Chapter Five The Standardization of Sindhi Language

Chapter Five

The Standardization of Sindhi Language

Period of local rulers (Soomra) 1010 to 1351 AD

1- Period of Al-Beruni:

(a) This period is essentially included in the period of Soomra rulers. Al-Beruni came to ancient Sindh in this very period and stayed here from 1017 to 1031 in Nandina (i.e. present day Punjab) in a fort near the city of Jhelum; hence the first part of this period can be called the Al-Beruni period.

In those days Sindh was ruled by Soomras (Soomra rule started in Sindh in 1010AD); infact there exists confusion in the written histories about the beginning of the period of Soomra dynasty. Because of the weakening of Abbasid dynasty in Baghdad, Sindh was ruled by the native Arab dynasty i.e. the Habarid from 980AD (375H). At that time, the government of Mansoorah was not under the control of Multan, and both these governments were independent of each other. (1) Mahmood Ghaznavi attacked Multan in 1010AD and brought an end to the Ismaili rule. It is also known that in that very period, the Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili faith and Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim Bi-Amrullah, encouraged the Sindhi Soomra chief Ibn-Soomar Rajpal to form an Ismaili government through his letter (2) and gave him the title of Shaikh. History books mention his name as Khafif Soomro, who established his rule in Mansoorah (in 1010AD). In other words, one can say that the evidences of rule by Soomras in Mansoorah in Sindh, are found from 1010AD (the Soomras were Ismailis at that time). (3)

Mr. Muhammad Hussain Panhwar has written in this regard:

“It is possible that following the defeat of Ismailis in Multan, Mansoorah had become the center of Ismaili movement. They (Ismailis) gathered in Mansoorah and brought an end to the Habarid rule. (4)

The evidences of rule by Habari family are found from 987AD onwards. Abu Zafar Nadvi believes that the Ismaili occupation of Mansoorah may have happened between 986AD and 1010AD. (5)

In this context, Mr. Molai Sheedai is of the opinion:

“Up to 1010AD Mansoorah was ruled by the Habarids and then Qaramatians (Ismailis) occupied it, and it is possible that the Habarids may have converted to Ismaili sect.” (6)

But referring to Abu Aseer, Syed Suleman Nadvi writes:

“Ismailis brought an end to the rule of a Sunni ruler of Habarid family after 986AD and captured Mansoorah, and according to Bishari Muqadasi, the name of the Fatimi ruler of Multan was read in congregations. Ismailis also took over the government of Sindh which was brought down by Mahmood Ghaznavi in 1025AD.” (7)

Mr. Muhammad Hussain Panhwar believes that:

“The name of the 5th and the last ruler of the Habarid family was Ali Bin Umer Habari who died in Mansoorah. After his death, Khafeef Soomro became the ruler of Mansoorah in 1010AD.” (8)

According to Pir Hisamuddin Rashdi’s opinion:

“The last ruler of Habari clan, Ibn Ali Ibn Umer Alhabari, ruled up to 1010AD, after that Khafeef Soomro became the ruler of Mansoorah and he ruled till 1025AD.” (9)

(b) In the available history books on Sindh, the name of Khafeef does not appear as the first Soomra ruler. His name appears on number 9 in “Tareekh Masoomi” in the following order:

“Soomar, Bhoongar, Dodo, Taree, Sanghaar, Himoon, Phatu, Khairu and Khafeef who was Khairu’s successor.” (10)

(c) According to “Muntakhibul Tawareekh”, the name of Khafeef appears on number 6 in the list of Soomra rulers; the list is as under:

“Soomra (ruled from 445H), Bhoongar Bin Soomro (died in 461H), Dodo Bin Bhoongar (died in 485H), Taree, Sanghaar and Khafeef (Sanghaar’s brother-in-law, died in 536H).”

This book also has Khafeef’s name at another place on number 17.

Similarly in “Tuhfatul-Ikram”, the name Khafeef appears on number 5 and this was much later, after the period of Mahmood Ghaznavi.

(d) The above quoted examples prove that Khafeef Soomro who ruled over Mansoorah from 1010AD to 1025 AD was some other person who was there much earlier and who was defeated by Mahmood Ghaznavi, which brought an end to the Ismaili rule. This fact is mentioned in the written histories but they do not show Khafeef as the name of the ruler. Anyhow the Soomra rule was re-established in Sindh that lasted uptill 1351AD.

Soon after the death of Mahmood Ghaznavi, Sindh became a free country, as his son Sultan Masood could not control such a vast kingdom and having been defeated at the hands of Saljoqees escaped initially to Ghazni and then to Lahore. On his way to Lahore, his people killed him near Margalla situated between Attock and Rawalpindi. This happened on 11^th Jamade Sani 433H (1042AD). (11) It is mentioned in Tareekh Masoomi that the Soomras met in ‘Tharee’ during the period of Sultan Abdur-Rasheed where they established their rule and enthroned their new ruler. (12)

At the time of Al-Beruni’s visit to Sindh and Multan (1017-1031AD), Sindh was being ruled by the Soomras. According to some historical references the ruler Khafeef Soomro was an Ismaili. At the time of Mahmood Ghaznavi’s conquest, Al-Beruni had accompanied him but none of his books says who the ruler of Mansoorah was?

2- While Al-Beruni (973-1048 AD) was in Sindh, he had observed that the scholars of Sindh were quite advanced in the knowledge and study of astronomy, astrology, mathematics, medicine, magic etc. as mentioned before as well.

 Al-Beruni made the books of the scholar Brahm Gupt of Bhilmil his reference point for his research. (13) Al-Beruni’s writings indicate that a Sindhi scholar of Arab origin named Bishar was well versed with Sindhi language. Bishar was aware of the weeds and medicinal plants and their names in the local dialects. Al-Beruni had known a lot about Sindhi scholars and met many of the pundits and wise men. He sought their advice and discussed matters that helped him write new books and correct the translations that he had also critically analysed. Dr. Sachau believes that:

“Al-Beruni had copied the charts, maps and designs of the revolving of planets and stars from a Sindhi ambassador of Caliph Al-Mansoor’s court (771 AD), who was well versed in these subjects of and astrology.” (14)

On his arrival in Sindh, initially Al-Beruni stayed in a fort named Nandna near the city of Jhelum (possibly present day Kataas Fort). He travelled widely between 1019 to 1029 AD to various cities and wrote his observations in his book called Kitaabul Hind. About Muhammad Bin Qasim, he writes:

“(He) entered Sindh through Saijistan (Sakistan) and conquered Bhamnava and Molhisthan. He renamed Bhamnava as Al- Mansoorah and Molhisthan as Al-Maamoora. Passing through Gandhara he went upto Kanoj and on his return he conquered Kashmir.” (15)

3- Scholarly, Literary and Linguistic Treasure:

Al-Beruni has mentioned about the research work done on Hind (India) and Sindh during the Soomra rule and two to three centuries before them. He has also written about other subjects like lexicography, grammar, poetry and prose, folk literature, mythology and anthropology which were pursued by Sindhi scholars in those days. He paved way to the study of myths, medieval stories, magic and mantras and has thrown light on human psychology, mental evolution, cultural and social conditions, livelihoods, food, local customs and traditions, and festive days leading to spread of knowledge of cultural anthropology. Among his other books, Al-Aasaar Al-Baaqia (Chronology of Ancient Nations) is a priceless book.

Al-Beruni writes that scholars commanded great respect in those times. The rulers had great regard for wise men and scholars. The scholars of astronomy, medicine, alternative medicine and mathematics were especially very famous. According to him astrologers were consulted before starting anything in life. They were asked about compatibility and effects of stars and planets’ movement in their daily life events. The advice of astrologers was considered essential for almost everything.

Astronomical calculations and astrology were given great importance in ancient Sindh. In Al-Beruni’s times, the book Sidhaant was considered a great document. Sidhaant means straight or direct, one that is not crooked or twisted, therefore every book of astronomy was called as Sidhaant. Five of such sidhaants were quite famous. They are:

• Suriya Sidhaante Sun Sidhaant: This book written in Larr (Kathiawar)
• Vasbasht Sidhaant: This book about the “great bear” was written by Vishnu Chander
• Pulisa Sidhaant: A Sidhant was written by Pulisa
• Romaka Sidhaant: This book contained material about the Roman Empire
• Brahm Sidhaant: This book was written by Brahm Gupta’s son named Jasvaji. This scholar also belonged to Bhilmil.

4- Long before Al-Beruni’s arrival and during his times, the application of traditional medicine (Tib) was at its peak. Its importance was almost as much as that of astronomy. The book of this famous genre of medicine was called Charakar after the name of its author. People commonly held the belief who Charakar was a wise man of medicine who lived in Devapur Yug (era) as a saint. This book was especially translated for the princes of the country.

It has been mentioned above that Al-Beruni had studied several books and other material pertaining to the weeds, potions and household remedies prevalent in Sindh, used before his time. A lot of medical literature from the last two centuries, before Al-Beruni’s arrival was still available. Dr. Baloch is of the view that:

“The Arab scholars had done research since the 2^nd and 3^rd Hijri centuries and they had written many books about minerals, weeds and potions used in medicinal preparations. To understand the names and nature of medicines, domestic remedies and similar weeds, it was thoughts essential to give their names in languages having international recognition in those times. Sindh had a known international status and the trade of grocery items was so well standardized that weeds and potions from other regions were transported to the West through Sindh. It was therefore deemed necessary to name the weeds and grocery items in Sindhi language in addition to contemporary languages.” (16)

Dr. Baloch further says:

“One cannot say when the names of grocery items started being written in Sindhi and Hindi; perhaps it started in the 2nd Hijri century by the scholars of Mansoorah which later on reached Baghdad.” (17)

It is crystal clear from the last paragraph of Dr. Baloch’s opinion that about 200 years before the visit of Al-Beruni, the names of the weeds, potions and other grocery items of Sindhi language were written in Arabic-Sindhi script having letters for peculiar Sindhi sounds for this purpose. Arabic letters were modified to form appropriate Sindhi letters. According to Dr. Baloch:

“Around the end of the 4th century Hijri, Bashar Bin Abdul Wahab Al-Faziri explained in detail the Hindi and Sindhi names of medicines, weeds and grocery items in his book called Tafasserul Advia (A glossary of Medicines). And after him the researcher Al-Beruni (in 1050-1051) (18) wrote his book “Al-Sayedna Fil-Tib”, where he enlisted the names of medicines and weeds etc. in Greek, Suryani, Arabic, Persian, Sindhi, Hindi and other local dialects. Al-Beruni had also visited Mansoorah.” (19)

In this book Al-Beruni has given names of about 75 medicines and weeds in Sindhi and more than half of them have been written with reference to Bashar Bin Abdul Wahab Al-Faziri’s book (Tafasserul Advia). (20) The remaining names are based on his own research. The list of names in Sindhi language is so important that it has become a historic document. (21)

Below is a list of names of the medicines, weeds and potions given in the books of Bashar and Al-Beruni which Dr. Baloch had included in his book. The words and their script can be noted from their written form.

The above examples prove that the Arabic-Sindhi script had been used in the Arab era around 864 AD, by the famous traveler and tourist Jahiz, the examples of which can be found in his book called Risala Fakhral Soodaan Alalbaidaan. This proves that about 300 years before Al-Beruni’s arrival in the 5^th Hijri:864 H year 1017 AD, it had already started. Although one has to concede that Al-Beruni modified it and made a few new letters, making the Arabic-Sindhi script look more appropriate and standardized, which was once written both in Nastaleeq and Naksh scripts.

One can infer that the oldest examples of Arabic-Sindhi script are found in Jahiz’s book, called Risala Fakhral Soodan Alal baidaan from around 864 AD. Jahiz used similar Arabic letters for Sindhi letters. For example:

Soon after that, an example of Arabic-Sindhi script can be seen in a qasida that was written before 898 AD and was recited in the court of Yahya Bin Khalid Barmaki. Dr. Baloch has referred to this, saying:

“A poet of Sindhi language had composed a qasida in Sindhi, admiring the Barmauki ministers of Baghdad. This verse was recited in the court of Yahya Barmuki. Since Haroon Raheed had executed Jafer Bin Yahya Barmuki, it becomes clear that this poem would have been composed before 187 H. The verse is reproduced as under:

“ara bara kankara kara kari mandra” (22)

Dr. Baloch further writes,

“This is the first ever Sindhi verse written in Arabic script that has now assumed such a shape that the original words can not be ascertained. Despite that this ancient reference is a priceless asset for the history of Sindhi language. Most importantly this is the first ever sample of Arabic-Sindhi script of Sindhi language.” (23)

When Al-Beruni came to Sindh and Multan, it was impossible for him to keep contacts with local people because he had relations with the court of Mahmood Ghaznavi’astronomer. Mahmood Ghaznavi had defeated Rajpal, the ruler of Bhatia and had brought an end to the Hindu rule of the Pal family in the Northwest of Sindh (present day Punjab and Kabul). Therefore the local rulers of the North West were bitterly against Mahmood Ghaznavi. They had made a united front against him including Dawood, the Ismaili ruler of Multan. These rulers were always apprehensive of Mahmood Ghaznavi’s wrath.

5- Grammar, Poetry, Chhand Vidya (Prosody) and Linguistics:

In Al-Beruni’s time, that is, in the initial years of Soomra rule, Sindh was at its peak in Education, Literature, Poetry, Lexicography, Linguistics, Grammar and Chhand Vidya. According to him (Al-Beruni) grammar and Chhand Vidya (local metres) were taught as additional subjects. Among these subjects, grammar was given more importance. According to Sindhi scholars:

“Grammar means the principles for correct usage and etymology of words in speech that help in acquiring literary and classical style for reading and writing.” (24)

Al-Beruni writes that, “I have been asked to read the following books to learn grammar. (25)

• Aindra
• Chandra: This book was written by Buddhist monk named Chander.
• Paṇinī Viyakran: This book was written by Paṇini who was a scholar at Taksh-shala (Taxila).
• Katantra: This book was written by Sarava Varman.
• Sāsideva Virritti: was written by Sasidev
• Sishyāhita Viritti: This book was written by Ugra Bhatia.

According to Al-Beruni’s writings, Ugra Bhatia was the tutor of Shah Ahmad Pal who was the son of Bhatia ruler Raja Jaipal. Al-Beruni has especially mentioned Ugra Bhatia and Paṇini, and has discussed the branches of anthropology and historical, comparative and descriptive linguistics, which help in understanding the branches of anthropology. He has also mentioned Sanskrit, Prakrit and its Apabhramshas and the scripts in usage for them.

