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| Faiz Ahmed Faiz |
Early life
Faiz Ahmed Faiz was born in Kala Kader village, Sialkot in Punjab in British
India to Sultan Mohammad
Khan and his youngest wife Fatima.
Following the Muslim tradition in South Asia, at an early
age Faiz was sent to the Masjid (Mosque) to be oriented to the basics of religious
studies by Maulvi Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti. He went on to the Scotch Mission
School, Sialkot, for academic education and after
matriculation joined Murray College, Sialkot, Punjab for intermediate study and
graduation. His most influential teachers were Professor Yousuf Saleem Chishti,
who taught Urdu,
and Shams-ul-Ullamah Syed Mir Hasan, who taught Arabic. Hasan had also taught the renowned
philosopher, poet, and politician of South Asia, Allama Dr. Muhammad Iqbal. Faiz acquired a post-graduate degree from
the Government College, Lahore, a Master of Arts in English Literature, and he also attended the Oriental
College in Lahore, where he
obtained another master's degree in Arabic
Literature.
Career
Faiz started a branch of Progressive
Writers' Movement in
Punjab in 1936. Also he was a Member and Secretary of this branch. He was also
an Editor of Mahanama (Monthly). Faiz became a lecturer in English at M. A. O.
College, Amritsar in 1935 and then at Hailey College of
Commerce, Lahore. He briefly joined the British Indian Army and was promoted to
the rank of Lieut. Colonel in 1944. He resigned from the Army in 1947 and returned
to Lahore to become the first editor in chief of the Pakistan Times, In 1959 he
was appointed as Secretary, Pakistan Arts Council and worked in that capacity
till 1962.
Return to Pakistan
Returning from London in 1964 he settled down in Karachi and was appointed as Principal at
Abdullah Haroon College. Faiz distinguished himself as a journalist and was
editor of the Pakistan Times, the Urdu newspaper 'Imroze' and the weekly
Lail-o-Nihar. In the 1965 war between India & Pakistan he worked in an
honorary capacity in the Department of Information and during that period Faiz
was very much close to the senior officers, like Syed Fakhruddin Balley. In
exile he acted as Editor of the magazine Lotus in Moscow, London and Beirut.
Communism
In a certain period of his life, Faiz was a communist and was associated with the Communist
Party of Pakistan.
He spent much of the 1950s and 1960s promoting the cause of communism in
Pakistan. During the time when Faiz was editor of the Pakistan Times, one of the leading newspapers of the 1950s,
he lent editorial support to the party. He was also involved in the circle
lending support to military personnel (e.g.Major General Akbar Khan.
His involvement with the party and Major General Akbar Khan's coup plan lead to
his imprisonment later.
Sufism
Faiz was an avowed supporter of Sufism. He had close relations with several Sufi
saints of his time. He was a favourite of Baba Malang Sahib, a Sufi of
Lahore, Wasif Ali Wasif, Ashfaq Ahmad, Syed Fakhruddin Balley and other renowned sufis.
Once when he was asked how he could compare Sufis with socialist comrades, he
replied, "They [Sufis] are the real comrades". He is also credited
for coining the term Ana al-Haqq in the political sense.
Major works
§
Naqsh-e-Faryadi (1943)
§
Dast-e-Saba (1952)
§
Zindan-Nama (1956)
§
Dast-e-Tah-e(1965)
Translations
Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poetry has been translated into many
languages, including English and Russian. A Balochi poet, Mir Gul Khan Nasir, who was also a friend of Faiz Ahmed Faiz,
translated his book Sar-e-Wadi-e-Seena into Balochi with the title Seenai Keechag aa.
This work by Faiz was translated by Gul Khan while he
(Gul Khan) was in jail during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's
regime for opposing the government's policies. It was published in 1980,
after Zia-ul-Haq toppled
Bhutto's government and freed all the political prisoners of his (Bhutto's)
regime.Victor
Kiernan, British Marxist historian
translated Faiz Ahmed Faiz's works into English.
Faiz Ahmed Faiz, himself, has also translated works of
notable poets from other languages into Urdu. In his book "Sar-i Waadi-i
Seena" there are some translations of the famous poet ofDagestan, Rasul Gamzatov.
"Deewa", a Balochi poem by Mir Gul Khan Nasir, was also translated into Urdu by Faiz.
Personal life
In the 1930s Faiz Ahmed Faiz married a British woman,
Alys Faiz. They had two daughters, Moneeza and Salima Hashmi.
Salima is an eminent artist and Moneeza is a TV producer. Salima and Moneeza
are married to brothers Shoaib Hashmi and Humair Hashmi respectively, who are
noted media personalities.
Awards
Faiz was the first Asian poet to receive the Lenin Peace
Prize, awarded by the Soviet Union in 1963. He was also nominated for
the Nobel
Prize shortly before his
death in 1984.
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