Faiz’ Silence: The Dilemma of Spiritual Satisfaction and Distress

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Abstract

Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a well-known Urdu poet, in the beginning of his career as a poet; he joined the Progressive writers Movement and thus he was labeled as a ‘Communist Poet’ forever, although Faiz was alive when Professor Ishfaq Ahmad coined the term “Malamati Sufi” upon him in the preface of a poetry collection of Faiz.

 Although Faiz was not a member of the institutionalized chains of ‘Islamic Tasawwuf’ but still he had a relation with the personal spiritual experiences and certain evidences can be found in his poetry that he considered himself a lowly seeker and follower of the path of Sufism.

This paper will discuss his silence from this particular context. There is a dilemma in this regard because one can find his silence a metaphor of spiritual satisfaction as well as spiritual barrenness, from the reference point of spiritual satisfaction his silence is a necessary medium through which he develops a relationship with his being and soul. While on the other hand he considers the silence of night as a cosmic source of the self and an important buffer against the stressful mental situation resulting from the spiritual barrenness and crises.

This article explores the relationships between the mystical aspects of the Faiz’ silence and comprehend the dilemma of its spiritual dimensions.