After grammar, Al-Beruni has mentioned the written definition of Chhand vidya. He has written a lot about poetry and its minute intricacies and the laws governing poetic verse writing (like the lyrics, vocals, rhymes and rhythms). According to his writings, Chhand vidya is related with the sounds, vocals, syllables of poetry and their measurements or divisions and their application in poetic works. He writes that the Hindus were very enthusiastically involved in poetry and their way of reciting poetry combined with movements of their hands was a source of pleasure for the people. (26)

Al-Beruni believes that the scholars and wise men preferably wrote rhyming and rhythmic sentences, instead of simple prose; they preferred writing poems. Some books of those times were written in the form of Salok which were also very lyrical, in this way it was easier to memorize the matter. (27) Therefore scientific subjects like Aqleedas and difficult topics like astronomy and other facts were also written in a lyrical mode as it was easier to remember and reproduce them. Mr. Bherumal writes in this regard:

“Since after the Vedic times Sanskrit had mostly Sutras therefore that type of language was called Sutric Sanskrit. Sutra is the same word still spoken in Sindhi as ‘Sut’ meaning ‘cotton thread’. In the middle period, many long narratives were uttered with very limited number of words just like beads in a thread. The main quality of Sutras is less words used. Most of the proverbs/idioms are in the form of Sutras, for example “jurria khay jassu”, “kando so paeendo”, “jehri karnhi tehri bharnhi” etc. One can see that these idioms have very few words but contain a great philosophy. Sutras also mention certain principles; Dharam Sutras explain religious aspects and Greha Sutras are concerned with domestic issues. In this way the meaning in the words of the sutras comes out to be some rules mentioned in minimum but meaningful words.” (28)

The ancient treasure knowledge in Sindh includes Sanskrit words as well as, the prayers in Sindhi language written by Ismaili preachers, the Sindhi-Seraiki sayings of Baba Fareed Ganj Shakar, ancient folk literature, folk poetry, verses on Seengar Ras, Veer Gatha (stories of bravery), wise men’s quotes, sayings, idioms, advisory notes and riddles can be studied to authenticate Bherumal’s claim quoted above. Lyrically composed prayers of Ismaili preachers were either in poetic prose or rhyming stanzas in Sindhi language. These are very good examples of that early period of Soomra rule.

6- Use of Local Dialects for Religious Preaching:

The Ismaili preachers used local dialects as a medium for study and spread of Islam. They used the same old system of memorizing the religious prayers (for Ismaili followers) and compiled these prayers for new Muslims in Sindhi, Seraiki, Punjabi, Hindi and western dialects with lyrical quality which was the basic mode so that even elderly people could find them easy to memorize. Some examples of such lyrically composed prayers are as under:

(الف)     يا شاهه، حق تون، پاڪ تون، بينا تون

            اول تون، آخر تون، ظاهر تون، باطن تون، پيدا تون، پناهه تون...الخ

ya shah, haq toon, paak toon, beena toon

awal toon, aakhir toon, zahir toon, batin toon, paida toon, panah toon…alakh

(ب)       يا شاهه، اُتر، پورب، دڪشڻ، پشچم

            چار ڏِسيون، چار اَوَ ڏسيون، چار کاڻيون، چار واڻيون

                        چار ڪتاب، چار ڪَلپ، چار جُڳ، چار ويد...الخ

ya shah, utar, poorab, dakshaṇ, pashcham

chaar disyoon, chaar awa disyoon, chaar khaṇyoon, chaar vaṇyoon

chaar kitab, chaar kalap, chaar juga, chaar veda… alakh

Similarly Baba Fareed Ganj Shakr composed poems in a Sindhi-Seraiki dialect, the examples of which have been quoted by Mr. Agha Salim in his book. (29)

 (Note: in all these lyrical prayers the focus is on the omnipotence of God Almighty)

7 (a) A study of the forms of Sindhi folk literatures such as, idioms, riddles, sayings of the wise men would be quite helpful in this regard. The basis of formation and the structure of these form is on poetic figures and rhyming of words. For example:

(i)         اوهان تون، اُهين تون، ايهانِ تون، هون هون

            اوُهان تون، اوُهان تون، اوهي، ايهَي، ايهي

awhan toon, uheen toon, aehan toon, hoon hoon

oohan toon, oohan toon, aohe, aehe, aehee

(ii)        اهو تون، اوُهو تون، ايهي تون

            اُهو تون، اِهو تون، اَيهين ڀي تون

iho toon, uho toon, aehe toon

uho toon, iho toon, aeheen bhi toon

(iii)       ايهه نه تون، اِهو نه تون، اُهو نه تون، اِهو به نه تون

aeh na toon, iho na toon, uho na toon, iho bi na toon

(1) Sayings and quotes:

(i)         ڪتيون آيون ڪاپار، مورک مينهن گھرن

katyoon ayoon kapar, moorakha meenhan ghuran

 (Season of sowing has arrived the unwise are asking for rain)

(ii)        لوڙهي ڏرو، سارين کرو

loṛhe daro, sarin kharo

(The boundary was broken the paddy would be stolen)

(iii)       ڏکڻ مينهن نه وسڻو، وسي تان ٻوڙي

dakhaṇ meenhu na wasṇo, wase taan boṛe

(Rain from south is impossible, it would drown all)

(iv)       ڪانئر ڌڪ نه هڻڻو، هڻي تان ٽوڙي

kanyar dhak na haṇiṇo, haṇe taan toṛe

(A coward would it hit, but if he does, he would harm himself)

(2) Gujharat (Riddle) is also a very old form of folk Sindhi literature. Professor Sehar Imdad writes in one of her articles:

(a) “The Soomra period does not mark the beginning of the art of riddle writing, but it saw historic climax of this art. The form of riddle that is based on Prosody is very ancient.” (30)

Sehar Imdad has presented the opinion of Makhdoom Talibul Maula as a reference, who had said, “Riddle in Sindhi is a form of ancient poetry.” (31)

(b) In the light of Al-Beruni’s books, if we look into the history of literary forms of the early Soomra period or from the times before it, we may perhaps find this form of folk literature i.e. Gujhaarat (riddle) being composed by the sughars. Al-Beruni has mentioned about the literary genres of Chhand (prosody) as Salok and Sutras of his times and even before that, which he has narrated his book in ‘Kitabul Hind’; The other names of the genres like Sortha, Doha, Mat, Malti, Ginan, Gah, Geecha, and Seengar Ras are also found in the Soomra period. Makhdoom Talibul Maula writes: “Riddle is a superior genre of Sindhi Salok.” (32)

(c) This means that Salok was a common name and its genres included riddle, sutra, bol, doha, sortha, pahaka, chawṇyoon (sayings) etc. In other words one can say that it is a form of ancient Sindhi literature from ancient Sindh that needs to be researched from books belonging to the era of the Rai clan or the locations of Hindu royal clans and in the ruins and temples/shrines of Rajasthan, Gujrat, Kathiawar and Haryana, Himachal Pardesh and Kashmir, as is clear from the examples quoted by Hiro Thakur and Dr. Muhammad Hassan.

Similarly the ancient proverbs and sayings of Sindhi language should also be researched which were used by poets and prose writers of almost every era. Some of the commonly used proverbs (pahaka) are as under:

1. anban boor, akhin soor (انبن ٻور، اکين سور)

    (Posy of Mango plants hurts the eyes)

2. eeman mizmaan ahe (ايمان مزمان آهي)

    (Faith is like a guest)

3. akhin jo ḍhau, paita ji bukha (اکين جو ڍَءُ، پيٽ جي بک)

    (Eyes satiate, stomach doesn’t)

4. pokhe waḍhje, rahaye na waḍhje (پوکي وڍجي، رهائي نه وڍجي)

    (Cut the crop, not the relations)

5. saga seyi saiṇa, pakha jinni audṛa (سڳا سيئي سيڻ، پکا جني اوڏڙا)

    (Real friends are those who live near)

6. sanwaṇa jo suto, kati-a jo kuto (سانوڻ جو سُتو، ڪَتيءَ جو ڪُتو)

    (One who sleeps in the rainy season remains empty handed in the next season)

8- Al-Beruni writes that the names of the scholars who invented the art of Chhand vidya were Pingal and Chalitu. (33) Salok and Sutras were the popular genres of poetry of those times. One of the chapters of the book Brahm Sidhant was about Chhand vidya.

Explaining Chhand vidya, Al-Beruni writes:

“Chhand is based on maatras. Maatras can be long or short. The long maatras are called Drigha and the short ones are called Laghu. The sign for long maatra is (d) د while for the short ones it is ا (a). The count of the maatras is called ‘ganachhand” i.e. the Chhand that depends on count. Light maatra is called Lagho and heavy maatra is called Gurvu. Gurvu is twice the size of laghu i.e. one Gurvu is equal to 2 Laghus, whereas Drighu and Gurvu are equal to each other. Drighu contains a long vowel and Laghu has a short vowel.”

He writes:

“I have not yet been able to completely understand Laghu and Gurvu therefore I can not quote their examples in Arabic. But according to my understanding Laghu does not mean that it is a consonant without a vowel i.e. it is a silent consonant, should Gurvu be interpreted as a sonant consonant has a vowel attached to it; on the contrary Laghu is a consonant with a short vowel attached to it, in an occult manner, like ڪ (k), س (s) have occult or hidden vowels.” (34)

Reseacher Al-Beruni further states:

“Chhand has different names according to the forms of poetry i.e. the verses with several lines will have a common name; similarly the Chhand used in them will be variable or different. At timers they used different metres in the same poem and it appears like a piece of silk with embroidery in different colours.” (35)

Al-Beruni has mentioned the name of a scholar of lexicography called Haribhat who was an expert on Chhand. Haribhat has discussed the long and short maatras at length and has also written a lot about the arrangement of a line of a poem according to the rule. Al-Beruni writes;

“The Salok has 4 syllables and each syllable has in turn 8 sub-syllables. Out of the 4 syllables each one should have the same ‘gur’ at the end. The 5th sub-syllable in every syllable is a Laghu and the 6th sub-syllable should be a ‘gur’.” (36)

Al-Beruni has discussed the study of Chhand in detail. His research proves that long before the advent of Islam, Sindh had many great scholars and wise men who possessed the knowledge about poetry and chhand and that its words required for the study were the same as they are today with some changes in pronunciation and are still in use in Sindhi language. For example:

Al-Beruni’s research also proves that the scholars of Chhand were also experts of phonetics. They had knowledge of linguistics as well. They were aware of the classification of sounds in consonants and vowels. They knew about vowels being short and long and about the sonant and silent consonants. They were aware of the count of the maatras required for the arrangement of a line of a poem according to the rules. So, one can conclude that Sindhis were very advanced in knowledge about the Sindhi language and linguistics.

9- The ancient literature of Sindh was written with poetic figures and rhyming etc. which was a sort of poetic prose. This was later differentiated in poetry and prose. The names of experts like Pingal, Chalat, Panini, Aender, Jeander and Agarbhati; and books like Brahm Sidhant and Panj Tanter and other books show that this was present in ancient times. Books by other grammarians, pundits and scholars should also be looked for. Sindhi, Kachhi, Gujrati, Kathiawari and Rajasthani scholars living in India should try and search for such books and materials in the temples and monasteries of Kachh, Rajasthan, Gujrat, Kathiawar, Haryana, Himachal Pardesh and Kashmir, as searching for these materials from present day Sindh will be futile.

10- Ancient Sindhi words for numbers, weight measures and coins:

(a) From Al-Beruni’s book named Kitabul Hind, one finds that in his times (1017-1031 AD) the coinage and weight measures used in different dwellings and towns of ancient Sindh had different names. He has mentioned one of the coins current at that time as Dank. According to him seven Danks were equal to one Dirham. (37) Gold coins were also in use in that period. They weighed gold only when they had to make jewelry from it. The measure of gold was called Savaraṇ. (38)

The words quoted by him for numbers are still used in Sindhi language even today. He has used the word ‘Anak’ (anġka) for numbers. He writes: Numbers are called ‘Anak’ (anġka). (39) He further states that:

“Numbers are used for counting of sums and mathematics in Mansoorah, the capital of lower Sindh, and these are different from those used in other parts of India.” (40)

According to Al-Beruni, ‘Anak’ was used for numbers instead of letters. He writes that the signs used for the numbers have been taken from the best system of Hindus. Mathematicians get assistance from grammarians for parts and fractions of numbers. (41) Al-Beruni has mentioned some numbers prevalent in language of that era, which are used in the present day Sindhi as well, with minor modifications. For example: (42)

Sachau writes:

“Al-Beruni has given certain numbers that are seen in present day Sindhi society in exactly the same form.” (43)

Referring to page 158 of Dr. Trumpp’s grammar, Dr. Sachau has written that the numbers used by Al-Beruni for the first day of Paksh is barkh. Similarly Sachau has also mentioned the numbers of count still used in Sindhi. For example

(b) Sindhi words for weights and weight measures:

Al-Beruni has quoted the Sindhi words in use (in his time) for weight and weight measures. He has mentioned the word Savarṇ (سَوَرَڻ) for weighing gold usually used in Sindh and Multan. Tola was used as a measure to weigh objects of common use. One Savarṇ was 1/3^rd of a Tola; a Tola was equal to 2-1/10^th Misqals. Tola had 2 parts or fractions; one of those parts was called Masha (masa/maso). One Masha was 1/12^th of a Tola i.e. one Tola had 12 Mashas. This arithmetic table/system was in vogue in Pakistan until the decimal system of weight was introduced. To this day many goldsmiths and even ordinary people understand this system. During Al-Beruni’s stay the system was used as under: (48)

Similarly Al-Beruni has given another arithmetical table for the system of counts:

4 yav = 1 andi

4 andi = 1 masha

16 masha = 1 savarṇ

4 savarṇ = 1 pala

Likewise many technical words of the count used in the old system can be seen nowadays, although sparingly used. For example:

Joṛo: A pair (جوڙو) of clothes

Joṛo: A pair (جوڙو) of shoes

Pako: Mangoes in 100 = 130 pieces

20 (numbers) = 1 Koṛee (the system of count used in the 20s

 e.g. five 20s, six 20s etc) (50)

5 Koṛees = 1 Sao (hundred)

2 ½ Seer = 1 Dhaṛee

Talee (number) of birds= 4 birds

Haree of Pallas (fish)= pair of male and female Pala Fish

Kacho Seer= 1 seer

Pako seer= 1 seer + 1 pao (quarter)

(c) Sindhi words for measuring time:

Al-Beruni has also mentioned the measures of time used in his times. In the earlier chapters, the Sindhi “sun”/“kaal” have been mentioned with reference to measure of times and eras. Quoting the views of the scholars of India and Sindh, Al-Beruni has divided the timings in 4 “Jugs” (جُڳ). These are:

• Kirta jug
• Tireta jug
• Davapur jug
• Kal jug

He has further stated the details about the span of these times and years as under:

• Kirta jug; 1728000 lac years
• Tireta jug; 129 6000 lac years
• Davapur jug: 864000 lac years
• Kal jug: 432000 lac years

With reference to books written before his times, he has also given measures and spans of time i.e. he has divided the day into ‘Pal’, ‘Piranh’ and ‘Dums’. These words are still in use in Sindhi. In addition to this, the scholar has also given the names for the days of the week, the months and seasons. All these words are still used in Sindhi with subtle phonetic changes. For example, explaining the length of time, he has postulated the following tabular system:

• An hour is called Vighataik (وگهٽيڪ)
• An hour was divided into 60 parts; each part of the hour was called Pal (پل). Ghaṭi (Ghaṛi) Each Pal was divided into 60 parts, each of these parts has been called Chashak (چشڪ)
• Each Chashak was divided into 6 parts, each of which was called Piraṇ (breath= پراڻ) i.e. Dum.
• 15 Chashakse. 1/4^th of a Gharhee was called ‘Kshan’ or ‘Khan’ (ڪشنِ)
• Each Kshaṇ was divided in 15 parts, which were called Kala (ڪل).
• Kala was another name for Chashak

Similarly the tabular system for measurement was as under:

6 Piraṇ/dum                = 1 Chashak/kala

15 Kal/Chashak          = 1 kshan (khan)

60 Kal/Chashak          = 1 Pal (minute) (51)

60 Pal/Ghaṭi (Ghaṛi)   = 1 Vighataik (equal to an hour)

A day was commonly referred to as “Dimas” and in classical language it was called “Devas”. The night was called Raatri, a month was called ‘Maas’ and half a month was called Paksh (pakh). The first luminous half of the month was called “Sukal Paksh” as the first 14 nights were moonlit nights. The latter or the darker half month was called Krishan Paksh (even now they are sometimes referred to as Suhao pakh and Onndaho Pakh).

