Chapter Six The Superior Standard of Sindhi language

Chapter Six

The Superior Standard of Sindhi language

(The period of indigenous Sindhi rulers (Samas) and foreign rulers (Arghuns and Tarkhans) (1351- 1551 AD)

The Sindhi language became better than ever in the times of Samas and Arghuns and owing to the progress in relations with Punjab and the Seraiki belt, Rajasthan and Gujrat, the spread of Sindhi language also progressed. The details of these relations are as under:

1. The relation of Seraiki with Sindhi:

(a) It shall be observed in this chapter as to how old the relations between Sindhi and Seraiki languages are? It has been mentioned earlier that Sindhi and Lahandi are branches or off shoots of Saindhui which was the indigenous and ancient language of the Indus Valley, and therefore Sindhi and Seraiki have a lot of resemblance with each other.

It has been proved by examples in the chapter 5 that the literary relations between Sindhi and Seraiki languages in the Soomra period can be seen in the poetry of Baba Farid Ganj Shakar. Mr. Agha Salim writes in this regard:

(i) “Baba Farid’s poetry has left an invaluable imprint on Sindhi poetry.”

(ii) “Baba Farid composed poetry in Sindhi language in addition to Seraiki which is necessary for the study of history and progress of Sindhi language.” (1)

He further says:

“The study of Baba Farid’s poetry reveals that his poetry has left an invaluable imprint on Sindhi poetry and I think that the symbols of ‘Kangal’ and ‘Hanj’ have come in Sindhi poetry through his works. The poetry of Shah Latif and Kazi Kadan also shows a clear influence of Baba Farid’s poetry.” (2)

This has been described with the help of examples in chapter 5. Dr. Baloch has also described the same point from pages 129 to 133 of the 3rd edition of his book “Sindhi Boli ain Adab ji Tareeekh.” (3)

(b) At the same time, the frequent travels of Ismaili preachers to the Seraiki belt of Multan and Uch Shareef and upto Larr in Sindh, and the poetry composed by them for their disciples in these languages shows that the people of Sindh were quite familiar with Seraiki language. Similarly there was widespread influence of the teachings of Hazrat Ghous Bahauddin Zakariya Multani in Sindh and many of his disciples used to travel to Multan.

Mr. Agha Salim has quoted the following examples as evidence of influence of Baba Farid on Kazi Kadan:

Baba Fareed:

فريدا! ڏکان سيتي ڏينهن گيا، سوالان سيتي رات

کڙا پڪاري پاتڻي، ٻيڙا ڪپر وات

fareeda! dukhan sete dinh gaya, sawalan sete raat

khaṛa pukare patiṇi, beṛa kapar waat

Kazi Kadan:

ڏينهن لٿا، سنجھا پئي، اڳئون آئي رات

کڙا پڪاري پاتڻي، ٻيڙا ڪپر وات

dinh latha, sanjha payi, agaun aayi raat

khaṛa pukare patiṇi, beṛa kapar waat

            Baba Farieed:

فريدا! اِڪ وها جين لوڻ، ٻيا ڪستور جھنگ چوي،

ٻاهر لاءِ صابوڻ، اندر اجا نه ٿيوي

fareeda! ik wiha jeen looṇ, biya kastoor jhang chawe,

bahar laye sabooṇ, andar uja na thive

            Kazi Kadan:

هٽ وِها جيئن لوڻ، ڪستوري جھنگئن گھري

سچان دي صابوڻ، اندر اڇا ڪري

hat viha jiyan looṇ, kastoori jhangaun ghure

sachan di sabooṇ, andar achha kare (4)

Mr. Agha Salim writes about the relationship of Sindhi and Seraiki:

“It appears that at a certain stage, some form of Seraiki was in use in the entire Punjab and then gradually some internal language started affecting and pushing away Seraiki. When it had affected Seraiki significantly, because of its influence Punjabi language came into being, and Seraiki language was so greatly influenced by this internal language that it could not sustain its original status. I think that the form of Seraiki common in the entire Punjab had so much resemblance with Sindhi that it was difficult to differentiate between them. At one time there was a similar resemblance between the Kakia Pishachi of Multan and the Virachid Pishachi of Sindh. Therefore the great grammarian of Prakrit named Markandia had said that the Pishachi of Sindh is just like the Kakia Pishachi. The Arab tourists could not differentiate between the languages of Multan and Sindh and indeed Masoodi Astakhri and Ibn Hawakul have termed the languages of Sindh and Multan as one. And gradually under the influence of this internal (indigenous) language and by breaking away from Sindhi, Seraiki assumed a different shape. One finds from the Dohas of Baba Farid that even in that period, Sindhi and Seraiki had a lot of similarities.” (5)

Describing the history of ancient relations of Sindhi and Seraiki, Dr. Baloch writes:

“Initially during the times of Rai and Brahman dynasties and then in the Arab period, Sindh and Multan remained under one political power for a long time, the center of which was Sindh (initially Aror and later Mansoorah). As a result of this political unity, there started the relations of the languages of Sindh and Multan. For some time in the Soomra period Multan and the southern part of Multan province (present Bahawalpur area) were part of Sindh, which also helped the relations between Sindhi and Seraiki grow. Also in the Soomra period, the famous saint of Suharwardi following, Ghous Bahauddin Zakria’s preaching had a great effect in Sindh and especially his followers from the Sama clan became his disciples; and hundreds of them used to visit this saint at Multan in his life and even after, almost every year.” (6)

