SOn the occasion of the Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony for Dr. Shehzad Saleem ome thirty-five or forty years ago, the esteemed teacher Javed Ahmed Ghamidi said, “My friend, I am alone in the city of passion (mere Nadeem ma shehr Junoon ma tanha hoon),” and many young people responded to this call. These young individuals were embodiments of sincerity, love, and intellectual wisdom. After years of companionship, each one of them distinguished himself in some aspect. Some advanced in knowledge and erudition, others became towering figures in intellect and wisdom, some excelled in education and instruction, while others progressed in the field of research. Some demonstrated exceptional literary skills, others showcased administrative capabilities, and some stood out in piety and self-discipline.
Among them, however, there was one person who simultaneously possessed all these qualities. This is the individual whom the world knows by the name Dr. Shehzad Saleem. He is a teacher, an author, a researcher, a thinker, an administrator—in short, he attained excellence in all domains. It is said about Imam Farahi that when people met him, they could not decide whether his knowledge surpassed his piety or his piety surpassed his knowledge. The same is the case with those who meet Shehzad Saleem.
In the history of institutions, two kinds of individuals emerge: those who are born from within the womb of institutions, and those who themselves give birth to institutions. The latter hold the position of a father to those institutions. These are the people who nurture movements and institutions with their toil and sweat, foster them, help them grow, and raise them to the heights of excellence. If one considers the history of Al-Mawrid, then my brother Shehzad Saleem is counted among such individuals.
It is a moment of pride and honor for the Ghamidi Center of Islamic Learning that it has had the privilege of presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to this great personality of our history. The fact is that Al-Mawrid US and the Ghamidi Center of Islamic Learning have come to occupy a trendsetting position in our missionary history, and this trend is directed purely towards dawah and admonition (dawat o indhar), and in support of the scholars. For this, the Ghamidi Center of Islamic Learning and Al-Mawrid US truly deserve heartfelt congratulations.
At this moment, I thought that I should attempt to express my impression of the honorable brother’s tale of steadfastness in a few verses. I was somewhat successful in this, but when the poem was completed, I realized that this impression had extended beyond the individual to include his companions as well. That is, the singular form of expression had shifted into the plural. In any case, I dedicate this poem to Mr. Shehzad Saleem. Its title is Nadeem. This title is borrowed from that poem of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, composed thirty-five to forty years ago in search of some companions. One of its verses is:
مرے ندیم کئی بار ِآخر شب میں
مرے چراغ کی لو میں بنی تری تصویر
(My companion, many times in the late hours of the night,
Your image was formed in the flame of my lamp.)
Nadeem
ِوادی شوق میں جب ہجر کی رت گدرائی
قافلے والوں نے ِسامان سفر باندھ لیا،
ساربانوں کے لیے ِبانگ درا گونج اٹهی،
پهر حُدی خواں نے وہی درد کا نغمہ چهیڑا:
When the season of separation blossomed in the valley of longing,
The caravan travelers packed their provisions for the journey,
The call to depart resounded for the camel drivers,
Then the chant leader began once again that same melody of pain:
ہیں کوئی شہر میں دو ایک وفا کیش ندیم؟
عمر بهر ساته نبهانے کا جو اقرار کریں
Are there any in the city, one or two loyal companions?
Who would pledge to stay for a lifetime?
بزم کو چهوڑ کے آمادۂ تنہائی ہوں
اجنبی بن کے ِرہ دشت کو گلزار کریں
ِحال دل کہہ ،کے جدا رہ ،کے ستم سہہ سہہ کے
زندگی میری طرح اور بهی دشوار کریں
They should be prepared to leave the gathering and embrace solitude,
To turn the desolate path into a blooming garden as strangers.
By expressing the state of the heart, by remaining apart, by enduring torment after torment,
And make their life even more difficult, just like mine.
تا دم مرگ رہیں صدق و صداقت کے نقیب
حق ،کہیں حق کی منادی ِسر بازار کریں
رہ نوردوں کو تعصب سے گریزاں کر کے
علم و اخالق و محبت کا طلب گار کریں
Be heralds of truth and honesty until the moment of death,
Speak the truth, proclaim the truth openly to the world.
Make travelers shun all prejudices,
To transform them into seekers of knowledge, ethics, and love.
مجه سے ِبرہان خداوند کا تیشہ لے کر
ِقصر تقلید کو بنیاد سے مسمار کریں
ِوارث وِرثۂ ِپیغمبر آخر ہو کر
ِذکر قرآن سے اِس قوم کو انذار کریں
Take from me the chisel of the proof of the Lord,
And demolish the edifice of blind imitation from its very foundation.
Being the inheritor of the legacy of the Last Prophet,
Warn this nation through the remembrance of the Quran.
ہم نے اِس ِناد جگر سوز پہ لبیک کہا
ہم نے اِس نغمۂ دل گیر کو ایماں جانا
اُس زمانے میں کہ جب رخ پہ مسیں بهیگتی ہیں
رنج کو چین ،کہا درد کو درماں جانا
We responded to this soul-searing call with Labbayk.
We considered this heart-rending melody as faith itself.
In that age when the first signs of youth begin to blossom on the face,
We took sorrow as peace, and regarded pain as a cure.
اجنبی بن کے رہے بزم ِگہ عالم میں
فقر کی راہ لی اور روح کو درویش کیا
شوق نے جب بهی محبت کی گواہی مانگی
ِنقد دل نذر کیا ، ہدیۂ جاں پیش کیا
Lived as a stranger in the grand assembly of the world,
Chose the path of spiritual poverty and rendered the soul ascetic.
Whenever longing sought testimony of love,
Offered the currency of the heart, presented the gift of life.
پهر زمانے کی روایات بدلنے کے لیے
ہم اٹهے ولولۂ علم و ہنر تازہ کیا
علم و اخالق کے خرمن سے اٹها کر موتی
رہ نوردوں کے لیے رخت ِِ سفر تازہ کیا
Then, to transform the traditions of the age,
We rose and renewed the passion for knowledge and artistry.
From the treasury of knowledge and ethics, lifting up pearls,
We prepared anew provisions for the journeyers of the path.
حرف و آہنگ کیے ِسوز دروں سے لبریز
ہر ِرگ ساز میں پهر ِخون جگر تازہ کیا
ِکوہ ِفاران ضیا پاش کی ضو پاشی سے
خفتہ ِخاکستر مسلم میں شرر تازہ کیا
Words and melodies were infused with the fire of the heart,
In every vein of the lute, fresh lifeblood was poured.
By the radiance streaming from Mount Faran’s light,
In the dormant ashes of the Muslim, a new spark was stirred.
سال ہا سال اِسی ِجہد مسلسل میں کٹے
اب ذرا ضعف کے آثار نظر آتے ہیں
قافلے والوں کا تاحال سفر جاری ہے
ہم مگر نقش بہ دیوار نظر آتے ہیں
Years and years were spent in this continuous struggle.
Now, signs of weakness have begun to appear.
The caravan’s journey still goes on unbroken,
But we appear as mere imprints upon the wall.
للہ ،الحمد پڑاؤ کا مقام آپہنچا
ہم سبهی خاک مقیموں کا خدا حافظ ہو
اور جو ِراہ محبت میں ابهی نکلے ہیں
اُن وفا کیش ندیموں کا خدا حافظ ہو
All praise is due to Allah, the destination of the journey arrived.
May God protect all of us dwellers of dust.
And those who have just set out on the path of love,
May God protect those loyal and devoted companions.