• A year was called Barha/Barkha or Barsh (Varash, Vareh) and was considered to have 6 seasons; Each season was called “Rut”. Each “Rut” consisted of 2 months. In the Somnath (Gujrat) region, there used to be 3 seasons each consisting of 4 months.

Researcher Al-Beruni opines that:

“The Hindu months in Sindh are counted as Lunar but their year is considered as Solar. The lunar year is 11 days shorter than the solar year, therefore according to the Hindu system the “Adhak” i.e. the leap year is of 13 months, because the Adhak/Adhimaas, Adhar month is added to the year. The year with Adhak month (leap year) is called by Hindus as “Malamas” ; Mal means dirt  that sticks to the hands and since that dirt is not a constituent part of the hand and is cleaned thereof, similarly Malamas is not considered a month of the year. A year is considered to have only 12 months. Anyway, Malamas month is called Adhimaas which is considered “Ominous” and weddings or any such festivities are not usually celebrated.” (52)

11- Sindhi names of sides, directions, days and months:

(a)   Al-Beruni has mentioned the names of the sides, directions, days and months in his books, that were in vogue in the Sindhi civilization of those times. He has described Seven Skies and Seven Earths. The names he has given are still used in Sindhi language; therefore any claims that Sindhi language came into being in the 11^th century AD by separation from a Virachid Apabhramsha should be considered as false. In fact a study of the words described by Al-Beruni for trade and commerce of those times, and other words for geography, arithmetic, astronomy, business calculations and other subjects reveals that during the period of Al-Beruni’s stay in Sindh and Multan (1017-1031AD), Sindhi language had the status of a complete, comprehensive and rich language. It can therefore be said that Sindhi is quite an ancient language that has had a large vocabulary since time immemorial.

The names of sides and directions described by Al-Beruni are as under:

(b) Names of days:

The names for days as described by Al-Beruni are still used in the language with subtle phonetic changes. The names are the same as for different satellites and planets and for the purpose of identification of these names a suffix “baar/vaar” is added to the name of the planet. (53)

The “baar’ is pronounced as “Vaar’ in the present day Sindhi and the b is changed to v in common usage. The names of the days are as under:

Similarly Al-Beruni has written about stars and planets at length. The names he has given for the planets are:

(c) Names of months:

Al-Beruni has also given the names of months used in his times and they are still in use with some phonetic changes. For example

11- Language and Scripts:

All the scholars, wise men, geographers and researchers from Jahiz to Al-Beruni who came to Sindh, have described Sindhi to be the language for everyday use for trade, commerce and business. They have also written that Sindhi was written in different types of scripts. The travelogues of those times provide ample information that Sindhi was spoken upto the adjoining areas of Multan. In fact the research done in recent times has proved that the traces and signs of Sindhi language can be found in the regions of Sindhu-Kohistan and Swat-Kohistan areas like Torwali, Bushgali, Pashai and North-Eastern Afghan regions; Its traces are also found in the inhabitants of the Ushoo region of the Swat valley i.e. the languages of Gujrat-Gojri and Hindko.

Al-Beruni has written a chapter about the usual script of languages of India and Sindh in his book Kitabul Hind. He writes:

“Writing on bones is not in vogue in Sindh, although writing on (dried) leaves and strips of wood from trees is common.” (54)

About the art of writing, Al-Beruni writes:

“Spoken language (tongue) is a medium of communicating the speaker’s thoughts to the listeners. This (speaking) is not preserved after some time that is why the historic events lose their importance with the passage of time, in oral traditions. It was the reason why the man invented the art of writing to store and preserve important events and literary works.” (55)

            Al-beruni writes:

“The people of Sindh call a book as Pothi پوٿي)) and Pustak (پستڪ).” (56)

In his (Al-beruni’s) opinion:

“The Hindus had forgotten the art of writing but Vyasa, son of Parasara re-invented the alphabet that had 50 letters. These letters were called Akshar in Sindh. They wrote from left to right; they drew a line and wrote the letters beneath that line. The marks that they put above the line are used for grammatical purpose.” (57)

Al-Beruni has described the various scripts commonly used in Sindh, Multan, Bhatia and other regions. He writes:

“Every region has its own script with a separate name. The most famous script is called “Siddha Matrika”, which according to some scholars was invented in Kashmir for use in Kashmir but this script is also used in Varanasi, Madhiadesh and Arya Vart (the country around Kanoj). Nagar script is used in Malva which is quite different in shape and form from Siddha Matrika.

The other type of script is Ardh Nagric that is in use in Bhatia and some areas of Sindh. Likewise in southern Sindh upto the coastal belt, and in Malvashan region usage of Malavari is found. Similarly Saindhava script is used in Bhamnava (Mansoorah) and Larri script in Laṛ desh.” (58)

The detailed description of formation and usage of Arabic-Sindhi script that occurred from the times of Al-Beruni’s arrival in Sindh and Multan, has been given in the 4^th chapter of Al-Beruni’s book Kitabul Hind. The use of Arabic-Sindhi script by Al-Beruni for Sindhi names and style of writing provides immense help for an in-depth study of Sindhi language and it proves that even in the beginning of the Arab era, Sindhi had started being written in the Arabic-Sindhi script.

The 4^th chapter also contains a detailed narrative about the new letters invented by the Arab scholars for indigenous Sindhi sounds and words in Arabic-Sindhi script.

28 letters of Arabic script were used for Arabic-Sindhi alphabet, out of which 16 were already commonly used for Sindhi and Arabic sounds, while 12 letters were in use for purely Arabic sounds. In this way 23 letters were formed by adding dots or bringing some change to Arabic letters in order to have letters for pure Sindhi sounds. The detail of the letters is as under:

(i) Letters for sounds similar in Sindhi and Arabic:

ا ب ت ج د ر ز س  ش ل ڪ م ن و ه ي

These are 16 letters. The Arabs used ک for the ‘k’ (ڪ) sound.

Letters for pure Arabic sounds are 12 in number:

ث ح خ ذ ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق

Letters formed for pure Sindhi sounds:

These are 23 letters.

And in this way by use of (ء) to show a mixture of vowels, 52 letters were in use for Arabic-Sindhi alphabet.

(ii) The Arab experts used the following 10 vowels for the vowel system:

a, aa, i, ee, u, oo, aiy , ay, o, ava

(iii) The greatest help in this regards can be had from Chacnama and Al-Beruni’s books called Kitabul Hind and Al-Arkind, in addition to articles and travelogues of various scholars and travellers. Chachnama infact contains thousands of pure Sindhi words that include names of people, places, countries, castes, tribes, clans, lakes, riverines, rivers, canals and human dwellings.

(iv) Al-Beruni’s books contain very interesting material about Sindhi sounds, phonetic and phonological system in addition to Chhand and grammar. He, not only invented new letters for the pure Sindhi sounds but expressed his purpose by forming possible Arabic letters for similar sounds. For example:

            Phonetic Changes:

(a) Similarly for compound sounds of Sanskrit and Hindi, he took help from the law of Assimilation according to which sounds used in compound sounds by virtue of their effect on each other, change to form a new sound. For example:

(b) Changes of sounds:

Some sounds change themselves; for example:

(c) The use of vowel phoneme at the end of a word:

(i) According to the phonetic system of Sindhi language the presence of prominent vowel at the end of a word is a peculiar quality of  the grammar of Sindhi. Sachau’s opinion is a strong proof of such a claim, according to which:

“Sindhi language still contains that quality that vowel ‘U’ is present as a suffix in various nouns of Sindhi language.” (59)

(d) The list of Sindhi words given in Al-Beruni’s book:

            In addition to the above quoted words, other Sindhi words present in Al-Beruni’s book are being given which were used in Sindhi a long time before the arrival of Islam in Sindh. For example:

Tabular system (جدول)

The measure of distances: (page 166 of Al-Beruni’s book)

8 Yav              = 1 Ungle (aangur i.e. Figer)

4 Ungle           = 1 Laam

24 Ungle         = 1 Hatha

4 Hatha           = 1 Dahan

40 Dahan         = 1 Nalo (naree)

25 Nalav          = 1 Krosh (koh)

1 Krosh           = 4000 Hatha

Words for measuring the distances from the tip of the thumb to the tip of little finger:

The gap between the tip (end) of the thumb to the end of the little finger= vitasti (vithi)

            The distance between the tip of the thumb to the end of the ring finger= karb

            The distance between the tip of the thumb to the end of index finger= gokaraṇa (gokala)

The distance between the tip of the thumb to the end of middle finger= Taala

12- Methods of teaching and words related to it:

(a) Al-Beruni has written about the methods of teaching which he had observed during the period of his stay, that reveals that before the arrival of Islam in Sindh, children were taught in Hindu schools (called Paṭhshaala پاٺشالا). He writes.

“Hindu schools (pathshaalas) existed then, where children used black slates; and they held and wrote on the slates on their lengths rather than on the broader side. They wrote the title of the book on either the beginning or the ending page and not on the front or the edge of the page.” (60)

(b) Indeed it is proved from the narratives of Al-Beruni that from ancient times (before the advent of Islam, the beginning of Soomro rule (from 1010AD to the period of Al-Beruni’s stay i.e. 1031 AD) and onwards, Sindhi had acquired the status of a rich, vast and fantastic language used for art, literature and science, in addition to being used for religious preaching. And that it had a huge treasure of countless words, grammar, poetry, literature and educational materials. In this context, one can say that long before the arrival of Islam, Sindhi was a rich and developed language but it was influenced by different languages over the years. This narrative can be said to infer that Sindhi language did not take its form in the 11^th century but that long before the advent of Islam, in the ancient times in Sindh, it existed with a status of a rich language.

(c) Not much has to be said about the origin of Sindhi language in this chapter or this book, but it is important to mention that Sir Grierson himself has conceded in the latter part in his book (Linguistic Survey of India Vol. VIII, Part-I), despite his claim that Sindhi language was from the Western group of Aryan languages, that “Sindhi and Lahanda are languages of the western group; whereas Hindi, Rajasthani and Eastern Punjabi belong to the central group of Indo-Aryan languages; but there are a lot of similarities between these languages.

Therefore Prof Jhamatmal’s claim that Sindhi language is very much like western Rajasthani carries a lot of weight; this has been discussed in the 2^nd and updated edition of the book “The Origin of Sindhi Language.”

As mentioned earlier, Al-Beruni stayed in Sindh and Multan from 1017 to 1031 AD. He also visited Mansoorah. He had witnessed the downfall of the Ismaili rule in Mansoorah at the hands of Mahmood Ghaznavi. Anyway, 26 years later i.e. in 1051 AD there are evidences in history of Sindh about the second term of Soomra rule, as has been mentioned earlier. Syed Sibte Hassan writes:

“The Ismailis ruled Multan for 45 years (965-1010AD) which was finally brought down by Mahmood Ghaznavi. But in 1030 AD, when Mahmood Ghaznavi died and his descendants were engaged in wars over the throne, Ismailis got another chance. They gathered under the command of a local Soomra chief named Shaikh Ibn Soomar Rajpal; and he conquered Sindh and Multan once again in 1051. They (Ismailis) ruled over Multan for about a century and a quarter.” (61)

One can raise doubts about Sibte Hassan’s opinion, because a Fatimid Caliph Syedna Al-Hakim Bil-Amrallah had written a letter to Shaikh Ibn Soomar Rajpal in 1010AD from Egypt, meaning that in 1051 AD the Soomras would have elected some other person as their chief and not Shaikh Ibn Soomar Rajpal. And in 1051 Imam Al-Hakim Bil-Amrallah was not even alive.

13- The Progress of Sindhi language and literature in the Soomra rule:

(a) The Soomra rule was a national government of the indigenous Muslims who reigned from 1010-1351AD. Although during this period the chiefs of Ghori and Ghulam clans captured some parts of Sindh but notwithstanding that the southeastern, eastern parts and areas of Kachh were still ruled by Soomras. Dr. Baloch writes:

“In Southeast Sindh, the Sindh-Kachh border was a center of power and special influence of the Soomra government and therefore Sindhi language expanded in the central regions. In the initial period of Soomra rule, the main direction of their force was focused on Kachh, Kathiawar and the borders of Gujrat with resultant formation of Soomra and other Sindhi townships and Sindhi language spread to the areas of Kachh.” (62)

(b) Due to relative peace and tranquility in the Soomra era, social functions and events progressed. There was an increased interest in fine arts and poetry, the wise men and Sughars were the forbearers of these parties who were mostly Bhatts, Chaaraṇs and Jajiks. Such evidences are also found in Al-Beruni’s books. These functions and programs consisted of discussions and thoughtful exercises about folk stories, love stories and certain special local events. Dr. Baloch writes in this context:

“On studying the subject of love stories and other popular themes of Sindh, it becomes known that the seed of these festivities was sown in the fertile soil, in the Soomra period.” (63)

14- Promotion of Persian Langauge in Sindh:

It has been mentioned earlier that despite being the official and religious medium in the Arab era, the Arabic language could not become the language of the masses of Sindh; ordinary people still spoke in Sindhi. Although for some time Arabic was in use along with Sindhi in Debal, Mansoorah, Multan and some other towns, as is evident from statements of  Astakhri (arrival in Sindh in 951AD) and Bishary Al-Muqadasee (arrival in Sindh in 985 AD).

The latter gentleman opines:

“Most of the people in Multan are Arabs. Persian is also understood in this region.” (64)

Pandit Manic had great command over Sindhi, Persian and Arabic. (65) This opinion proves that the teaching of Persian language in Sindh is also quite old. Furthermore, after the Habari clan became independent, the relations between Damascus and Iraq with Sindh were also disconnected. (66)

Though the Persian language had an influence during the Soomra rule, yet the common people did not give much importance to Persian as compared to Sindhi, as was the case in the Arab rule. The mother tongue of the reigning rulers was Sindhi, therefore it had a chance to expand and progress during this period. So much so that Ibn-e-Batuta (1317AD) had to say: “The walls of the Lahri port had many epithets written in Sindhi (Hindi) script.” (67)

15- Collection of Literature in Sindhi language:

            (i) Like the Arab era, the Soomra period was an important time for development of Sindhi language and its literature. This was a period of immense expansion of Sindhi literature. Although there are evidences of presence of Sindhi prose and poetry (rhyming poetic prose and riddles etc) before this period as well, but this particular period was a romantic one for Sindhi language and literature. All the peculiarities, subjects and articles of this era, were a continuation from the previous periods and this strong link of continuity was persevered in the next era as well. A lot of literary work from this period is available which has been termed as part of Oral literature. This literary treasure can be divided into the following types:

• Love stories
• Semi-love stories
• Literature of religious movements
• War poetry or Epics (Razmia)
• Eulogies or praise poetry (Qasida)
• Folk songs (Geech)

            (ii) The ancient social and political connections of Sindh, Gujrat, Kathiwar, Rajashtan and Punjab prove that the tradition of Sindhi poetry and literature in Sindhi language was well established since ancient times just like places mentioned above. In this context, Grierson believes that:

“Nagar Apabhramsha was the medium of education and literature in ancient times that prevailed in a literary sense over Gujrat, Rajasthan and to the regions to the west of it.” (68)

            (iii) In this regard, some references from the research done by Prof Jhamatmal Bhavnani and Param Abechandani have been quoted in chapter III. The examples of Sindhi poetry clearly indicate that the language had the required expanse and quality. One can easily observe the sounds of Sindhi language, its phonetic system, formation of words and its syntactical and grammatical format from the language of the period of the Rai and Brahmin families. Evidences about the linguistic treasure of Sindhi language can be found in Chachnama, Kitabul Hind and other books mentioned earlier.