Dr. Baloch writes further in this regard:

“Anyway the Sama rulers as well as the people of Sindh had a spiritual relationship with the saints of Multan and Uch, which strengthened the bond between Sindhi and Seraiki.” (7)

Dr. Baloch further writes:

“As a result of the historic relations, political and social understanding through the centuries, the relationship of Sindhi and Seraiki progressed. Sindhi influenced the language of the area of present Bahawalpur in the south of Multan and a lot of words and phrases from Sindhi entered the local dialect. On the other hand in Sindh, the Sindhi-Seraiki dialect was introduced. In the beginning of the 9^th Hijri century, Seraiki started being written as prose in Sindh and the regions of Bahawalpur, the evidence of which can be seen on bricks and shards found from Bhawalpur and Sindh as under:

سلان سلبند ٿپيان، ڦَڳيان نام نصير،

کُو کڻايان پُتر گانمن دي، اونڙ نام همير،

وقت سڪندر بادشاهه، ملڪ ڌڻي پهلوان،

رعيت راضي ايهه جِهِي، جو ٻُڍا نِت جوان،

هڪ لک سِلان لڳ چُڪيان، ٿيا کو تمام،

تري سؤ ٻوٽي باغ دي، راڌي اونڙ ڄام“ (8)

salan salband thapyan, phagyan naam naseer,

khoo khaṇayan putar ganman de, onaṛ naam hameer,

waqt sikandar badshah, mulk dhaṇi pahalwan,

raiyat raazi aeh jihi, jo buḍha nit javan,

hik lakh silan lag chukiyan, thiya khoo tamam,

tari sau booti baaġh di, raadhi onaṛ jam

2- Like the Soomras, Samas were also indigenous Sindhi rulers. Indeed the Sama period was more important as for as the progress of Sindhi language and literature is concerned. The education and literature developed in this period, resulting in spread of the language. The main reason of the development and progress of Sindhi language and literature was the patronage of these by the indigenous Sama rulers. The scholars were encouraged and honoured. Some of the Sama chiefs were good poets and scholars of Persian language. The brother of the Sama ruler Jam Nando (RIP 1508AD, 914 H) named Jam Ba Yazeed was himself a great scholar. Various good poets and literary people were appointed on prime positions in their courts. As a result of the encouragement by him (Jam Bayazeed), many scholars moved from distant areas and settled in Thatta.” (9)

The Sama ruler Jam Nando was a great scholar and a patron of literary activities. Scholars and saints like Kazi Kadan (1465-1515AD), Kazi Muhammad Uchi, Maulana Ziauddin Rahuthi, Maulana Salahuddin Larri and Syed Murad Shah Sheerazi (1427-1487 AD) were contemporaries of Jam Nando.

(a) The religious preaching in Sindhi language continued in the period of Sama rule. The Ismaili preachers were also engaged in their missionary work. Pir Sadruddin passed away in this very period in 1490 AD. And as has already been mentioned that along with Pir Sadruddin his sons Pir Imam Shah, Pir Hassan Kabiruddin and Pir Tajuddin (Shah Turial- whose tomb is situated near Tando Bago) too were assigned missionary work in Sindh, Punjab, Gujrat and Kathiawar. They tried to spread their message through their Ginans.

(b) The scholars and literary people of this era used Sindhi language for their daily chores in addition to writing poetry and other literary works. From among them the poetry, sayings and proverbs of Kazi Kadan, Syed Murad Ali Shah Sheerazi and Syed Aali Sheerazi have been quoted as examples in the next few pages.

(c) In this era, the relations between Sindh and Gujrat, Kacch, Kathiawar, Rajasthan, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, the mountainous range of Pahari, the Sibbi region, Lasbela and upto Makran, was resulting in spread of Sindhi to these areas. Reciprocally Kachhi, Gujrati, Rajasthani, Balochi and Seraiki languages and their culture had an effect on Sindh including Larr and Sindhi language got the political backing and strength. (10)

The shrines of saints, the inns of wise men and religious people and the gatherings held there became a very effective strong method of progress and spread of Sindhi language. The era saw the progress of gaha, geech in addition to Ginans, and the Sindhi doha and soratha and mixed doha-soratha or soratha-doha genres. In addition to them, saloks, sutras and other rhyming forms also progressed.

3- (a) In Sama period too poetic forms were used to describe the subjects of sufism, love, war and heroism, and the language used by the poets of the time was the same like that of the Soomra period, but it had acquired some different words to throw light on the social and political circumstances, history, geography, religious movements, religious teachings and spiritual connotations. The renowned saint Noah Hothiani and the Mamui faqirs used allegories for describing their beliefs and the conditions prevailing in the country’s political landscape. In the poetry of Mamui faqirs, Syed Ali Sheerazi Sani and Shaikh Hammad, there are names of rivers, lakes, water courses, famous cities, trees, plants and fruits. For example:

هاڪ وهندو هاڪڙو، ڀڄندي ٻنڌ اروڙ،

بهه، مڇي ۽ لوڙهه، سمي ويندا سوکڙي!

haka wahando hakṛo, bhajandi bandha aroor,

biha, machhi ayen lorha, same weenda sookhṛi!

