MANKIND
Introduction
This short poem is
an eloquent but sad commentary on the status of Man as it stands at present. All
creation in the universe is bound by the laws of its Creator and is busy in the
performance of the tasks assigned to it. All creatures enjoy obeying their
Creator. However, Man, the masterpiece of creation, by misusing his autonomy,
disobeys the laws of his Creator and has landed himself in very un‑enviable
situation of strife and other forms of suffering with the added affliction that
there is none to sympathize with him in his travail.
Translation
What an ingenious tyranny of Nature it is!
Man has been made a seeker of the Secret
The Secret has been concealed from his eyes
The taste for awareness is restless
The secret of life is not un‑raveled
Amazing is the alpha and omega of life1
What else is there in the mirror's house?
The river stream is moving fast
The river is moving towards the ocean
The wind is blowing the cloud
Is bringing the cloud on its shoulders
Stars are intoxicated with destiny's wine
They are chained in the prison of the sky
The sun, that early rising devotee
That carrier of the message of "rise"
Concealed in the hills of the west
Is drinking wine in twilight's goblet
Everything is enjoying its existence
It is intoxicated with manifestation's wine
None is sympathetic with Man!
How bitter is the life of Man!
Explanatory
Notes
1. Alpha and Omega-
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. This word is also used
for the brightest star in a constellation. Omega is the last letter of the Greek
alphabet. The phrase is used for the most important person or entity, e.g. The
New Testament, The Book of Revelations of Saint John the Divine, Chapter 1:8, in
which S. ��s� A.S. is supposed to have said to Saint John in his dream "I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending." In this verse �All�mah Iqb�l
uses this phrase to show the intrinsic value and elegance of Man, and also the
miraculous way in which he was created by God.