(iv) The second period of Soomra rule (1025-1351AD) was one where among other sects of Islam, the preaching of the Ismaili following was blooming in ancient Sindh (and Multan), Kachh, Gujrat and Kathiawar. The Ismaili religious scholars preached their religion to general public, skilled workers, craftsmen, professionals and to the people of the lower social strata. The names of all those clans and castes can be found written on the tomb of Pir Shams Sabzwari Multani (1165-1276AD), who had sworn allegiance to Islam at his hands.

Sibte Hassan has written in this regard:

“The other quality of Ismaili preachers was that they tried to harmonize the Islamic teachings with the local traditions. This was done so that the common man would not feel that Islam was against their customs and traditions of normal life. The Ismaili clerics described the simple and straight forward tenets of Islam in the local dialect of the people and did not insist on learning Arabic or assuming an Arabic life style. These clerics did not push the newly converted Muslims to change their Hindu names. And because of their preaching initially the people of Soomra and later Sama period accepted Islam.” (69)

(v) Sindhi and Kachhi Ginans by a preacher of Ismaili following Pir Nooruddin (Pir Satgur Noor) have been found from 1079 AD. And around the same time, the famous grammarian Hemchander (1081-1172 AD) has given examples of Sindhi poetry. Initially the Ginans by Pir Satgur Noor were in the form of oral literature. These Ginans were memorized by some pious men and bhagats (disciples). And this type of literature was brought into a written form much later.

The famous grammarian Hemchander collected some samples of poetry in his book “Sath Hemchander” calling them Gathas. (70) A linguistic analysis of one of these Gathas i.e. Gah mentioned in his 3^rd chapter reveals that the language used in this is similar to that used in the eastern and southeastern regions of ancient Sindh greatly influenced by the Pingal and Nagar dialects of Rajasthan and Gujrat. (71) The words used in this Gatha are still pronounced almost the same way but with subtle phonetic changes in the southern, southeastern and eastern areas of Sindh (Thar and Parker). For example:

ڀلا هئا جو ماريو، ڀيڻ مهارو ڪنت

لجينج تو ويڻ سِن، جو ڀڳا گھر انت (72)

bhalā huā jo māryo, bhaiṇ mahāro kant

lajenj to weṇ sīn, jo ghagā ghar ant

Translation:     It was good that my husband got killed

                        If he had run away and returned home it would have caused him shame

            One of the words used in this verse is kant=kānt i.e. =kāndh (meaning husband or beloved) which is a Sindhi word. And all the other words used also belong to Sindhi. Likewise the word ‘lajainj’ is equivalent to ‘lajj lae ee’ (for honor’s sake) and the meaning of vaiṇ-sīn is a sarcastic remark while the meaning of Jo here is ‘if ‘. These and other such similar words have been used by Syedna Pir Sadruddin and later by Shah Abdul Latif in their works.

16- During the Soomra rule, the stories of national freedom and bravery resulted in broadening of peoples’ mindset and through the gatherings held in the courts of chieftains, it brought about a new interest in local love stories. The special ones among these stories were of Sassi Punhoon, Saiful Malook and Badiul Jamal, Moriro Mirbahar, Sorath and Rai Dyach, Umer Marvi, Leela Chanesar and Sohni Mehaar. (73) Some of these stories belong to the last years of Arab rule while some belong to the Soomra period. In addition to these eight famous classical stories, the foundation of other stories is also supposed to be laid during the period of downfall of the Arab empire and the beginning of the Soomra period. Some of the love stories are as under:

• Mal Mahmood and Mehar Nigar
• Daman Sonaro
• Khuda dost and Mahmood Ghaznavi.

            Certain Gahs related to these stories are also available, and a study of these reveals a lot of material relating to Sindhi language.

According to Dr. Muhammad Hassan’s opinion, “The samples of Apabhramsha poetry (Gathas) are found from the 7^th Century AD.” (74)

By looking at the entire educational and literary material from this era, it can be divided in 3 literary genres, which are as under:

• Religious preaching literature which includes, Sufi and Mystical material which contains Ginanas.
• Razmia or Epic poetry
• Folk songs (piraṇ, geech, bol and riddles etc)
• Poetry of Seengar Ras

(a) Ginan:

(i) It has been mentioned earlier that the subjects of the poetry of Apabhramshas have been religious teaching and bravery. From the times of Ghazi Muhammad Bin Qasim to the last days of Abbasid Caliphate, it appears that the language for spread of Islam was Arabic. And the last period of the Habari government had made Sindhi and other local dialects, a medium of preaching of Islamic belief.

It was the Soomro era when the preachers of different sects of Islam spread throughout the country (75) and like the Buddhist monks and the clerics of Jain religion, the Islamic clerics also started explaining the religious rites to the newly converted Muslims in their local languages. On one hand the Ismaili clerics were busy preaching their own religious philosophy, on the other end the Qadri clerics and the Ghousi wise men had also spread to different areas of Indus valley. Syed Sibte Hassan writes:

“The Sufis were popular people. They communicated with ordinary people but in order to win their hearts and to appeal their emotions, it was essential for them to use the language of the common man. In an era when the wise men and chiefs coming from Iran and Turkistan used to be proud of having command over Persian language and looked down upon the local dialects, these Sufi saints not only learnt the local languages with immense interest but they also composed the sufistic thoughts in the local dialects so that the common man could find it easy to understand. (76)

Since the reigning rulers (Soomras) were Ismailis therefore publicly and privately Ismaili teachings received a lot of support. Because of decreasing influence of Ismailis in Multan, the Fatimid Caliph and the 17^th Imam (leader) of the Ismaili sect Syedna Al-Hakim Bil-Amrallah of Alqahira (Egypt) gave the title of ‘Shaikh’ to the chief of Soomras of Sindh Ibn Soomar Rajpal and made him the chief of Ismailis of Sindh. (77) Therefore after Multan, Mansoorah in southern Sindh became a center of Ismaili preaching and hordes of clerics started coming to Sindh. History tells us that in 1025 AD (416) H) Mahmood Ghaznavi attacked Mansoorah and brought an end to the Ismaili government. (78) But the Ismailis did not lose heart and re-established their dominance in Multan. (79)

Referring to Abdul Ghafoor Quereshi, the author of Punjabi Adab di Kahani (A story of Punjabi Literature), Syed Sibte Hassan writes:

“The tradition of preaching through poetry in local dialects was started by Ismaili missionaries in the 11th century. Among them Syedna Noorul-Din alias Satgur Noor, Shah Shams Sabzwari Multani (1165-1276 AD), Pir Shahabuddin Shah and Pir Sadruddin are most famous.” (80)

(ii) In the Soomra period (1079AD) the first local Ismaili preacher who became known was Pir Nooruddin who called himself Pir Satgur Noor. (81) This saint started a new trend in the teachings of Islam. He devised a system of preaching the tenets of Islam by composing them in poetic verses and rhyming tunes so that the newly converted Muslims and his other followers could understand and memorize them with relative ease.

(iii) The tradition of poetic art and singing has been followed in Sindh since ancient times, which has been mentioned by Al-Beruni and other scholars and travellers as well. Before embracing Islam, these new Ismaili followers were used to Bhajan singing and Sat Sang (Hindu ritual). Because of this, Pir Noorudin composed his verses (Ginans) in accordance with the poetic and melodious system of Surs so that his followers could recite the Ginans the way they were used to with Bhajan singing; and so they could help others to understand the directions and other religious teachings. This type of thinking or Panth was named Sat Panth (Siratul Mustaqeen i.e. straight path) and for recitations of these verses (Ginans) they were composed on devotional music.

            The teachings of Ismaili following are based on esoteric mysticism. And so Pir Satgur Noor explained the principles and rules of faith and mysticism through Kachhi, Gujrati, Seraiki, Hindi, Punjabi and Sindhi poetry (Ginans) in a new style by means of symbols and signs, similes and metaphors for easy understanding.

(iv) It has been mentioned earlier with reference to Al-Beruni that for memorizing some learning points, the use of Saloks, Sutras and small sized rhyming sentences was initiated. Pir Nooruddin also used this type of teaching method. He came to Sindh, Multan and Gujrat 35 years after Al-Beruni’s death and so the system of rhyming sentences, Chhand, saloks and sutras must have been in place. Pir Satgur Noor named his works as Ginans instead of Saloks. This was the first time that this literary genre with the name of Ginan, started being used in Sindhi literature. The word Ginan (گنان) has come from Giyan (گيان) meaning knowledge. Anyway, one can say that Pir Satgur Noor introduced this type of poetry in Sindhi language in 1079 AD in a large quantity. Even though the above quoted Gahas (Gathas) are said to be from the 7^th Century AD. In addition to this Gatha, seven other examples have also been mentioned by Dr. Jetli and Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji.

(v) In addition to the analysis of Ginans of Pir Satgur Noor, and other examples of Sindhi poetry, it reveals the form of Sindhi language used in the 7^th Century AD. In Pir Satgur Noor’s time, it had been only 28 years since the second term of Soomra rule.

In the second phase of Soomra rule, the Sufis, saints and preachers of Ismaili following who came to the Indus Valley after Pir Satgur and those who composed Ginans in Sindhi, Kachhi, Seraiki, Punjabi, Hindi and Poorabi (western dialects are as under:

(a) Pir Shams Sabzwari Multani (1165-1278 AD, 560-675 H): This saint was a contemporary of Baba Farid Ganj Shakar (569-667 H, 1182-1280 AD). He is commonly known as Shams Tabrezi but that is not correct; Shams Tabrezi was long before this saint, who was in fact a tutor and mentor of Maulna Rumi and was the brother of the 18^th Imam (leader) of the Ismaili sect, Syedna Allauddin. The 30^th Imam of Ismaili sect Syed Qasim Shah had sent Pir Shamz Sabzwari to Sindh for preaching the Ismaili belief.

(b) Pir Salahuddin: He was son of Pir Shams Sabzwari Multani’s son and he preached the Ismaili sect in Punjab and Gujrat. His works have not been found.

(c) Pir Shahabuddin was the grandson of Pir Shams Sabzwari and was the son of Pir Salahuddin. Some of his works (Ginans) have been found.

(d) Pir Sadruddin (1290-1409 AD, 689-808 H) was the great grandson of Pir Shams and was son of Pir Shahabuddin. His grandfather Pir Salahuddin and his father Pir Shahabuddin were esteemed preachers and poets of Ismaili following.

The works (Ginans) of these Pirs in Sindhi, Gujrati, Seraiki, Multani, Punjabi and Hindi are available but most of such literature comes from Pir Shams and Pir Salahuddin and their sons Pir Imam Shah and Pir Hasan Kabiruddin. Numerous examples of sufistic material of fantastic qualities are seen in language used by them in Ginans, which have been pondered upon in detail in later pages. The subject matter of the works of these preachers is related with mysticism and guidance. They have also written poetry on the subject of love and like other poets and saints of the subcontinent, they have taken a woman as a devotee (salik سالڪ) and have used metaphors and symbols for the beloved.

Mr. Agha Salim has written in his research work “Baba Farid’s Dohas (verses)” that the Sindhi element is very obvious in the works of Baba Farid. Like Ginans, the works of Baba Farid show a mixture of Sindhi, Seraiki and Punjabi.” (82) Agha Salim further writes:

“A study of Baba Farid’s poetry reveals that some influence of his poetry may be seen on Sindhi poetry. I believe that the symbols of Kangal (crow) and Hanj (goose) have entered Sindhi poetry through the poetry of Baba Farid.” (83)

Mr. Agha further writes on:

“The poetry of Shah Latif and Kazi Kadan also show a clear imprint of the influence of Baba Farid’s poetry. Indeed Shah Latif has quoted Baba Farid’s verse almost word by word; e.g.:

سرور پنکي هيڪڙو، ڦاهيوال پچاس

اي تن لهرين گڏ ٿيا، سچي تري آس

sarwar pakhi hekṛo, phaāhiwāl pachās

e tan lahren gad thya, sachi teri ās

shah latif has composed a similar couplet

سَر ۾ پکي هيڪڙو، پاڙيهري پنجاهه

سندي آس آلله، لڏي لهرون وچ ۾ (84)

sara men pakhī hekṛo, paṛehri panjah

sandī ās Allah, lude lahrun wich men

            Same of Baba Farid’s dohas:

1. ڪوٺي منڊپ ماڙيا، ريت نه لائين چت

مٽي پئي اتولين، ڪوئي نه هوسي مِٽ

kaṭhi mandap maṛya, aitin lāeen chit

miti paee utalen, koī na hose mit

2. هنج اڏر ڪو ڏري پيا، لوڪ اڏرڻ جاءِ

ڳهلا لوڪ نه ڄاڻن، هنج نه ڪوڏر کاءِ

hanj udar ko dare pya, lok udraṇ jae

gahla lok na jaṇan, hanj na kodar khae

Shah Latif and Pir Sadruddin have also touched this subject in their works. Ismaili preachers narrated the subject of mysticism in prose and poetry in Sindhi, Kachhi, Seraiki, Punjabi and Hindi languages and used phrases and subjects like Jog, Jogesar, Jogi and Bhaboot in their works. In other words one can say that the propagation and preaching of mysticism and Bhagti Mat started from the early period of Soomra rule and the Ismaili preachers took an active part in it.

The Ismaili Sufis, saints and Pirs advised their disciples to consider this world as finite; not to get enchanted by the obvious colourfulness and beauty of the world; have faith in oneness of God Almighty; consider Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (pbuh) as the last prophet of Allah; and pray to Him. They (Ismaili preachers) used the hans (goose), stork, fish, boat, spinning wheel, butter, palaces, roof tops, sheds, spinner, shops, weight measures, wasp, flowers and plants as symbols and metaphors.

The format and structure of Ginans of all the Pirs are not uniform in a poetic sense.  The format of the Ginans of Pir Nooruddin are similar to Dohas while Pir Shams, Pir Sadruddin and the Pirs of later periods have written Ginans in the shape of Kafi where after every verse a line is repeated. This format has been called Salok by an ancient poet of Punjabi language named Madhulal Shah Hussain (1538-1601 AD) in his collection of poetry. Perhaps Al-Beruni meant Kafi when he called them Salok. (85) Pir Shams (1156-1280 AD) and Pir Sadruddin (1290-1409 AD) were also of a period 300-375 years before Madhulal Shah Hussain and perhaps poetry in the form of Kafi was started by these honourable poets.

Based on the subject and topics, the Ismaili Pirs named the Ginans by different names and titles, e.g.

• aartiyoon آرتيون
• garbiyoon گربيون
• vainatiyoon وينتيون
• ant akhaṛo انت آکاڙو
• das avatar دس اَوَتار
• chaoghaṛya چؤگهڙيا etc.