This verse throws light on the cultural and social history of those times. It contains the names of Hakro River, the town of Aror and its protective barriers, in addition to the lotus root, fish and vegetables; so one can say that the words customarily used in that era were used both in prose and poetic genres.

(b) Pir Sadruddin (Ismaili preacher) saw through the first 58 years of the Sama rule. He passed away in 1409 AD. If his poetic works would have been noticed from the beginning by non-Ismaili experts and critics, his works would have been known long ago, and the scholars and critics of Sindh, Gujrat and the Seraiki and Punjabi belt would have been more familiar with his works and that of his successors and would have definitely said that he (Pir Sadruddin) was also one of the greatest poets and saints of the Sama period, as his works are available in Sindhi, Kachhi, Gujrati, Seraiki, Punjabi and Hindi languages.

In the literary and scholarly history of Sindh, Kazi Kadan holds a key position as one of the greatest poets, religious scholar and Kazi of this era. The entire work of Kazi Kadan is very important. For example one of his verses is reproduced below:

لوڪان نحو صرف، مون مطالع سپرين

سوئي پڙهيو سو پڙهان، سوئي سو حرف

lokan nahav sirf, moon mutalay supreen

so ee paṛhyo so paṛhan, so ee so harf

It appears from the first line of this verse that there were seminaries for religious teaching in the Sama period where grammar and syntax were also taught. The verses quoted below are by Kazi Kadan and they provide evidence about the expanse and quality of the language used in them in the Sama period:

(1)

جوڳيءَ جاڳايوس، سُتو هوس ننڊ ۾،

تهان پوءِ ٿيوس، سندي پريان پيچري!

jogi-a jagayos, suto hos ninda men,

tihan poye thiyos, sande paryan pechre!

(2)

ڪنز قدوري قافيا، ڪو ڪين پڙهيوم،

اهو پار ئي ٻيو، جِهان پرين لڌوم.

kinz qadoori qafya, ko kina paṛhyom,

iho par ee biyo, jihan preen ladhom.

(3)

سڄڻ منجھه هئام، مون اُٿي ويا اوٺيا،

هيڏانهن هوڏانهن هٿڙا، هنئڙي جاڙ وڌام

sajaṇ manjh huam, moon uthi waya oṭhiya,

hedanh hodanh hathṛa, hinyaṛe jaṛa vidham

(c) The importance Sindhi poetry got in this period was due to the vastness, finesse and superior qualities of the language and this proves that this language had acquired the status of a complete language of very high standard, even before the Arab invasion. Later on there were improvements and positive literary additions to this language and newer genres were introduced. Numerous new and semi-historic stories and narratives are attributed to the Sama period which were taken up by the Sindhi poets their subjects and sang songs about them. The stories are as under:

Jam Lakho and Mehr Rani, Jam Jakhro, Hunund Hothiani, Vikio Daatar, Sorath and Rai Dyach, Jam Lakho and Odan, Udho Kehar and Hothal Pari, Jam Jarar and Bobana, Raja Jasodhan, Jam Tamachi and Nuri Muhani, Doolah Daryah Khan and Hamoon Rathore. All these stories were narrated by the sughars and poets of those times in Sindhi and in between these stories they have given some gahas as well. These Dohas are understood by Dr. Nabi Buksh Baloch to be from the Sama period. (11) The language in some of these gahas is very similar in structure and format to the Sindhi spoken today. For example:

(1) جهوئي تون پُراڻ، جُڳَ ڇٽيهه سنڀرين،

تو ڪي ڏٺا هاڻ، لاکي جھڙا پَهِيَڙا!

jhoyee toon puraṇ, juga chhateeha sanbhreen,

to ke diṭha haaṇ, lakhe jehṛa pahiyaṛa!

The study of this gaha reveals that it was composed in the style of a Soratha. There is not a word in this gaha which is phonetically, grammatically and syntactically different from the structure of Sindhi language of today. The nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs and the verbs all appear like the present day Sindhi. For example:

(2) اُڍا تو سين آر، ڪَرَ وسرين نه سڀ ڄمار

شَلَ ٿَرَ- ٻاٻيهو ٿي مران.

uḍha to seen aar, kara visreen na sabh jamar

shala thara-babeeho thee maran.

In addition to the vocative and subjunctive cases, the other grammatical forms seen in this gaha are as under:

Postposition: In this Gaha, “seen” (سين) is used instead of “saan” (سان). It looks as the postposition “soon” of the Soomra period changed in the next 300-400 years to become “seen’. Such changes help in depicting the evolution of language.

Subjunctive case: The word “kar” (ڪر) denoting Subjunctive case in Sindhi language is in fact a diminutive of “jekar” (جيڪر). Similarly the poet has also used the word “shal” (شل) as subjunctive case.

