Faiz Ahmad Faiz: The Literature of Protest

A poet, teacher, writer, freedom fighter, and recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize – Faiz is one of the most eminent poets of the subcontinent.

Early Life

Born in 1911 into an educated family in the culturally rich city of Sialkot, in pre-Partition Punjab, Faiz’s early life laid the foundation for him to become one of Pakistan's most prominent poets, second perhaps only to Iqbal. Even those critical of his social and political beliefs would not deny him that position. However, they often qualified their praise by regretting that a man of his stature had fallen among the communists.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s early education included religious studies when he began memorizing the Holy Quran at the age of four. He then attended Scotch Mission High School, where he learned Persian and Arabic. Subsequently, he became a lecturer in Amritsar, before joining the army, which he served for five years. Moreover, Faiz took a keen interest in diverse traditions of classical poetry, exploring languages such as Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Punjabi, Hindi and English.These experiences equipped him with the linguistic tools that would considerably define his linguistic expressions.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz: The Literature of Protest and Revolution

Faiz is a poet who served the conscience of his time. He recognized the significance of poetry and literature in shaping society. For him, a society without meaningful poetry is wretched in its existence – devoid of dreams and hope. Therefore, he used poetry to advocate the freedom of the people of Pakistan, freedom in its true sense. Faiz realized that, in the art of poetry, it was the content and not the form, that was fundamental. He was an artistic rebel, who drew inspiration from the Sufi tradition of dissent and strived to eliminate social classes and inequity. He possessed the ability to construct Urdu poetry that addressed the larger social and political issues of his times, all the while retaining the style and delivery of a ghazal. He crafted poems that echoed the sufferings of the common people: oppression, injustice, exploitation and poverty. He is regarded as a poet who used his words to not only draw attention to beauty and love but also to humanity and justice. 

Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s poem, “Hum Dekhenge,” (which translates to We shall witness) is a powerful anthem of resistance, a composition that reflects the spirit of resilience and hope. Faiz wrote Hum Dekhenge in 1979, during a period of political unrest in a statement to show the public resentment against the oppressive dictator, General Zia Ul Haq. It reads:

Hum dekhenge, hum dekhenge,

We shall witness. We shall witness,

Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge,

It is inevitable (that) we too shall witness,

Hum dekhenge, hum dekhenge,

We shall witness. We shall witness,

Wo din ke jis ka waada Hai,

The day that has been promised,

Jo Lauh-E-Azal mein likha hai, hum dekhenge

That is written in the book of destiny. We shall witness,

Hum bhi dekhenge, hum bhi dekhenge

We, too, shall witness. We also shall witness,

Jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-e-garaan

When the mountains of oppression and cruelty,

Rooyi ki tarah urr jayenge, hum dekhenge

Will blow away like cotton. We shall witness,

Hum mehkumon ke paon tale,

Underneath our feet – we the governed,

Ye dharti dhar dhar dharkay gi,

The ground will echo like a thumping heartbeat,

Aur ahl-e-hakam ke sar oopar,

And the sky over the heads of the rulers,

Jab bijli kar kar karkegi,

Will echo with the sound of thunder,

Hum dekhenge, hum dekhenge.

We shall witness. We shall witness.

Bas naam rahay ga Allah ka,

And only Allah’s name will remain,

Jo gayab bhi hai hazir bhi,

Who is both elusive and present,

Jo manzar bhi hai nazir bhi,

Who is the Spectacle and the Beholder,

Utthega An-al-Haq ka naara,

The chant of ‘I am the truth’ will be heard,

Jo main bhi houn, aur tum bhi ho,

Which I am, and so are you,

Aur raaj karegi khalq-e-khuda,

And God’s people will rule,

Jo main bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho,

Which I am, and so are you.

Hum dekhenge, hum dekhenge.

We shall witness, we shall witness.

Hum dekhenge goes beyond a mere expression of hope; it serves as a call for justice and equality. Faiz's words resonate with the struggles of the oppressed, assuring them that a day of reckoning is on the horizon. At the same time, his words act as a caution to the tyrant about the day of reckoning, and remind him that on that day, “we shall witness.”

The influence of Hum Dekhinge extends far beyond the literary realm. The poem has been recited at protests globally, becoming a universal symbol of hope and defiance against injustice. Artists, activists, and leaders have drawn inspiration from Faiz's words, underscoring the power of poetry to spur a revolution.

Needless to say, his verses had a price, a price that was paid with imprisonment, and his political detention was evident in several collections of poems written during this period.

Where Poetry Meets Activism

Faiz was not just a literary figure who explored the themes of romantic and patriotic love, but he also established himself as a prominent political personality. He unequivocally addressed the socio-political issues of his time, both with and without poetry. Faiz was the voice of suffering humanity in his times – a voice that burned with faith and cried out against the agony of its era; he became the voice of an endeavour, a thunder of revolution. His words still reverberate across Pakistan, as the issues persist even today, in even more acute forms. Clearly, those who tried to label him did not understand the essence of his poetry or perhaps, resorted to these labels to mask their superficial understanding of these issues. 

Hum Dekhenge was not the only political poem by Faiz Ahmad Faiz. In fact, many of his romantic poems have had political undertones and verses. For instance, another popular work of Faiz Ahmad Faiz is Mujhsay Pehli Si Muhabbat Meray Mehboob Na Maang” (Oh beloved, don’t ask me to love you as I have loved you before). In this poem, one of the verses says, 

Aur bhi dukh mein zamanay mein muhabbat kay siwa

There are other pains in life than that of love

Raahatein aur bhi hain vasl ki rahat kay siwa

There are other joys than the joy of reunion

These words can be interpreted in various ways. To us, the poet in a socialist spirit asks his beloved to wait until the tyranny ceases, exploitation ends, rights and liberties restored, equality achieved, and the downtrodden uplifted. He asserts that whilst love is important, there are matters more crucial that must not be neglected, and that the duty towards common men and society takes precedence. This realization makes it challenging to love his beloved in the same spirit as she desires until the social responsibilities are fully addressed.

An aspect of Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s works, that is also evident from the aforementioned interpretation, is the timeless nature of his poems. Although this poem was published long before the partition of the subcontinent, these words resonate with people from different eras, enduring to this day, 75 years on from the partition as many issues persist and continue to plague Pakistan.  

Faiz’s literature of protest inspires us to "forcefully spurn the hand of the killer." It refuses to accept defeat, as it firmly rests on the idea that darkness will inevitably end. Faiz was the first Asian poet to win the Lenin Peace Prize in 1962 and was nominated for the Nobel Prize the following year.

While Iqbal wrote poems of glory that spurred a revolution by calling people to rise against the oppressors, Faiz joined the people in their rebellion and became a poet of revolution. He was concerned, predominantly, with the experience of the individual human soul in the long and arduous journey of revolutionary struggle.