An Iranian evening with Rodaki and Iqbal
June 24, 2009 | By our correspondent | Karachi
The work of Persian poet Abu Abdullah Jafar Bin Muhammad Rodaki was commemorated and celebrated on Tuesday evening at the National Museum. Rodaki was one of the pioneers during the transformation of Persian literature after the advent of Islam in Iran in 7th century AD.
Termed the “Adam of Poetry” by biographers and historians, Rodaki helped form the modern Persian script and took the liberty to become one of the first Muslim Persian poets. His poetry carried the symbolic element of using the same sounding words in each of his melodic stanzas. His title as the “Bawa Adam” gain credence when he wrote more than 1.3 million verses.
His poetry was much appreciated by the kings of the time. The Samani King, Nasir bin Ahmed, took him into his court and showered him with immense wealth.
However, the Abassid Caliph was unhappy with the sudden spread of the Ismaili faith and in the prosecution of Ismailis, Rodaki was tortured and blinded due to his strong affinity towards the Fatmid and the glorification of the Imams. The exact cause of his blindness is, however, disputed, whether he was congenitally blind or lost his eyesight later in life.
The programme was in a sense a congregation, a recital of Rodaki and Iqbal, highlighting the similarities in the works of these two poets. Both used the teachings of the Prophet (SAW) as points of wisdom within their poetry.
Read at source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=184663
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