            Maulana Ghulam Muhammad Girami writes about the language used in Ginans;

“Even though the presented Dohas are not strong from an artistic or religious value as per the rules of chhand vidya, but because of their originality and simplicity they can acquire an important status in Sindhi poetry. It is another thing that perhaps the researchers did not like the Birj Basha and along with it a mixture of Uchki, Multani, Gujrati and ancient Sindhi. But in any case when one keeps in mind the evolving Sindhi language a thousand years back, perhaps then this type of composition, writing style and mode of expression can be understood and only  then the mixed Birj, Sindhi, Multani and Gujrati languages may be termed as the ‘evolving  dialects of Sindhi language.” (86)

            An opinion about the format of Ginans by Pir Shams and Pir Sadruddin has been given earlier, the Ginans of Pir Satgur Noor point to an evolving structure and form of poetry of Sindhi language. Every couplet of Ginans by these two honorable poets is in the form of Salok. And as mentioned earlier the format of Ginans by Pir Shams and Pir Sadruddin is of a different kind. The Ginans of Pir Satgur Noor and Pir Shams are quoted as under, as an example:

Pir Satgur Noor Says:

(i) بهت پريت مَنَ ڀاوَسين، تُمهين جپو الله رسول

ڪلمو ڪهو دل پاڪ سون، تو ڪُل وِگھَن هوئيسي دور.

bahut preet man bhavaseen, tumhin japo Allah Rasool

kalmo kaho dil pak soon, to kul vighan hoesi door.

(ii) بن ڪلمي بندگي ڪري، تو بندگي سڃي سارِ

جيون نِتِ اُٺ راهه چلڻا، آخر اُجڙ واس

bin kalme bandagee kar, to bandagee sunji saar

jeevan niti uṭh raah chalṇa, akhir ujaṛ vaas

(iii) پياسون پريتج ٻانڌيئي، ماڻڪ مانهه ويهه،

ست پنٿ ساڌِيئي، پنٿي پُوراتي.

pyasoon pritaj bandheyi, maṇik manh veh,

sat panth sadhiye, panthi poorati

            In addition to Hindi and Gujrati, Pir Shams’s Ginans are also found in Punjabi and Seraiki. One of the Ginans of Pir Shams in Punjabi is quoted as an example as under:

ايڪ تيرٿَ وَئندڙان، پير شمـــــــــــس غازي سئنــــــــڌڙان

تُســـــــــــاناوو نـــــاوو نـــــــــــاوڙان، ويـــــــــــران نـــــــــــاوڙان

نائيـــــــــــن ڌوئي سي جِيا، جي ني گُر دا فرمايا ڪيا،

اورنهـــــــــــيـــــــــــنِ نـــــــــــاوڙان، نهـــــــيـــــــــــن نـــــــــــاوڙان

راهُـــــــــــو، راهَـــــــــــه، جَپــــــــو، تُسان، پير پُڇي راهه چَلو

اُجـــــــــــڙ پـــــــــــڳ نهِيـــن پاوڙان، نهيـــــــــــن پـــــــــــاوَڙان

پِيــــــــــــــــــر شـــــــــــمـــــــــــس اوراهـــــــــــه پــــــر بـــــــــــوڌڙان

مـــــــــــن پٺــــــي روحاني سمجھاوڙان، (اي) سمجھاوڙان

ايســـــــــــا در ميري صاحـــــــــــب راجـــــي دا سئنـــــــــــڌڙان

سوِئي دي دفعي وچ هستي ماوڙان (ويران) مـــــــــاوڙان

پير شمس غازي ٻوليا، ڦل سچي ياري مومـــــن پاوڙان

(ويران) پاوڙان.                                                              

aik teerath vaindṛan, pir shams ghazi saindhṛan

tusanavoo navoo navaṛan, veeran navṛaan

nayin dhoyi se jiya, je ni gur da farmaya kiya,

aur nahin navaṛan, nahin navaṛan

rahoo, raha, japo, tusan, pir puchhe raha chalo

ujaṛ paga naheen pavaṛan, nahin pavaṛan

pir shams aurah par bodhaṛan

man puṭhi roohani samjhavaṛan, (aye) samjhavaṛan

aisa dar mere sahib raji da saindhṛan

soyi di dafayee vich hasti mavaṛan (veeran) mavaṛan

pir shams ghazi bolya, phal sachi yari momin pavaṛan

(veran) pavaṛan.

Similarly two verses of Ginans by Pir Shams in Seraiki language are quoted as example as under:

Ginan Shareef

اي ســــڀاڳا! ايـــس دنـــيا وچ ڪـــيا گڀهِن آئيو

ڪيان گهِن وئسي نال، ســــڀاڳا!......................

اي سڀاڳا! نانگو تون آئيو، نانگو تون وئسو

ڪڇ نه نڀسي نال......................................سڀاڳا!

aye sabhaga! is dunya vich kya gabhin aaiyo

kiyan ghin vaisi naal, sabhaga!......................

aye sabhaga! Nango toon aaiyo, nango toon vaiso

kuchh na nibhsi naal…………………..…sabhaga!

The genre of the above mentioned Ginans of Pir Shams are similar to Kafi. Same is the case with Pir Sadrudin’s Ginans. Pir Sadruddin and all the Pirs who came after him have Ginans with the repeated line (thal) coming after every couplet (bund). Dr. Abdul Jabbar Junejo’s opinion in this regard is very interesting. He writes:

“His Ginans are mostly in the form of Kafi. It is quite amazing that knowledge about this form became known much later and is not found up to the Kalhora era.” (87)

Repeating the thal (line) after every two lines of a doha is a theme that may be called as an ancient version of Kafi, that was perhaps in vogue in Al-Beruni’s time too. This genre of Sindhi, Seraiki and Punjabi is evident in the works of Pir Shams in the 12^th century and Pir Sadruddin in the 13^th century. The genres of Chhand have been mentioned by Al-Beruni and he has named one of them as Salok. And the genre the Ismaili Pirs, except Madhulal Shah Hussain named as Kafi, is usually composed on a lyrical/melodious format; which means that in order to compose any poetry in Sindhi language, there were three principles or bases that were followed: one of them was based on Chhand Vidya (prosody) according to which doha, bait and soratha etc. were composed; the second was based on melodious tunes on the basis of which Ginan, Kafi, jhoolana and vai etc. were composed; and the third base was that of Persian meters (ilm urooz). Therefore one can say that the trend of changing the structure of compositions from Chhand Vidya to Kafi in poetry of Sindhi, Punjabi, and Seraiki language occurred in Sindh in the 11^th and 12^th Century AD. Some researchers have attributed the genre of Kafi to the works of Madhulal Shah Hussain (1538-1601 AD).” (88) As mentioned earlier, long before the time of Madhulal Shah Hussain, we have the Ginans by Pir Shams and Pir Sadruddin composed on this theme. And on the basis of studying these Ginans, one can say that the system of composing poetry on this format in Punjab and Sindh was present since a long time. The early centers of Ismaili preaching were Multan, Uch Sharif, and in Sindh at Kotri Allah Rakhio Shah and Lahry Bander; therefore the Ismaili preachers acquired the system of composing poetry on the same lines as was in vogue in Multan, Uch and other regions. (89)

Some experts have called this genre as Gah (gatha) but Gah is usually related to an event, story or narrative, therefore it would not be correct to call Ginans as Gahs. Sindhi Gahs are also found in war poetry (razmia). Dr. Baloch believes that:

“Some of the verses of Gah are such that they appear quite old and it is quite possible that they belong to the Soomra period and have reached us through continuous vocal traditions.” (90)

17- (a) Detailed study of war poetry is not the subject of this book and we are only concerned with scrutinizing the narration, progress and expanse of the language. Anyway the story about the war between the Soomras and Allaudin is a priceless treasure for analyzing the language of those times. Some of the events of this epic are in the form of Gahas. The language used in these Gahas is a huge and valuable cache as the virtuous poets (sughars) used this language for presenting the bravery and courage of Soomras and Abro Samo. In this regard Professor Mehram Khan writes:

“Here Bhag Chand Faqir appears as a ‘new face’ of Chandr Burdai. He sang ‘Dodal Raso’ in the style of ‘Prithvi Raj Rasa’ in honour of Dodal Veer, which is a great epic story.” (91)

The subject narrated in ‘Dodal Raso’ will have to be accepted as a priceless treasure in the context of Sindhi language, because it contains unmatched examples of the Sindhi society and psyche. Some of the Gahas of this epic story are given below as examples so that an opinion can be formed about the language that has been used in them.

او اَبڙو اَڀَڳ، او ڏونگر ئي ڏيهه ٻيو،

او جوڻا چاڻو جڳ، جو سرڻيين سونٺا سهي.

o abṛo abhag, o doongar ee deh biyo,

o joṇa chano jag, jo sarneen sonṭha sahe.

This verse formed on the basis of chhand soratha gives an account of the bravery of Abro Samo and the description of motherland, depicting the social conditions of that era.

From a grammatical point of view, in addition to nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs and derived words, this Gaha shows the tenses of a verb.

This Gaha also proves that the practice of adding prefixes and suffixes before and after a root according to the principles of morphology is also quite old. For example:

abhag (اڀڳ): This is a compound word. To form this word the prefix ‘a’ has been added in front of the root ‘bhag (ڀڳ) to get the final word as ‘abhag’.

Jooṇa Chaaṇu (جوڻا چاڻو); This word is also a compound word that has been formed by adding a dependent word “Chaaṇu” at the end of Jooṇa.

Many such examples can be given here. Prof. Mehram Khan is right in saying:

“Representing the normal daily life matters, piety, success and truthfulness of the people of their times (Soomra rule), the Jajiks and Charaṇs narrative is a very worthy document. The competitions of Mathera and Amnjhis, incidences of massacre of young men, the acts of philanthropy of wise men were sung with such lovely tunes that they have become eternal.” (92)

It is indeed a reality that the stories of the philanthropists and generous people and their contributions have become eternal because of the fact that their donations and generosity was recorded and secured in the written form through language. These records appear fresh despite being centuries old. It is indeed the language that has helped in storing the narratives of history, geography, tradition and customs of Sindh. With the help of Gahas patriotism, self sacrifice, determination, courage and respect of the children and women of those times have been preserved.

(b) The Gahas have been discussed first and even from the point of view of chronology, Gahas are found to have existed before the Ginans in the Soomra era. The languages of Ginans by Pir Noorudin are Sindhi, Kachhi, Gujrati and Multani. The year of Pir Nooruddin’s Ginans is 1079 AD, therefore to analyze his language, one will have to study the language that existed 1000 years back. Pir Norruddin’s Ginans are the oldest examples of poetry in the history of Sindhi, Kachhi, Gujrati and Multani literature. Al-Beruni has mentioned the genres (salok and sūtar) of poetry of chhand, but their examples have not been found. The examples presented by Dr. Jetli and Dr. Chatterji are in every way older than the Ginans.

The time of Pir Nooruddin was favourable for such religious poetry (Ginans) and Veer Gatha (Story of Bravery-Veer-Gah). The Veer Gahtha presented by Hemchander, examples given by Dr. Jetli and Dr. Chatterji are definitely of a time long before Pir Noorudin, but the era of putting them to writing is the same (1081-1172AD). After comparing the said Gahs and Pir Nooruddin’s poetry, one can say that there were a lot of similarities of vocabulary, grammar and syntax. Some verses of Pir Noorudin’s poetry have been mentioned above as examples; they are reproduced here in order to form an opinion regarding the language that has been used in these Ginans.

(i) بَهُت پريت مَنَ ڀاوَسين، تُمهين جپو الله رسول،

ڪلمو ڪهو دل پاڪ سون، تو ڪُل وِگھن هوئسي دَور

bahut preet mana bhavaseen, tumhen japo allah rasool,

kalmo kaho dil paak soon, to kul vighan hoysi door.

(ii) بن ڪلمي بندگي ڪري، تو بندگي سڃي سار

جيون نت اُٺ راهه چلڻا، آخر اُجڙ واس.

bin kalme bandage kare, to bandage sanji saar

jeevan nat uṭh raah chalṇa, aakhir ujaṛ vaas.

(iii) پياسون پريتج ٻانڌيئي، ماڻڪ ويهه،

ست پنٿ ساڌيئي، پنٿي پوراتي.

piyasoon pretij bandheyi, maṇik veh,

sant panth sadheyi, panthi porati.

Analysis of the language used by Pir Noorudin reveals that the Sindhi language had a comprehensive and appropriate treasure of vocabulary to describe the sufistic and guiding principles. The main titles of these subjects are as under:

Reciting names of Allah and His prophet (PBUH), being honest, abstaining from lying and hatred, considering this world as finite and keeping oneself on the straight path. There is a strong imprint of Kachhi accent in Pir Satgur Noor’s poetry, or one can say that his poetry is in Kachhi language. His language contains words like soon, tay, to, jee etc. that were perhaps used in the language of those times.

The word soon used in the Ginans of Pir Satgur Noor is a postposition, which is used in the present Sindhi as saan. In those days soon was used as a postposition rather than saan.And much later Vali Deccani (of Urdu) used this soon in the following way:

مت غصے کے شعلوں سوں، جلتے کو جلاتی جا

ٹک مہر کے پانی سون یہ آگ بجھاتی جا

Similarly the words ‘tay’ and ‘jay’ are also used as postpositions. These very words are later found in the poetry of Shah Latif as well; even though Shah Latif’s period was approximately 600 years after Pir Satgur Noor. The examples of these words in Shah’s poetry can be seen in his ‘vai’ as under:

(i) achyo aataṇ varyoon, taana deenmi te (اَچيو آتڻ واريون، طعنا ڏِيِنمِ تي)

(ii) te laye dhaṇi-a dhua, je laye vaya vehdat gadji (تي لاءِ ڌڻيءَ ڌُئا، جي لاءِ ويا وحدت گڏجي)

(iii) taṛ niharyan te, munhja bandari veṛa je (تڙ نهاريان تي، منهنجا بندرِ ويَڙا جي)

Syedna Pir Sadruddin (1290-1409 AD) can be called the greatest poet of the Soomra period. He saw the periods of both the Soomras and the Samas. Pir Shams Sabzvari Multani was his great grandfather. His father Syed Shahabuddin was a preacher of Ismaili sect and a good poet, as has been mentioned earlier.

(c) Pir Sadruddin had established his center for preaching at Village Kotri Allah Rakhio Shah and Lahri Bander in District Thatta, a part of the Larr (lower) region of Sindh, while Multan and Uch Shareef were his centers for preaching in Punjab. Since Pir Sadruddin was born in the central region (Uch and Multan) of Sindh, he had travelled well throughout the areas of Multan, Uch Shareef, Jooṇ, Fateh bagh, Kotri Allah Rakhio, Lahri Bander and the coastal belt of Gujrat and Kachh including Kathiawar since his childhood and for his preaching, he was well versed with Multani, Uchki, Sindhi, Kachhi, Punjabi, Gujrati and Hindi languages from his young age, He was a great Sufi poet. He studied Hindu religion deeply for his religious reasons; he studied the Vedas, Shasters, Granths and Vaanis of Hindus to acquire expertise in the polytheistic philosophy. Because of mastering various languages he was able to explain the religious teachings to his newly converted Ismaili disciples (whom he had given the title of Khwaja) through his Ginans in Hindi, Gujrati, Kachhi, Mutlani and the Larri and Kachhi dialects of Sindhi language.

By studying the language used in his poetry it is revealed that in those days, the principles of Sufism and mysticism were present in the language spoken in the Indus Valley. Pir Sadruddin’s language is very interesting in the aspects of linguistic expanse, vocabulary, sociological study and grammar. For example:

چيتڻهارا تميهن چيتجو، ڪريو خوب ڪمائي

انتڪال ايڪلا چالڻا، ساٿ ڪوئي باپ نه مائي.

chetaṇhara tumhin chetjo, karyo khoob kamayi

antkaal aikla chaalna, saath koyi baap na mayi.