Subjunctive Imperative (amur tamana): “maran’ the verbal form is used as Imperative Subjunctive.

Aorist: The word ‘maran’ which is an imperative subjunctive has also been used as an aorist or a potential verb.

Compound words:  The experts of Sindhi language took help from the principles of syntax to form newer words even before the era of Arab rule. Some examples of such complex or compound words formed in the Arab and Soomra periods have been mentioned above. In the above quoted verse Thar-Babiho is an example of such a compound word invented by the sughars.

The most remarkable thing about the poet in this Gaha is that he has used different grammatical forms based on the knowledge of sound grammatical principles. For example:

Thee-marān which is a subjunctive form of the verb in accordance with its aorist, but had the poet used the verb-form Marān-thee instead of Thee-Marān, the meaning of subjunctiveness of the line of the verse would have vanished and the syntactical structure of the verb would not have been that of the aorist but of the present tense; which could have killed the sentiment of love and affection, and of the subjunctive mood of the poet.

Similarly other Gahas are also available for study mentioning of Jam Lakho, Jam Jakhro, Vikio Dātār and others.

In this context, the poetry of Mamui Faqirs provides evidence of the development and magnificence of Sindhi language. For example, as mentioned earlier:

(1) هاڪ وهندو هاڪڙو، ڀڄندي ٻنڌ اروڙَ،

بِهَه مڇي ۽ لوڙهه، سمي ويندا سوکڙي.

haka vahando hakṛo, bhajandi bandha arooṛa,

biha machhi ayen loṛha, same weenda sookhṛi.

This verse is structurally composed on a Doha-Soratha structure. In addition to the signs of history, geography and culture of Sindh, it contains the phonetic, syntactical and grammatical form that is present even in the present day Sindhi. The vocabulary is also similar. Likewise, please see the following verses of Mamui faqirs (12)

(2) جم ويهجا ماڙهوُئا، ننگر جي آڌار،

پراڻا پرار، نوان اَڏجا نجھرا!

jam wejha maṛhua, nangar je adhar,

puraṇa parar, nawan adja nijahra!

(3) وسي وسي آر، جڏهن وڃي ڦٽندو،

تڏ ٻاروچاڻو ٻار، پنجين درمين وڪبو.

wase wase aara, jadenh vanji phutando,

tad barochaṇo bar, panjen darmen vikbo.

(4) ڪاري ڪاٻاري، جھيڙو لڳندو ڇهه پهر،

مر مچي ماري، سک وسندي سنڌڙي!

kari kabari, jheṛo lagando chhaha pehara,

mar michi mare, such wasandi sindhṛi!

(5) مرمچي ماري، مر مچيءَ ڪهڙا پار،

هيٺين ڪاريون پوتيون، مٿن ڪارا وار.

mar michi mare, mar michi-a kehṛa para,

heṭhain karyoon potyoon, mathan kara wara.

(6) نيرا گھوڙا نقرا، اُتر کئون ايندا،

گھاگھيريون گسن تي، وراهي ويندا،

تهان پوءِ ٿيندا، طبل تاجاڻين جا!

neera ghoṛa naqra, utara khaun eenda,

ghaghairyoon gasan te, warahe weenda,

tihan poye theenda, tabal tajaṇin ja!

(7) لڳندي لاڙان، سؤنڪو ٿيندو سري ۾،

جڏهن ڪڏهن سنڌڙي، اوڳاڻان وڻاهه!

lagandi laṛan, saunko theendo sare men,

jadenh kadenh sindhṛi, augaṇan vanah!

4- The names of the poets of the Sama period have been mentioned earlier, such as Pir Sadruddin (d. 1409AD), Shaikh Hammad Jamali (d. 1438 AD), Mian Syed Murad Shah Sheerazi (1427-1487 AD), Miala Syed Ali Sani Sheerazi (d. 1522 AD), Ishaq Ahangar and Kazi Kadan (1465-1551 AD). The language used in the works of these poets appears as fantastic example of the splendour and richness of Sindhi language.

(a) While mentioning the Soomra period, examples of language and poetry of Syedna Pir Sadruddin have been given. In this period his poetry in Sindhi and Seraiki appears more mature and stronger, which can be observed by studying the following Sindhi Ginans. (13)

ڀائِر ڀاڱام ٽَڙو، مَ ٻوليو اَڙَپَ،

هن شاهه جي پيار سين، تڙَ وِڇوٽي لَڄَ،

سُڻ وڻجارڙا، هو يار، هي مَنَ هريئڙو (هروئڙو) ٿو جھولي!

هي مَن هريئڙو ٿو جھولي

يارَ! چکي ڪَڙوي وَل، تا توجي جِيوَ جو جوکو نه ٿئي،

سُڻ وڻجارڙا هو يارَ......

هن جِيوَ سندي ڪج ڪا ڪريا

واٽَ سُهيلي هوئي، (مومن ڀائي)، هو يار

سڻ وڻجارڙا............

ڪچي ماپي مئيندڙا (يار)، ڪُوڙي تولي ڏينِ،

هيءَ تنِي جي وکرڙِي، ٻُڏي ساسائين (سَهسائين)

سُڻ وَڻجارڙا هو يار ......

