsin often told him to cautious as he was creating too many enemies and too little friends. But Mohsin often replied by using a famous saying by Imam Hussain,” The truth is always alone.”
But unfortunately the fear of his loved ones came true, and on 15th January, 1996, Mohsin Naqvi was shot dead in the Main Bazaar of Lahore. With six bullets in his chest, Mohsin stared right into the eyes of his murderer, and then fell into the arms of his student who was riding with him to work at that time.
Even while his life was ebbing away, Mohsin did not give up on poetry. His last words were the last lines he ever wrote or recited:
“Le zindagi ka khums Ali ke ghulaam se
Ae maut aa zaroor magar ehteraam seAashiq hun agar zara bhi azeeyat huyi mujhe
Shikwa karunga main tera apne Imam se.”
And with this, Mohsin breathed his last.
Though the works of Mohsin today lie in the forgotten annals of Urdu literature, the legacy he left behind is still the source of inspiration for millions of Shias across the Indian subcontinent. His never say die attitude and his zeal towards truth and justice still runs in the veins of the millions that follow him even today.
With the name of Hussain engraved in their hearts, the lovers of Mohsin recite his verses every year during the time of Moharram and Ramazan.
One of this finest works is this ghazal.
Zikr-e-shab-e-firaaq se wahshat use bhi thi
Meri tarah kisi se muhabbat use bhi thiMujh ko bhi shauq tha naye chehron ki deed ka
Rasta badal ke chalne ki aadat use bhi thiWo mujh se barh ke zabt ka aadi tha jee gaya
Warna har ek saans qayaamat use bhi thi‘Mohsin’ main us se kah na saka yuun bhi haal-e-dil
Darpesh ek taaza museebat use bhi thi
Ghulam Ali sahab immortalized Mohsin Naqvi in his voice, by singing one of his most popular ghazals, Aawaargi. This is video of one of the first renditions of the ghazal by Ghulam Ali.
Mohsin rarely performed at mushayras, these are the only two mushayras on video.
A few links to his poetry:
Dariya Ke Us Paar 