This verse from one of his Ginans shows that the speakers of Sindhi language of those times were well versed with the grammatical principles, like those of adding a prefix or suffix before and after a word and in this way were able to form new words as is clear from the word ‘chetaṇ-hara’ (چيتڻهارا). Similarly the case/tense of the word ‘chetjo’ is an example of ‘imperative of honour’. The word ‘tumheen’ was also commonly used in Kachhi. And words like “karyo, khoob, kamai, aikla, chalna, saath, koi, baap and mai” etc. were also part of the vocabulary in Sindhi language.

Since Pir Sadruddin was a religious scholar and a preacher and travelled widely in various regions for his cause (preaching), therefore the language in his poetry of the early period is an admixture. The Kachhi he used was influenced a lot by Gujrati. Despite that the Ginans he wrote in Larri truly depict the Larri dialect. He has used numerous similes, metaphors, allusion, symbols, analogy and parables in his works. Some forms of the words used are not in use any more in the present day Sindhi, for example, chetan-hara, tumheen, antkaal and patoontra etc. Pir Sadruddin has used some phrases that can be found some 400 years later in the language used by Shah Latif. For example:

سِر ساٽو ڏيڻ، سر ساٽو ڪرڻ، وَٽَ وڃائڻ، ڳچيءَ وجھڻ، ڳاڙهو ٿوڪ، مَنَ مانيو، چُڻڻ، مَنَ مانيو چُڻڻ، جِيو، جِيوَ جي جهوري هئڻ، هٿ ڏيڻ، هاءِ هاءِ ڪرڻ، هٿ هڻڻ، مرڪڻ، سرتين وچ مرڪڻ، پاڻ سان نه نيئڻ، شاهه پير سڃاڻڻ، چِٽَ پائڻ، ڌوڙ ۾ نيئڻ، ڪمائي ڪرڻ ۽ جيو لڳائڻ.

sir sato diyaṇ, sir sato karaṇ, vata vinjayeṇ, gichi-a vijhaṇ, gaṛho thok, mana manyo, chuṇaṇu, mana manyo chuṇaṇu, jiyo, jeeva je jhori huaṇ, hath diyaṇ, hai hai karav, murkaṇ, sartin vich murkaṇ, paṇa san nh niyaṇ, shah peer sunjaṇaṇ, chita payeṇ, dhooṛ men niyaṇ, kamayi karaṇ and jeev lagayeṇ.

For example:

سرساٽا جو ڪيجيئي، تو رَئڻي جاڳيئي آپ

جيو لڳائيي، پريم سون، تو ساچا سريجن پاس

sar sātā jo kījiye, to raiṇī jāgeyi āp

jīv lagāeyi, prem sűn, to sāchā sarijan pās

400 years before Shah Latif, Pir Sadrudddin has used various nouns as metaphors and symbols like ‘hans’ (goose) and ‘bbaghu’(stork), flower, fish, moth, boat, sailors, weavers, yogis etc. in his Ginans. He has used the ‘hans’ (goose) for the believer and ‘bbaghu’ (stork) for the infidel as symbols. Similarly he has used ‘nangra’ and ‘sagra’ as symbols. The following verses from his Ginans are matchless examples of similes. These Ginans are in Kachhi, he says:

(i) پِيو ’پيو‘ تو جِيو جنت ڪري، پيو نه پاوي ڪوءِ،

            ڄِڀَ جپتان جو پيو ملي، تو ٻگھلا هنسج (93) هوءِ.

piyo ‘payo’ to jeev janat kare, payo na pave koye,

jibha japtan jo payo mile, to baghla hansj hoye.

(ii) ٻگھَه هَنس ٻِي پٽو نترا ڏسي ايڪ وَرَڻ

            ٻَگھه چڻي مَن مانيو، هَنس موتي چڻِن.

bagha hans bi pato natra disee aik varaṇ

bagh chane man manyo, hans moti chanin.

(iii) نگڙا سُگرا ٻي پٽو نترا صورت ايڪ سان

            نُگرا چهاوي دام ڪون، سُگرا صاحب ڪا نام.

nagṛa sugra bi pato natra soorat aik saan,

nugra chahave daam kon, sugra sahib ka naam.

The language used by Pir Sadruddin shows all the grammatical qualities that are seen in Shah Latif and Shah Karim’s poetry but since Pir Sadruddin’s time was 400 years before Shah Latif, one can say that these phrases and principles of grammar were in use even then, but they were confined to spoken language. And when they were applied to poetry, it was noted that the grammatical peculiarities were present in Sindhi language even before Pir Sadruddin’s time and continued not only after him but are still applicable.

(d) The other great accomplishment of Pir Sadruddin is that he assigned a Sindhi script with the name of “Chaleeh akhree” (40 letters) for “Khwajki Sindhi script.” (94) As mentioned earlier Al-Beruni and other Arab scholars have mentioned names of the scripts used for Sindhi language. It is the excellence of Pir Sadruddin that he brought about some technical modifications in the already existing “Luhanko”Sindhi script for his newly converted Muslim Ismaili disciples (Khwajas) making it harmonious with Arabic by adding some appropriate letters. He had asked his disciples to follow that script named as Chaleeh Akhree or Khwajki Sindhi Alphabet. The reason Pir Sadruddin chose the Luhanko Sindhi script for his disciples was that the majority of his disciples who had recently converted were Luhanas, who were already using the Luhanka script. (95)

Not only did Pir Sadruddin assign this script for his new Muslims (Ismaili Khwajas) but he trained them by writing Ginans about religious principles in addition to worldly education, arithmetics, accounting, book keeping etc. By bringing about the following changes and additions in the Luhanka script, he named it Chaleeh Akhree or Khwajka Akhar:

• There was no system of diacritical marks in Luhanko script, he added them to it and gave it an academic touch.
• There was no sign for affricates and compound sounds like ‘dr’, ‘tr’, ‘ksh’, and ‘gun’ in the Lohanko Pir Sadruddin formed new signs for these affricates and compound sounds.
• Lohanko script did not have letters for Arabic sounds like ’ف‘، ’ق‘، ’ز‘، ’غ‘ and .’خ‘، ’ص‘، ’ض‘، ’ط‘، ’ظ‘ For such sounds, Pir Sadruddin made addition to ‘Khawajka Script’ and invented new letters; Like:

= خ       = ع =ڏ = ز       = ف

• He prepared a complete representation of the 40 letter script according to the phonetic values (pl. see page 39 of the 4^th edition of Sindhi Sooratkhati).

After these modifications and additions, hundreds of books were written in this script.

Khwajko script was not only used for religious books but also for literature, history, arithmetics, accounting, trade and commerce, and philosophy. A huge cache of material written in this script from 15^th and 16^th centuries are available in the British library in London. Since this script was based on 40 letters, it was called Chaleeh Akhree, but in Mumbai, Kachh, Gujrat, Kathiawar and Africa, this script is called Sindhi.

(e) Pir Satgur Noor in the 11^th, Pir Shams in the 12^th and Pir Shahbuddin and his son Pir Sadruddin in the 13^th century explained the principles of religion through Ginans and prayers written in prose in Sindhi (Larri), Hindi, Seraiki, Gujrati, and Multani languages.

This narrative proves that the teaching of religious affairs started by the Buddhists, was continued by the Ismaili preachers. The teaching material prepared by them has been given in the next few pages. This proves that with the help of the poetry of the Ismaili preachers and Pirs in the 11^th century, Sindhi language had acquired an expanse and richness in vocabulary and literary treasure of words that it was possible to explain the concepts of Sufism, mysticism and religious tenets of Islam in the form of poetry as well as prose. The Pirs wrote on various subjects in addition to religious matters, like social conditions and various professions of weavers, cloth merchants, sailors, yogis, fishermen, goldsmiths, physicians etc. They used various poetic figures like symbols, metaphors, similes, phrases, idioms and proverbs to explain these subjects. For example, this famous Ginan of Pir Sadruddin deserves to be noted:

اُٿي الله نه گھُرين بندا، تون ستين سڄِي رات

نڪا جھوري جِيو جي (ٻانها)، نڪو سَمر ساٿ

شاهه جو مڃيئڙو تني کي، جيڪي صبوحڙي جاڳن.

uthi Allah na ghureen banda, toon suten saji raat

naka jhore jeeva je (banha), nako samara saath,

shah jo manjeeaṛo tine khe, jeke subohaṛi jagan.

This verse of the Ginan shows that all the words are from the Sindhi language.

The second verse of the same Ginan says:

صبوحڙي نه جاڳن، تِن کي حورون نه ڏينِ هَٿَ

سي هاءِ هاءِ ڪندا، هَٿ هڻندا، جيئن هاريءَ وڃائي وَٽَ

شاهه جو مڃيئڙو.....

subohaṛi na jagan, tin khen hooron na diyan hatha,

se hai hai kanda, hatha haṇanda, jiyan hari-a vinjaye vata

shah jo manjiaṛo……..

An analysis of the grammar of Sindhi language used in this verse follows:

Jaaggani: Inflexion of the aorist of the verb ‘Jaagg’ shows the pattern of grammar.

Deeni: is an example of the aorist of verb ‘De’.

Similarly ‘hai hai kanda’ and ‘hath hanhanda’ show example of inflexion in future tense of compound verb.

Vinjaee: is an example of inflexion of verb vinjay, in the past tense and pronoun in the third person singular.

In addition to the infinitives jagaiṇ (to wake up), karaṇ (to do), vinjayaṇ (to lose), haṇaṇ (to strike), diyaṇ (to give), etc. the other phrases used in this verse are as under:

‘hath diyaṇ, ‘ hai hai karaṇ’, ‘ hath karaiṇ’, wata vinjayaṇ etc. Similarly the 3^rd verse of this poem is full of interesting things. For example:

ٻانها، تونجو تڪيو، ڪنڊن ۾ ڪيو

جڏين، سچاڻو سور ڪَئِين، تڏين سمريو

شاهه جو مڃيئڙو.......

banha, tonjo takyo, kandan men kayo

jaden, sachaṇo soor kayeen, taden samryo

shah jo manjiyaṛo….

This verse is written entirely in Larri dialect. Therefore the forms like ‘jadeen’, ‘toonjo’, kaeen, tadeen etc. are also important from the aspect of Sindhi grammar.

Similarly the 2^nd Ginan of Pir Sadruddin is also full of sufistic explanations and guide lines. In this Ginan, sailors, fishermen, boatmen, rivers and their banks have been used as metaphors. For example:

ڀائُرَ ڀاڱا مَ ٽڙو (آئين)، مَ ٻوليو اَڙَپ

bhaura bhanġa ma taṛo (ayin), ma bolyo adap

The complete Ginan has been quoted in the chapter on Samas so it is not reproduced here.

The language of this Ginan is Kachhi and Larri (Sindhi). The following words in the above said verse are important for the analysis of Kachhi and Sindhi languages. For example:

ڀائُرَ، ٽڙو، آئِين، مَ، اَڙَپَ، گَڊ (ڳڙهه)، تُرهو، وڻج، جوکو، جيوَ، مِٽَ، وَل، وڇوٽي، ڌوڙ، تڙ، وڻجارڙا، هَرُوئڙو، وَکَرڙي، ساٿڙو، ڪيڙيون، ڪَڙوي، ڪچي، پڪي، چکي، ڪريج، ڌُوتئين.

bhāura, taṛo, āeen, ma, aṛapa, gadu (gaṛhu), turho, vaṇaj, jokho, jīva, mita, wal, wichhotī, dhooṛ, taṛ, waṇjāraṛaā, harűaṛo, wakharṛī, sāthṛo, kaiṛyūn, kaṛvi, kachī, pakī, chakhī, karīj, dhűtaīn.

In the above said words, in addition to the different types of pronouns, adjectives, diminutive nouns and abstract verbs, the following words have been used as postpositions, compound verbs, conjunctions, adverb, and possessive prepositions and particle etc. For example:

Compound Verbs:

تولي ڏِين، ٻُڏي ساسائين (سهسائين)، نيئِي دريندَءِ، تاڻي ٻڌو، سڏ ڪندي، ساري ڏيج

tole diyan, budi sasayin (sahsayin), niye dreendaye, taṇe budho, sad kandi, sare dij.

Imperative (honour): dhotaij  ڌوتائج

Conjunction: taa  تا

Adverb: na, ma, mathan, mathe, jaden  نه، مَ، مٿان، مٿي، جڏين

Preposition: te, men  تي، ۾

Participle:  mateendaṛa  مٽيندڙا

Similarly several examples of pronominal suffixes added to verbs can be seen.

dhotayeen ڌوتيئين, dareendaye دريندَءِ, adayeen اَڏائيين, sanbhareen سنڀاريين, payeen .پائيين

18- An analysis of the increase in the vocabulary of language in this era shows that there were Pathshaalas for learning Sindhi language. For this learning of language, analysis of the Sindhi sounds, Sindhi phonetics, the division of sounds on the basis of their pronunciation, and the script for writing these sounds were considered. The phonetic structure of language and the principles of making words according to the sounds, i.e. phonetics, and the rules governing it, like monosyllabic words, bi-syllabic, tri-syllabic and tetra-syllabic words were also taught. And in this way the children were, not only taught the phonetic system of words through syllabic arrangement but at the same time gradually their word-power (vocabulary) also increased.

These children were also taught the principles of grammar, laws of morphology, ways to use the words in sentences, formation of words, their formatting, in addition to the gender, singulars and plurals, aspirates and laws of inflection of verbs and pronominal suffixes.

For teaching mother tongue they were taught principles of the formation of words according to their classes, but these principles were put in their syllabus as well. Initially they were taught the ‘Baar Bboodh’ i.e. Nursery rhymes, followed by ‘Pehli Kitab’ (first book), then ‘Beeji Kitab’ (second book), ‘Treeji Kitab’ (third book) and then the ‘Chothi Kitab’ (fourth book). They were taught grammar as well.

19- In the Soomra period, the name of a distinguished woman ‘Mai Murkhaan’ is also found. Her name is important for understanding the literary and linguistic aspect of Sindhi Language. This saintly woman lived in Maji region of ‘Run of Kachh’; the boundaries of Maji region were adjacent to the ‘tapo Chor Hadee’, an old taluka of Badin district. Presently this region is included in the Rann of Kachh. According to Mr. Muhammad Soomar Shaikh, Mai Markhan passed away around 1300 AD, ten years after Pir Sadruddin was born. This means that she had lived her life before the Pir and her poetic works are also older than that of Pir Sadruddin. (96)

This lady had a lot of respect for her mentor Shaikh Karhayo Bhāndarī. The poetry she wrote in his honor is called Peeraṇa. The female disciples of Shaikh Karahyo Bhaandari still recite her Peeraṇas at his shrine with great reverence and respect.