تون وڻجارو ويرا لئي، آڇا وڻج ڪريج،

تُو نِي ڪين (ڪنهن) کي مَ ڌُوتيين، پاڻ ڌوتائيج،

سُڻ وَڻجارڙا......

تون وڻجارو مَيدِني، ڪوٺا ٿو اَڏائيين

صحيح سنڀوڙو ساٿڙو، ساٿ نه سنڀاريين

سُڻ وڻجارڙا.........

ڪيڙيون اڏائيين گڊ ماڙيون، تين تي ڪيڙا پائيين چِٽَ،

نيئِي ڌريندي ڌُوڙ ۾، مٿان لتون ڏِيندي مِٽَ

سُڻ وڻجارڙا.......

تانگي مٿي تُرَهو، تاڻي تو نه ٻَڌو

جڏين (جڏهن) لهريين لوڙيو، تڏين (تڏهن) ٿو سنڀاريين

سُڻ وڻجارڙا.......

ٻيڙي ڍوئي تڙ مٿي، عليءَ سَڏُ ڪندين

گھر ڀريو تو جي ڀانڊئي، سيئي نه هلندي ساٿ

سڻ وڻجارڙا.......

دنِ گڊئين نه چڙي، توئي نه پڇي ماس

جو تون مالڪ مڃيين، گُرنر ڀيٽي تو جي آسَ

سڻ وڻجارڙا.......

نو واٽا نَر کي، ڏهون تون ساري ڏيج

تون ئي تو جي ايمان سين، صحيح سلامت ڏيج

سڻ وڻجارڙا......

روڙو ني گَڊ اَمراپوري، ڀائر ڀاڱا ڀير

ٻار ڪروڙئين شاهه نظار چڙهسي، صحيح ڄاڻو صدرالدين

سُڻ وڻجارڙا.........

bhaira bhanga ma taṛo, ma bolyo aṛapa,

hina shah je pyar seen, taṛa vichhote laja

suṇ waṇjara, ho yaar, hee mana hariyaṛo (haruaṛo) tho jhoole!

hee man hariyaṛo tho jhoole

yaara! chakhe kaṛvi wal, ta to je jeeva jo jokho na thiye,

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

hina jeeva sande kar ka kriya

waata suhaili hoye, (momin bhai), ho yaar

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

kache maape mayendiṛa (yaar), kooṛe tole deeni,

hee-a tini j wikhariṛi, budi sasayeen (sahsayeen)

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

pake maape mayendiṛa (yaar), poori tole deen,

hee-a tini ji wikhariṛi, sahi salamat neen,

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

toon waṇjaro veera laye, aachha vaṇij kareej,

too ee keen (kenh khe) khe ma dhooteen, paaṇa dhotaij,

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

toon waṇjaraṛo maidanee, koṭha tho adayeen,

sahi sanbhoṛo sathṛo, sath na sanbhareen

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

kaiṛyoon adayeen gaḍ maṛyoon, teen te keṛa payeen chita,

neyi dhareende dhooṛ men, mathan latoon deende mita

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

tange mathe turaho, taaṇe to na badho

jaden (jadenh) lahreen loṛyo, taden (tadenh) tho sanbhareen

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

beṛi dhoye taṛ mathe, ali-a sad kanden

ghar bharyo to je bhanḍaye, seyi na halande saath

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

din gaḍayeen na chare, toyee na puchhe maas

jo toon malik manjeen, gurnar bheete to je aasa

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

nawa wata nara khe, dahon toon sare deej

toon ee to je eeman seen, sahi salamt deej

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

roṛo nee gaḍa amrapuri, bhayir bhanga bhair

baar karoṛayen shah nazaar chaṛhsee, sahi jaṇo sadaruddin

suṇ waṇjariṛa ho yaar….

Analyzing the language used in these Ginans, one can say that they are enriched with the linguistic qualities of Sindhi language and its phonetic, syntactical and grammatical peculiarities. Using similes, metaphors, allegory, symbols and other poetic figures of Sindhi language and its properties, he has given numerous examples to show the vastness and majesty of Sindhi language.

The use of pronominal affixes, newer words, and words for weight measures, idioms and phrases can also be seen 400 years later in the poetry of Shah Latif. The poetry of Pir Sadruddin can be presented as a matchless example of the richness of Sindhi language of the Sama period.

Similarly another Ginan by Pir Sadruddin written in Kachhi and Larri dialect is presented here as an example: (14)

(1)        سائين سريوو م ڍيل ڪر، (ٻانهان)، جان جئين ڏينهن ڪوئي

            جيئن ور کان، تيئن مانکا، تنهنجي ڇايا ڦرنتِي هوءِ

هلڻ هارا سڀئي جُڳ، اويچل نه رهندو ڪوئِي،

سائيان جِي، بِيهه ملائيين، بِيهه ملائيين، تنهن سڄڻن کي

منهنجا صاحب جو تون رِڏيهه ۾ پيارا

اي مون الله

جو تون بَهُت گُن ڳائيين

اي مون الله

سائيان جي بيهه ملائيين....

sayeen sarevo ma ḍhala kar, (banhan), jaan jiyen deenh koyee

jiyan varkha, tiyan maankha, tunji chhaya phiranti hoye

halaṇ hara sabhayi jug, avechal na rahando koyee,

saiyaan ji, beeha milayeen, beeha milayeen, tinahan sajaṇan khe

munhja sahab jo toon rideha men pyara

aye moon Allah

jo toon bahut gun gayeen

aye moon Allah

saiyaan ji beeha milayeen….

