Zahir Al-Din Muhammad Babar: The Academic
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babar (also Babur) is a charismatic personality. He passed most of his life on the horse back or in a tent all his life. In addition to his military adventures he contributed to literary and academic pursuits also. We can truly call him 'Sahib saif-o-qalam', a man who wielded sword as well as the pen.His contributions include Waqa;'i' Babar his autobiography, Diwan, Mathnawi Mubayyan, Risalah-i 'Urud, Risalah-i Auzan, Khat-i Babari. Risalah-i Walidiyah, Wasiyyat Namah, his use of Hinduslani words and his musical composition.I will like to go, briefly, through his penmanship.Waqa'i* BabarHis autobiography has various names like Babar Namah, Tuzak-i Babari (also Tuzuk) and Waqi'at, but he has mentioned in the autobiography on a number of occasions words like 'in these Waqa'i' thus it is better to call it Waqa'/'-Babar.1 He wrote it in Turkic (Turki) language and not in Persian, the lingua-franca of the period. This has elevated the status of the Turki literature in the world of languages. He did not give a long introduction. He is direct and to the point. Earlier part of the Waqa'i' is in a narrative style but it changes during the days of Kabul, when it becomes a diary with dates e.g. the date of 8th Jamadi al-Akhir 912 A.H. (26th October 1506 A.D.), when he met the Mirzas' of Herat. The major portion was written (or perhaps re-written) in India as mentioned by Gulbadan Begum.2 The description is open, frank and self-critical. He describes his ancestors, his relatives, their courtiers and the people he met, a little bit about his wives, and occasional self promotion. He not only mentions people, but also comments about their characters and peculiarities. He also describes the history, geography of places and the countryside. He gives a detailed account of Hindustan describing its land, its animals, birds and even aquatic species. He describes his disappointments, his failures and at times becomes self critical. Most unusually he describes his illnesses and his injuries. He describes his symptoms, the time he spent in bed, the time it took him to recover, the medication or other treatments he used. For a Medical person it is possible to diagnose his illnesses. I contributed an article about his Medical history.3 The Waqa'i' has been translated into many languages of the world. Its new editions are being published so often, even now. Urdu language translations have been three. The first edition was in 1924 by Naseeruddin Haider of Hyderabad.4 The second edition was by Rashid Akhtar Nadvi of Lahore, as this publication does not mention the year of publication it probably came out in early 1980.5 The most recent one was in 2007, translated by Yunus Jafrey of Delhi and edited by myself.6 A review on these Urdu editions was published by Shar Hameedova of Uzbakistan in the Akhbar Urdu.1His DiwansHe has recieved highest accolade for his poetry as well. His biography cannot be called complete until the verses are taken into account. His main kalam is in Turkic (language). He has corrected verses in both the copies of his Diwan of Rampur® and Istanbul9 by his own hand. He composed his first verse when he was seventeen years of age. This then continued until his death. His Farsi (Persian) Kalam is meagre as compared to the Turkic one. The Turkic publications of Koprulu and Bilal Yucel10 have not included his Persian verses. This Persian portion reflects aspects of his life in Hindustan like when he threatened Mir the hakim of Biyanah with a ruba 'i:11(Strive not with a Turk, O Mir of Biyaah. Agility and bravery of the Turk is obvious, if you do not come soon and listen to reason, there is no need to clarify of what is obvious).He has included Hindustani words in two of his verses. One was pointed out by Dennison Ross.12(I have no desire for coral and pearls, for faqirs water and bread in enough.The other was pointed out by Naeemuddin in the Journal Islamic Culture in 1956 which goes:13(Give me a kiss as I am your devoted lover, I am in Hindustan because of you). …
Author: Hasan Beg
Language: English
Topic: Islamic Studies and History
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W69292407