The Peeraṇas composed by Mai Markhan are a priceless treasure for Sindhi language. Two verses from her Peeranas are reproduced below showing the qualities of affection, pensiveness and respect. For example:

1

هيءَ ڪانڊَيرِڙي لَسَ

هيءَ واسَرَڙي وَس

آءٌ کلندي ڪڏندي اچان

ڪرهيل ڏٺم سُک پار ۾

آءٌ کلندي ڪُڏندي اچان

ڀانڊاري ڏٺم سک پار ۾

آءٌ کلندي ڪڏندي اچان

hi-a kanderiṛi lasa

hi- vasaraṛi vasa

aaun khilandi kudande achan

karhel diṭham such paar men

bhandare men such para men

aaun khilandi kudandi achan

2

مريدني تنهنجا، ڏسِ ۾ آوارا ڄاما

شيخ ني تنهنجا ڏيهَّه ۾، کؤنري جا ڄاما

پورڙيون ڪئييم، پير ڀانڊاري

تنهنجو ساٿ سلامت آيو

تنهنجو ٻيڙو کٽي گھر آيو.

muridi tunhja, dasi men awara jama

sheikh ni tunhja deha men, khaunri ja jama

poriṛiyoon kaiyam, pair bhandare

tunhjo saath salamat ayo

tunhjo beṛo khate ghar ayo.

These verses by Mai Markahan are full of wishes, usually seen in the Geech form of poetry. The above quoted verses (Peeranas) contain lines with small sentences made on a rhyming theme where ‘kander-ro’, ‘vaasar-ray’, ‘pooriryoon’ etc. have been used as diminutive nouns. These verses have a similar grammatical format. Pronominal afixes have been used extensively.

            20- Similarly, the language in the poetry of Sumang Charan in the Soomra era provides evidence of the magnificence of language of that era. Some of the examples of Sumang Charan have been quoted by Dr. Nabi Bux Khan Baloch and Prof. Mehram Khan. (97)

            Sumang Charan lived in Kerakot near the border of Sindh and Kachh and was a musician for Jam Lakho in that period. He was a strong opponent of Soomra government and proponent of the Samas. Hameer Soomro had issued orders for his confinement. Sumang pondered and provoked anti-Soomra sentiment and uprising against them. (98) Some of his verses against the Soomras and in praise of the bravery and generosity of Samas are reproduced below. (99) Sumang composed these lines according to the Bol (ٻول) genre and so it would be more appropriately called Sumang Charan’s Bols.

(i) هميرَ کان پيئي، سومرن کان ويئي

هميران پوراهه، راڄ نه ڪندا سُومرا

hameera khan peyi, soomran khan veyi

hameeran porah, raj na kanda soomra

(ii) ستينءَ هو سوجھرو، اٺينءَ ٿي اونداهه

هميراڻي باهه، وسائي ورهين کي

satiyan ho sojhro, aṭhiyan thi oondah

hameeraṇi baha, visaye varhyan khe

(iii) وَڻين جھَليو نه رهي، هوٿيءَ سندو گھاءُ

ڪونه ڀرائيندو ڀاءُ، تنهن سان وجھي مامرو

vaṇen jhalyo na rahe, hothi-a sando ghaau

kona bharaindo bhau, tanh san vijhe mamro

(iv) دَرَ آئي مڱڻي، دانُ سڀڪو ڏي

سپڙ سو ساري، دانُ سڀڪو ڏي

dara aayi manġṇi, danu sabhko de

sapaṛ so sare, danu sabhko de.

            Sumang’s works also include some Gahas that show the structure of Sindhi language of the last years of Soomra reign. One can observe the culture and traditions, circumstances, daily life and history of that period from his Gahas. Following elements of Sumang’s language are worth mentioning:

• Sumang used Sindhi language for picturizing events and characters and has used very apt and appropriate words, phrases and idioms for this purpose.
• He has done remarkably well in finding words that match and fit in particular circumstances. The words he has used to show the courage and bravery of Hothi are so picturesque that one can easily imagine the happenings.
• He has used very pertinent words even for hatred and despise.
• The following examples demand attention from a grammatical point of view.

Hameeran Poorah: The position of Hameeran in this phrase is very interesting. Here Hameeran means ‘since Hameer’. According to grammatical structure of Sindhi language this is an example of the ablative case of formative word.

Hameerani bahi (fire): It is a complex, restructured word.

Vanain: The structure of this word is unique.

Aae: This word form is also seen in Shah Latif’s poetry. ‘Aae’ means “after coming’, and its grammatical position is one of conjunctive participle.      

Jhooprian: This noun is in the oblique case as a postposition has been used at the end.

            (f) Similarly Bhaago Bhaan was also a famous and learned poet of the Soomra period. The language in his poetry is also worth analyzing and pondering upon. For example a couple of composed Gahas are reproduced below.

(i) ٻاٽي ٻاٽي ڏينهڙا، لڳا ڀوُنگر راوَستي

مڙدن اچي مامرو، ٻڌڙو پڳ مٿي

bāte baate dinhaṛa, laga bhoongar ravasti

mardan ache mamro, budhro paga mathe.

(ii) اُڀُ سڀڪنهن اُچو، اُڀَ نه اُچو ڪوءِ

مُئي به مٿي ٿيو، سورهه سر سندوءِ

ubha sabh kenh ucho, ubha na ucho koye

muye bi mathe thiyo, sorahh sar sandoye

            According to Prof. Mehram Khan’s opinion, the epic story of war between Allaudin and Soomras from where these dohas have been selected, are in the form of Gahas, where he (Bhago Bhaan) has sung praise of the bravery of Soomra chieftains in addition to the bravery of Abro Samo. Prof. Mehram Khan believes that this epic was composed by Bhago Bhan. He writes:

“Here Bhag Faqeer appears to be a reincarnated figure of Chandr Bardai. He sang Dodal Raso in praise of Dodal Veer on the pattern of Prithvi Raj Rasa which is a great war story.” (100)

            (g) Bhago Bhan’s language appears to be quite old. In this regard, Dr. Baloch writes:

“Some Gahas and verses from the epic story about the wars, written in praise of Soomra rulers and later the Sama chiefs have been found. Most of that poetry appears to belong to later years, but the language of some of the Gahas is such that the historic refrences render it quite old and it is quite possible that the Gahas belong to the Soomra rule and have reached us as continued oral history.” (101)

            In addition to the names of Soomra rulers, chiefs and poets, there are names of other castes that also point to the historical existence of social linguistic and cultural trends of Sindh. For example the following names are worth mentioning:

Soomro, Bhoongar, Dodo, Bhagul, Nangar, Doongar, Khafeef, Hemo, Bai, Phatoo, Chanesar, Hamio, Amro, SUmang, Hothi, Sanghaar, Spaarsh, Bhago, Bhan, Charan, Sama, Bhatt and Jajik etc.

            21- Ancient Sindhi prose and the ancient language used:

(a) It has been mentioned with reference to Al-Beruni that in the Soomra period the custom of presenting quotes, proverbs, idioms and sutras was quite common. Al-Beruni writes:

“Scholars and wise men preferred to write poetic prose on rhyming themes. Some of the books of that period are written on a rhyming pattern because it made these saloks, sutras and rhymes easy to memorize. Therefore in the olden days, scientific subjects like that of Archimedes and other topics like astronomy and their narration were done in a poetic prose. And this way, as mentioned already, it was easier to reproduce and memorize.” (102)

            Al-Beruni’s opinion reiterates Bherumal’s claim mentioned before. He writes:

“After the Vedas, Sanskrit mostly contains sutras therefore it is called Sanskrit of the Sutra period. Sutra is the same word whose pronunciation in Sindhi is ‘sutu’ (cotton thread). In the medieval period longer statements were summarized in a few words like beads in a string. The main quality of the sutras is ‘brevity’. Most of the Sindhi idioms )pahakas) are formed on the pattern of sutras.

jaṛi-a khe jas جڙيءَ کي جس = Appreciate what is done.

kando so paindo  ڪندو سو پائيندو = you reap what you sow.

jehṛi karṇi tehṛi bharṇi جھڙي ڪرڻي تهڙي ڀرڻي  = you reap what you sow.

One can see that despite having minimum number of words, they contain wisdom.

Most sutras have certain principles explained in them. The Dharmi (religious) sutras define religious principles while Gireh sutras explain household rules. This way the sutras mean a principle, rule or point that is present in fewer but meaningful words.” (103)

(b) This type of prose was common in Sindhi language before the advent of Islam. In the Soomra era, the prayers composed by Ismaili preachers are in poetic prose and the sayings of the saints and wise men of that period and their sayings, bol, idioms, riddles and puzzles were presented in sutras, ornamental prose or rhyming notes.

For examples it is mentioned in my book ‘Sindhi Nasar ji Tareekh’ (The Histroy of Sindhi Prose) that:

“Right from the period when Sindhi poetic literature of Ismaili preachers was composed, the Ismaili Jamat passed it from generation to generations. All this material was composed in rhyming prose.

The Ismaili elders used the same old method for their newly converted Ismaili disciples for memorizing the religious literature in prose, prayers and wise quotes. They composed them in local languages in rhyming prose so that even elderly folks could easily memorize them. Some of these prayers are as under:

(i) يا شاهه! حق تون، پاڪ تون، دانا تون، بينا تون،

اول تون، آخر تون، ظاهر تون، باطن تون، پيدا تون

پناهه تون............................................................الخ

ya Shah! Haq toon, paak toon, dana toon, beena toon,

awal toon, aakhir toon, zahir toon, batin toon, paida toon,

panah toon………………………………………..alakh

(ii) يا شاهه! اُتر، پورب، دڪشڻ، پشچم،

چار ڏسيون، چار اَوَڏسيون، چار کاڻِيون، چارواڻيون،

چار ڪتاب، چار ڪَلپَ، چار جڳ، ويد ...... الخ (104)

ya Shah! Utar, poorab, dakshaṇ, pashchim,

chaar dasyoon, chaar awadasyoon, chaar khaṇyoon, chaar vaṇyoon,

chaar kitab, chaar kalap, chaar juga, veda………………..alakh

            These and similar other prayers are composed in easy and rhyming prose. This way a scrutiny of Sindhi poetry reveals the historic treasure, grammatical structure, idioms, riddles, puzzles in addition to rare and wonderful works, similarly the language used in Sindhi prose also needs to be discussed and studied in detail. One can say with reference to Al-Beruni that the system of sutras in Sindhi is quite ancient; the proof of which should be searched in Brahm Gupt and books by other experts.

(c) In addition to the prayers composed by the Ismaili Pirs mentioned above, the other books of that period can be explored for words of wisdom, sayings, idioms, and sutras. In this context a saying in Sindhi language has been found that lifts the veil from the literary history, especially of the chapter of Sindhi prose of the Soomra period. That saying is as under:

”يا شيخ لو قا، دين دنيا جا ڏؤنڪا“

“ya sheikh lo qa, deen dunya ja daunka”

This saying has been mentioned in my book لاڙ جي ادبي ۽ ثقافتي تاريخ (The Literary and Cultural Hsitroy of Larr). (105) This saying is related to Syed Shahabuddin Shah alias Shah Loqa who was son of Syed Jameeul Shah Daataar (1244 Ad, 642 H) whose tomb is located in front and to the west of the shrine of Pir Putho.

Similarly another saying is:

”ببرڪت پير پٺا، هڪ مُئا هڪ ٽٺا“

“babarkat pair puṭha, hik muaa hik tuta”

Like the earlier mentioned saying, this too is on a rhyming pattern. According to Mr. Bherumal, this can also be taken as an example of sutra. The words ‘Patha’ and ‘Tatha’ are examples of rhyming and both these words are anagrams as well.

(d) When the ‘Gahas’, ‘dohas’ and ‘sorathas’ of the Soomra era are studied, it becomes known that the lines have many such signs where the syntactical structure resembles the structure of prose. Some examples of the prose structure with relation to syntax are as under:

ٻين سڀني ڏنيون، ڏني نه ڏونگر راءِ

اڻ ڏٺين آڏو ٿئي، ڏٺيون ڏئي ڪياءِ!

لوڙهيو لَڪَ مٿاءِ، تنهن مٿيري موٽائيون.

biyan sabhni dinyoon, dini na doongara raye

aṇa diṭhen ado thiye, dithyoon diye kyae!

loṛhyo laka mathae, tenh mathere motaiyoon.

The following signs of the lines of this Gaha are in prose structure (106):

(i) biyan sabhni dinyoon (ٻين سڀني ڏنيون)

(ii) tenh mathere motaiyoon (تنهن مٿيري موٽائيون)

(iii) aṇa diṭhen ado thiye (اَڻَ ڏٺيين آڏو ٿئي)

Not only the sentences have prose structure, but the following grammatical forms are also visible in the above quoted Gaha like:

• The transformative case of the ordinal numerals of an adjective.

• Compound and complex (transformed) words have been used in this Gaha:

Complex Word: aṇ-dithyain (unseen) with prefix ‘aṇ’, and Matheri.

Compound word: Doongar Rai

• Co-relative pronoun: tenh ( تنهن )

Similarly sentences of prose are also found in the following Gah:

آڙ آڏي هئي اَبڙي، نَوڇَليون ڏهه لَکَ

گھوڙي ڪنڌ نه ڦيريو، ماري او خلق

aaṛa adi hui abre, nao chhaliyoon dah lakh

ghoray kandh na pheryo, mare o khalq

            The sentence “ghoray kandh na pheryo” (meaning the horse did not look back) is in prose, this shows that there was a trend of using such sentences in the language of that period, having both the subject and the object.

This doha proves that Sindhi language had numerals for trade and commerce, measures, counts and ordinal numbers. For example, “Nao chaliyoon dah lakh”; this phrase proves that the numbers for nao (9), dah (10), lakh (100,000) and chaliyoon were in use those days.

It was mentioned earlier that Al-Beruni has also given the count starting from number 1. This doha also tells us that certain collective nouns were used for people, birds, animals or for congregations etc. The word Khalaq (خلق) has been used for a gathering of people. The present Sindhi also uses this word in a similar meaning.

22- Linguistic analysis of language of the Soomra period:

The developments that Sindhi language achieved over the years till reaching the Sama period are presented as under:

• Sindhi language was the customary language of the Sindhi society.
• This language was also used for dealing with trade and commerce, accounting, book-keeping, daily records, ledgers and other business communications like registers, crop agreements and trading.
• It was a language for Sindhi folk literature, Sindhi oral history, genres of Chhand like Salok, Sutras, Bol, Riddles, Sayings, and of other composed genres of singing like Ginan, Kafi, Jhoolno and common traditional literature. In this context, Dohas, Ginans, Soratha, Gaha, Dithoon and Bahaguṇan ja Bol were prevalent at that time.
• The patterns of writing based on rhyming and prose like compositions of prayers, sutras, rhymes, riddles, ledgers and commercial book keeping records were in vogue.
• Sindhi language was a medium of preaching mystic way of life and also of general religious teachings.
• The concepts, principles and rules for phonetics, grammar, medicine, geography, linguistics, moral values, religious training was written in Sindhi language.
• Sindhi language was written in various scripts e.g. Ardhanagri, Devnagri, Lohanki, Khwajki, Memonki, Bhatia, Khudavadi, Sakhroo, Vangaar, Thatta, Malvari and Saindhui, samples of these scripts have been found from the ruins of Bhambhore and Brahamanabad.