 (2)       سائين سريوو مَ ڍيل ڪر، (ٻانها)، جان جيئين ڏينهن چار

            هي پرايو ڏيهڙو، تنهن ۾ ثمر وکر سار،

            ايڪ چلنتي دوئي چليا، هي ٿر نه رهندو سنسار،

سائيان جي بيهه ملائيين....

sayeen sarevo ma ḍhala kar, (banha), jaan jiyen deenha chaar

hee parayo dehaṛo, tenh men samar vikhar saar,

aik chalanti dooyi chalya, hee thar na rahando sansaar,

saiyaan je beeha milayeen….

(3)        شيوا ڪارڻ آئيو، (ٻانها)، سڄو هي سنسار

            جنهين سريويو شاهه کي هِيڪ مَنَ، سي تان پاميندا موڪش ديدار

            پوري ڪرڻيءَ جا سچا يارَ، ڀَونس لنگھيندا پار،

سائيان جي بيهه ملائيين....

sheva karaṇ aiyo, (banha), sajo hee sansar

jinheen sarevyo shah khe heek mana, se taan pamenda mokhs deedar

poori karṇi-a ja sacha yara, bhons langheenda paar,

saiyaan je beeh milayeen….

(4)        سائين سيئي سڄڻ ميڙيين (الله)، جي منهنجي مَنَ وَسَنَ،

            سي مون کي ٻولين انبرت (عنبرت)، سِرَ ڪيوڙي جيئن ٿا وَسن،

            ڪنهن جو اوگڻ ايڪ نه سنڀري، گُڻ ڪرين دوش کَمَن

            سائيان جي بيهه ملائيين....

sayeen seyi sajaṇ meṛin (Allah), je munhje mana wasan,

se moon khe bolin anbrat (anbrat), sira kiyoṛe jiyan tha wasan,

kenh jo awaguṇ aik na sanbhre, guṇ kareen dosh gaman

saiyaan je beeh milayeen.

 (5)       سائين وِڇوڙا م ڏيئين، (الله) ڀي ميلاوو هوءِ،

            جي وَسن سئو ڪوسڙي، منهنجي هينئڙي اندر سوءِ

            الله جنهين کي موڪش پيارو، مولا تنهين ميلاوو هوءِ،

            سائيان جي بيهه ملائيين.....

sayeen vichhoṛa ma diyeen, (Allah) bhi melavoo hoye,

je wasan sao kosṛe, munhje hinyaṛe andar soye

Allah jinheen khe moksh pyaro, maula tinheen melavoo hoye,

saiyaan je beeh milayeen….

 (6)       رنگ ڪسونڀو، (ٻانها) ڪو گھرين، گھر اونچي چوڙ مجٺ،

            جيئن ڪمل تي ڀمرڙو، تيئن شاهه رڏيهه ۾ ويٺو

            سو تون صاحب ڪيئن ٿو وسارين، جو گھٽ اندر اکين ڏٺو،

            سائيان جي بيهه ملائيين ...........

rang kasonbho, (banha) ko ghureen, ghar unche chauṛ majath,

jiyen kamal te bhimiriṛo, tiyen shah rideha men vaitho

so toon sahib kiyen tho visareen, jo ghat andar akhin ditho,

saiyaan je beeh milayeen…..

(7)        آلم ڀيريون، ڇتَر سِر (ٻانهان)، نه نباهيو ڪنهن،

            هتي جيونتا جي ڪندا (ياران)، مهندا لوهه هَستي

            الله درم تورو هٿ ۾، سو صاحب ڪشيندو سڀ کي،

            سائيان جي بيهه ملائيين ...........

aalam bhairyoon, chhatar sir (banha), na nibahyo kenh,

hite jeevanta je kanda (yaran), mahanda loh hasti

Allah darm toro hatha men, so sahib kasheendo sabh khe,

saiyaan je beeh milayeen….

(8)        ڪوٺا منڊپ ماڙيون، گھر گھوڙا ڀنڊار

            ڪين نه نيئڙا پاڻ سين (ٻانها)، جيو چلنتي وارَ،

            وارا نڪي واٽڙي، سي تان لنگھيندا سچا يار،

            سائيان جي بيهه ملائين  ...........

kotha manḍapa maṛyoon, ghara ghoṛa bhanḍar

keen na niyaṛa paṇa seen (banha), jeev chalanti vara,

vara naki vataṛi, se taan langheenda sacha yara,

saiyaan je beeh milayeen….

(9)        دوئي ڄڻي ملي ڄايو ٻانهو چئين اُٺايو يار

            تتي ماءُ نه ٻاپ ڪوئي (ياران) تتي ڪنهن آڌار

            تتي داد سڻندو مون ڌڻي، صاحب کرا کوٽ سي آر،

            سائيان جي بيهه ملائيين ...........

doyi jaṇe mili jayo banho chayeen uthayo yaar

tite maa-u na baap koyi (yaran) tite kenh adhaar

tite daad suṇando moon dhaṇi, sahab khara khota se aar,

saiyaan je beeh milayeen….

(10)      هيءَ پِنڊي سونَ تڻي، نيهي رکيندءِ ڪلر مانهين،

            تتي نه مَهيري نه مِٽ ڪوئي (ٻانها)، تتي نه ساٿي ڪوئي،

هيءَ جا پنڊ نڀائيي سُک سان، ساتر جھُري جھُري مٽڙي هوءِ

سائيان جي بيهه ملائين  ...........

hee-a pinḍi sona taṇe, nehi rakheendai kalar manhen,

tite na maheri na mit koyi (banha), tite na sathi koyi,

hee-a ja pinḍ nibhaiye sukha saan, satar jhuri jhuri mitṛi hoye

saiyaan je beeh milayeen….

(11)      پير صدرالدين ٻوليا وينتي، سچا صاحب تو آڌار،

            هي جڳ ائين ڪري ڄاڻجو، جيئن ناٺي مانهين سنسار

            اوڻا پوارا آسوَنتا، مولا سڀئي لنگھاءِ تون پار،

            سائيان جي بيهه ملائيين ...........

pir sadaruddin bolya vainati, sacha sahib to adhaar,

hee jag iyen kare jaṇjo, jiyen nathe manhain sansaar,

auṇa pawara aswanta, maula sabhayi langhaye toon par,

saiyaan je beeh milayeen….

5- In his book, Dr. Baloch has also quoted examples of some other poets of the Sama period. Even though that poetry is sparsely available, yet it cannot be ignored for the highest quality and stature of Sindhi language. For example:

جو گھڙي سو ني، ڪو جو قهر ڪلاچ ۾

خبر ڪونه ڏئي، رَڇ ڪڄاڙي رنڊيو. (15)

jo ghiṛi so nee, ko jo qahar kalach men

khabar kona daye, rachha kujaṛe ranḍiyo.

The language of this Soratha is Larri. The following grammatical peculiarities in it are worth our attention:

Jo (جو): Relative pronoun

So (سو): Co-Relative pronoun

Ko (ڪو): Indefinite pronoun

Kujaṛay (ڪڄاڙي): Interrogative pronoun

Main (۾): Postposition

Ghiṛe, ni, day (گهڙي, ني, ڏي): Verb showing aorist or potential tense

Ko na (ڪونه): Negative adverb

Ranḍhio (رنڍيو): The grammatical form of this verb is of passive voice.

The Arabic words ‘qahar’ (قھر) meaning curse and Khabar (خبر) meaning news have been used in this Soratha.

Second example: Dr. Baloch believes this verse to be from the works of Mian Ali Sani.

سرتين سانگ سکن جو، مون کي رويو رهائينِ،

آءٌ ٿي هلان هوت ڏي، تان هو واريو وهارِين،

وريتيون وَرَن سين، ويٺيون گھُر گھارينِ.

کُهندا ٿيون کهرين، ڪانه هلائي ڪَيچَ ڏي. (16)

sartin sanga sukhan jo, moon khe royo rihain,

aaun thi halan hota de, taan hoo varyo viharin,

varetiyoon varan seen, veṭhyoon ghur ghirin.

khuhanda thiyoon khuhrin, kana halaye kaicha de.

The grammatical form of the words in this verse is as under:

Jo (جو): the word used here as a possessive case showing belonging.

Moon khay (مون کي) is a declension of the oblique case

Khay (کي): Preposition

Taan (تان): Conjunction

Aoon hallan thee (آءٌ هلان ٿي) is a declension of the present tense.

Hoo (ھو): Demonstrative pronoun/ third person

Aoon (آءٌ): First person pronoun (singular)

Moon (مون): is a form of oblique case and it is a declension of the subject Maan (مان).

Varaṇ (ورڻ): study of this word shows it to be a declension of the singular noun Varu (ور) and its plural Vara, as per the principle of declension in transformational case.

Varan Seen (سين ورن): Varu is the form of singular noun and its plural is Vara. Because of the postposition ‘seen’ behind the plural ‘vara’ the oblique case of the word has taken the form of ‘varan’ and ‘varan seen’ is an example of such occurrence.

Thioon Khareen (کارين ٿيون): the prose form of this is Khareen thioon’. This is the declension of verb in the present tense.

Ka na (ڪانه): Adverb of negation or Negative adverb

Day (ڏي): Adverb of place

Royo (رويو): Conjunctive participle

Pandhaan (پنڌان): ‘pandh khaan’ is the oblique (ablative) case of Pandh’.

Halā-ay (ھلائي): Casual verb

Khāren (کارين): Casual verb

Varaytiyoon (وريتيون): Varan varyoon:  Nominative noun

Royo rahaeen (رويو رهائين): Compound verb

Varyo vihareen (واريو وهارين): Compound verb

Veṭhiyoon ghareen (ويٺيون گهارين): Compound verb

Similarly ‘rahāin, ghāran, halana, vihāran, kharan etc. are examples of the Infinitive.