23-   The spread and expanse of Sindhi language:

Scrutiny of the education and literary collections from the Soomra period reveals the following information about Sindhi language:

• After the Arab conquest, Soomra rule was the first indigenous government, the stability of which resulted in increasing the influence of Soomra rule on the borders of Sindh, southeast Sindh, Kachh, Kathiawar. Since Sindhi was the language of the rulers of the state, it was spread to all these regions.
• Al-Beruni’s narratives show that Sindh had a purely indigenous Sindhi atmosphere and this got further promotion during the Soomra era. In the courts of the Soomra rulers and other chiefs, discussions about the local stories, love dramas, and other important events were conducted in their mother-tongue i.e. Sindhi language. (107)
• According to Al-Beruni, local languages were used for folk stories told on festive days and congregations, games etc.
• The use of Arabic language for official use stopped with the end of the Arab rule and Persian took its place, but even then the language of the rulers and ordinary citizens was Sindhi. Even when the Arabic language was used in offices during the Arab era, ordinary people and traders of Arab and Sindhi origin used to communicate in Sindhi language.
• Sindhi language was also systematically written and therefore different scripts were introduced as mentioned earlier.
• Soomra period was one of a national awakening, where patriotism, prowess, bravery and gallantry were praised in the form of Gahas. Epics and stories of valour were written in Sindhi language.
• The Bhatts, Bhaans, Charans, Jajiks, bards and poets were courtiers of the Rajas and chiefs and therefore there is an abundance of poetry of praise and admiration of that period.
• The most important element in the poetry of this era was religious and moral education. Sufism and mysticism had a lot of influence on the society. Sindhi language was also a medium of religious education and preaching and therefore the teachings of the religious leaders and their literary collections were preserved in Sindhi language in Sindh.
• Preachers of different sects of Islam were engaged in their missionary work in Sindhi in that period .Since the Soomras were Ismailis therefore the Ismaili preaching got a better chance to progress and develop in areas of Sindh, Gujrat, Kachh, Kathiawar and Seraiki regions. The Ismaili preachers composed their works in local languages like Sindhi, Gujrati, Kachhi, Kathiawari, Hindi, Multani and Uchki languages. The poetic genre they used preferably for composition of Islamic, Sufitic guidance etc. was named as Ginans. The poetry in Ginans was divided among various subjects.
• The religious clerics and sufi saints employed Sindhi language and other local languages for spreading and preaching the issues of Islamic Shariah, religious education and the principles of Sufism and mysticism.
• The narratives about the bravery of men, epic stories, praise poetry etc. were composed in the form of Gahas.
• The genres of Geech, Gia and Piranas were composed in Sindhi language describing the routine life, local civilization and culture in addition to the feelings of pensiveness, separation from the beloved, pain and desire. Verses for local events, sayings and proverbs were formed in Sindhi language, by means of which light was thrown on the places like Debal Bander, Nasarpur, Joon, Fateh Bagh and Noorani Shareef.
• The subjects of the poetry of those times shows that the Sindhi language had the richness and abundance of literary treasure to express these subjects. Plenty of material is available on the history, geography, culture and traditions and the social conditions of Sindh.
• Sindhi language had acquired the magnificence, expanse and maturity. The use of metaphors, poetic figures, scenic beauty, characterization, symbols, signs and their purposeful usage proves that the language was substantially developed.
• The dialects of the language used in the poetry of those times also invite our attention. The dialect used in Geech and Gahas is Larri, whereas the dialects of Ginans are Larri, Kachhi, Uchki, Multani, Gujrati or Hindi. The Kacchi dialect of Ginans of Pir Shams and Pir Satgur Noor is quite old which was used in every day chores of the common people of that era. There is a major difference in the present Sindhi language and the language of that period, and a gradual and evolutionary study makes this difference clearly apparent.
• Some peculiar points of grammar are also apparent in the language of the Ginans For example:

ست پنٿي تي، جي ست سون رهي

برو نه راکي مَنَ

sat panthi te, je sat son rahe

buro na raakhe mana

• The words tay (تي) and jay (جي) in these lines have been used as adverb of time. Similarly the word soon has been used as a postposition. The first two words i.e. tay and jay can be easily traced some 400 years later in the poetry of Shah Latif in the same pattern. For example:

(i) achan aataṇ varyoon, taana dinam te (اچن آتڻ واريون، طعنا ڏِينمِ تي)

(ii) te laye dhaṇi-a dhua, je laye waya wehdat dadji (تي لاءِ ڌڻيءَ ڌُئا، جي لاءِ ويا وحدت گڏجي)

(iii) taṛ niharyan te, munhja bandar veṛa je (تڙ نهاريان تي، منهنجا بندر ويڙَا جي)

• These examples prove that the grammar of the Soomra period was steadily evolving and progressing.

The Ismaili Pirs used the prepostition Soon instead of Saan in their Ginans. It is possible that 1000 or 800 years back, the postposition Soon was commonly used instead of Saan. Plenty of examples of usage of Soon are seen in the ancient poets of Urdu language also, like Wali Deccani and his contemporaries. (108) For example:

مت غصہ کے شعلوں سوں، جلتے کو جلاتی جا

ٹک مہر کے پانی سوں، یہ آگ بجھاتی جا

• The bricks found from the ruins of Bhambhore and Brahamanabad contain a script which is still in vogue with the Khwaja Ismaili community. It proves that the Hindu Luhanas who converted to Islam, having been impressed by the preaching of Syedna Pir Sadruddin, had that Lohanka script in use in those times. After these Lohanas accepted Islam, the preacher Pir Sadruddin did not stop them from using their own script (Lohanka script) for their daily chores, record keeping of business and trade, commercial communiqués, ledgers, agreements etc, as has been mentioned before. It is a remarkable achievement of Pir Sadruddin that he brought new changes and improvement in the said script; and he gave this script an academic touch by addition of maatras (diacritical marks) and letters and by forming the phonetic alphabetic chart. Pir Sadruddin named this script as Khwajki Sindhi Alphabet or Chaleeh Akhree which is famous in the world as Sindhi letters in the Khwaja community (Jamaat).
• The researcher Al-Beruni has also mentioned schools known as Pāthshālas; and about the system of writing on wooden strips and on leaves of trees. Al-Beruni has also mentioned the causes for invention of this art.
• According to Al-Beruni, the people of Sindh called books as Pothi or Pustak and letters as Akshars. He has also mentioned the style of writing i.e. script.
• In addition to Al-Beruni, other tourists and travellers have also given different names for the different scripts used for Sindhi language.

            After studying this entire material, one can say that upto the period of Soomra rule, Sindhi was a language with substance and superb qualities and was an integral part of the Sindhi society.

References

• Abu Zafar Nadvi: Tareekh-e-Sindh, Azam Garh, Matba Marif, 1947, pp270
• For the said letter by Fatimid Caliph and Imam Al-Hakim Bil Amrallah and about the Ismaili Rule in Mansoorah, please refer to the article in Mehran journal number (1), 1989 titled The Ismaili Movement in Mansoorah.
• Allana, Dr. Ghulam Ali; Article: Ismaili rule in Mansoorah and The Ismaili Movement in Sindh, Quarterly Mehran no 1, 1989.
• Panwhar M.H., Chronological Dictionary of Sindh”, an article published in Sindh Quarterly, Vil IV, No 4, 1976, p. 105
• Abu Zafar Nadvi: Tareekh-e-Sindh, Azam Garh, Matba Marif, 1947, p. 271.
• Molai Sheedai: “Jannatul Sindh”’ Hyderabad, Sindhi Adabi Board, p 47
• Syed Suleman Nadvi: “Arab-o-Hind kay Taluqat”, Allahabad, Hindustan Academy, UP, 1930 p 351
• Panwhar M.H., Chronological Dictionary of Sindh”, Op. Cit. p 102
• Ali Sher Qane: “Tuhfatul Ikram”, edited by Syed Hisamuddin Shah Rashdi, Sindhi Adabi Board, p 624.
• Mir Masoom Bakhri: “Tareekh-e-Masoomi”’ Hyderabad, Sindhi Adabi Board, p 60.
• Tabqat Nasry, 1st edition, p 234
• Mir Masoom Bakhri: “Tareekh-e-Masoomi”’ Hyderabad, Sindhi Adabi Board, p 60.
• Sachau, C Dr:, Op. Cit. Vol I, preface xxxiv
• , Vol I, p 426 & Vol II, pp 11-12 and 498.
• , Vol I, Op. Cit., p 25.
• Baloch, Nabi Bux Khan, Dr: “History of Sindhi Language and Literature”’ 3rd edition, p 83
• Ibid, p 84
• The year of birth of Al-Beruni has been said to be 973 and his year of death as 1048, and by that account he would have written the book before 1050-1051: it is possible that it was published in 1050-1051
• Baloch, Nabi Bux Khan, Dr: “History of Sindhi Language and literature”’ 3rd edition, p 84
• Ibid , p 85
• Ibid
• Ibid, pp 70 & 71
• Ibid, p 73
• Sachau, C Dr: Op. Cit., Vol I, p 182
• Ibid, p 183
• Ibid, Op. Cit Vol I , p 183
• Ibid, p 238
• Bherumal Advani: “Histroy of Sindhi Language” , Hyderabad, Sindhi Adabi Board, 1956, p 32
• Agha Salim: “Baba Farid Ganj Shakar ja Doha”, Jamshoro, Institute of Sindhology, 1990. P 13. Please also refer to Nabi Bux Khan Baloch Dr: “History of Sindhi Language and literature”’ 3rd edition p 130
• Sehr Imdad: “Gujharat’’, Article. Keenjhar journal, No. 3, Sindhi Department, Sindh University, 1989, p 121
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Sachau E.C Dr: Op. Cit. Vol I, p 185
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid p 215
• Ibid, p 233
• Ibid
• Ibid p 238
• Ibid, p 235 & 237
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Also pronounced as Yaro in Larr
• Also pronounced as Baaro in Larr
• Also pronounced as Tero in Larr
• Also pronounced as Choddo in Larr
• Sacahu, C Dr, Op. Cit, Vol I, p 216
• The measure of “Dhaggo” was also used in Larr, for measuring molasses. two pots full of new molasses (each pot weighed two and a half maunds) were equal to one dhagga, i.e. one dhaggi is equal to 5 maunds.
• Bherumal Advani: Histroy of Sindhi Language” , Hyderabad, Sindhi Adabi Board, reference given, p 13
• Al-Fazari has also used the word “Pala.”
• Sachau, E.C D., Op. Cit., Vol II p 27
• Ibid, Vol I, p 285-6
• Ibid Vol I, p 229
• p 228
• Ibid, p 230
• Sachau, E.C D., Op. Cit., Vol, p 230-2
• Sachau, E.C D., Op. Cit., Vol II, p 232
• Sachau, E.C D., Op. Cit., Vol II, p 345
• Ibid, p 246
• Sibte Hassan: “Pakistan Main Tehzeeb ka Irtiqa” Vth edition, Maktzaba Daniyal, p 164
• Baloch, Nabi Bux Khan, Dr: “History of Sindhi Language and literature”’ 3rd edition,p 125
• Baloch, Nabi Bux Khan, Dr: “History of Sindhi Language and literature”’ 3rd edition, p 133
• Bishari Muqadasee: Reference given, pp 331 & 386
• Ibn Aseeba: Urdu translation, 1st edition, p 341
• Syed Suleman Nadvi: “Arab-o- Hind kay Taluqat”, p 341
• Ibn-e- Batuta: “Rehla Ibn Batuta”, Urdu translation, 2nd edition, p 264
• G Sir: “Linguistic Survey of India”, Vol I, part I, 1927, p 124
• Sibte Hasan: “Pakistan Main Tehzeeb ka Irtiqa”, p 62
• Muhammad Hasan Dr: “Hindi Adab ki Tareekh” Reference given, p 17
• Ghulam Ali Dr: Article; “The Dialects of Sindhi Language and their Study”, Published in Adabi Osar, Hyderabad, Zeb Adabi markaz, pp 134-166
• Muhammad Hasan Dr: Reference given, pp 17
• Ghulam Ali, Dr: Article, “Sindhi Literature of the Soomra period”, Nain Zindagi, February 1972, p 25
• Muhammad Hasan Dr: p 17
• C S: Muslim Communities in Gujrat, London, Asia Publishing House, 1963, p 57. Pl also refer to Allana. G.Ali: “Larr ji Adabi ain Saqafati Tareekh.” Jamshoro, Institute of Sindhology, p 302
• Sibte Hassan: Ref given, p 191
• Allana, Dr. Ghulam Ali; Article: Ismaili rule in Mansoorah and The Ismaili Movement in Sindh”, Quarterly Mehran no 1, 1989.pp 36, 38, 44 , 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52.. Pl also see Abbott, J: Sindh, London, OUP 1924, p 8 and Zafar Nadvi: Tareekh-e-Sindh, Matbooat Azam Garh, 1947, p 287
• Allana, Dr. Ghulam Ali; Article: Ismaili rule in Mansoorah and The Ismaili Movement in Sindh”, Quarterly Mehran no 1, 1989.pp 50, 54
• Sibte Hassan: Ref given, p 191
• C S: Muslim Communities in Gujrat, Op. Cit., p 57
• Agha Salim: “Baba Farid Ganj Shakar ja Doha” , Jamshoro, Institute of Sindhology, 1990, p 13
• Ibid, p 13
• Ibid
• Mohan Singh, Dr: Kafiaan Shah Hussain, Lahore, Majlis Shah Hussain, 1966, p 76
• Grami, Ghulam Muhammad: Quarterly Mehran, 1 ( 2, 1960 A note as an editor, for the article “Poetry in the period of Soomra rule) p 148
• Abdul Jabbar Junejo, Dr: Article, “Qadeem Sindhi Sher Tay Hik Nazar”, Sookhrri, Magazine of Sindhi Dept, 1963, pp 67 & 78
• Lashari, Rasheed Ahmad: Shah Latif di Shairi Tay Punjabi da Asar, article, Punjabi Adab, Lahore, 1966, p 11. Pl also see Mohan Singh, Dr: “Kafiaan Shah Hussain”, Lahore, Majlis Shah Hussain, 1966, pp 29, 36, 37, 56, 64 and 67
• Ibid
• Baloch, Nabi Bux Khan, Dr: “Gahan Saan Galhiyoon”, Jamshoro, Sindhi Adabi Board, p 138
• Mehram Khan, Prof: “Qadeem Sindhi Sher-o- Shairi”, Quarterly Mehran, vol 3-4, 1966, p 140
• Mehram Khan Prof: “Sumang Charan”, Quarterly Mehran, p 134
• In this line “Hans J” has a J used for “ai”, this is because of the influence of Gujrati and Kachhi.
• Allana, Ghulam Ali Dr: “Sindhi Sooratkhati”, IVth edition, Hyderabad, Sindhi Language Authority, 1993, p 38
• Ibid
• Allana Ghulam Ali Dr: “Soomran jay Daur ji Sindhi Shairi”, Nain Zindagi, March 1972, p 43
• Mehram Khan Prof: “Qadeem Sindhi Sher-o- Shairi”, Quarterly Mehran, vol 3-4, 1966, p 140
• Ibid, Quarterly Mehran, 1-2, 1966, pp 131-130
• Ibid
• Ibid p 40
• Baloch, Nabi Buix Khan, Dr: “Sindhi Boli ain Adab ji Tareekh”, 3rd edition, p 138
• Sachau e C Dr: Op. Cit. Vol I, 5.52
• Bherumal Advani: Sindhi Boli”, p 54
• Allana Ghulam Ali, Dr: “Sindhi Nasur ji Tareekh”, 2nd edition, Hyderabad, Zeb Adabi Markaz, 1977, p 4
• Allana Ghulam Ali, Dr: “Larr ji Adabi ain Saqafati Tareekh, Jamshoro, Institute of Sindhology, 1977, p 187
• Ibid p 188
• Baloch, Nabi Buix Khan, Dr: “Sindhi Boli ain Adab ji Tareekh”, reference given.

Mohiuddin Zor: “Hindustani Lisaniat”, 1061, p 43