Third example:

سائر ڏيئي لَتَ، اونچي نيچي ٻوڙِيئي،

هيڪائين هيڪ ٿيو، ويئي سڀ جِهَتَ

sayer deyi lata, unchi neechi boṛyaee,

hekayeen hek thiyo, veyee sabh jihata.

This is an example of Doha-Soratha mix from the poetry of Kazi Kadan, which shows the following grammatical properties:

Dayee (ڏيئي): conjunctive participle

Haik (ھيڪ): Adjective

Sabh (سڀ): Adjective

Following idioms have been used in this verse: Lat diyaṇ, haik thiaṇ, jihat vanjaṇ.

6- (a) The verses of Mamui Faqirs  have been mentioned earlier, which considered as predictions. For example the language used in the following verse resembles the language used in the period from Shah Karim to Shah Latif. e.g

جِمَ ويهجا ماڙهوئا، ننگر جي آڌار،

پراڻا پرار، نوان اَڏجا نِجهرا!

jima vehja maṛhua, neengar je adhaar,

puraṇa pirar, navan adja nijhara!

The grammatical analysis of the language used in this Soratha-Doha mixture is as under:

Jima (جم): This word is not seen in poetry or prose after the period of Shah Latif; its form is that of a Negative adverb.

Veh-ja (ويھجا): is a Subjunctive Imperative of the verb ‘Veh” and shows plurality.

Maṛhua (ماڙهئا): At places the word ‘maṇhoon’ (ماڻھو) is also used as Maṛhoo (ماڙھو). Shah Latif and Sachal Sarmast have also used the word Maṛhoo; the ‘ua’ suffix behind the noun Maṇhoon has been used to show the vocative case. In the olden days the noun in the vocative case in Sindhi language used three numbers i.e. singular, double or dual (tasmia) and plural, as has been described in my book” The Origin of Sindhi language.” The double (dual) number in Sindhi grammar is used to show humour the book as mentioned for further details.

For Example:

Similarly an analysis of some other forms is presented here:

Puranan: Puran khan: the older grammarians have called this as oblique case of the noun but the new grammarians term it as Transformational case.

Adja (اڏجا): is a plural of the verb “Ad” (اڏ) with the case being subjunctive imperative (amar tamana)

(b) Similarly study of the following verse is very interesting. This Doha (couplet) was included first time by Dr. Baloch in his research (17):

جوڻو مت اوُڻو، ڄام تماچي آءُ،

سٻاجھي ٻاجھه پيئي، توسين ريڌو راءُ.

jooṇo mat oono, jam tamachi aun,

sabajhi bajha peyi, to seen redho rau.

The following words in this couplet draw our attention:

Mata Ooṇo: this is a compound word.

Sabajhi (سٻاجهي): is a transformational form of the adjective “Baajh” and is a derived word. The root Baajh has an addition of “s” as prefix and then “re” dependent form is added to the same root as suffix.

Seen (سين): is an older form of the postposition “Saan” (سان).

Redho (ريڌو): is a very good example of phonetic change according to syntax. As seen below:

(c) It has been mentioned in the previous pages that Kazi Kadan was a great poet of this era. The language used by Kazi Kadan shows many prime linguistic qualities. For example:

جوڳيءَ جاڳايوس، ستو هوس ننڊ ۾،

تهان پوءِ ٿيوس، سندين پريان پيچري!

jogi-a jagayos, suto hos ninda men,

tihan poye thiyos, sanday piryan pechre!

This “Soratha” (verse) shows a beautiful example of  a pronominal suffix. Even though Kazi Kadan belonged to upper Sindh but in this verse the examples of pronominal suffix represent the Larri (from lower Sindh) dialect of Sindhi language, words such as Jagayos (awakened), suto hos (was asleep) and Thios (I became). Among these verbs, the verb Jagayos has been used instead of Jagayom. In the Larri dialect, in such form of verb, the pronominal suffix “s” is used normally for third person singular instead of a pronominal suffix “m” of the first person singular.And similarly in verbs like suto hos and thios, the pronominal suffix “s” has been used instead of the sign “m” for the first person singular. This usage of pronominal suffixes is correct according to the Larri dialect.

This Soratha (verse) also shows numerous examples of the possessive case, oblique case, transformational case and compound verb as seen below:

Sanday piryaan (beloved’s): i.e. piryaan sanday is an example of possessive case.

Paichray: shows the usage of the oblique case i.e. paichray tay.

Sandian (theirs’): is a possessive word which has the meaning of “jo/ja” (of). In the present day language, Sanday is in use instead of Sandian.

Tihaan (after): This word is the diminutive form of tenh khan where the postposition khan has been omitted. Numerous examples of the oblique case of this type are also seen in the poetry of Shah Latif.

Poe (after): adverb of time.

Jogi-a: A declension of the noun jogi according to the transformational case.

(d) The verses of Kazi Kadan given below also require special attention with reference to their grammatical peculiarities. For example:

(a)

’لا‘ لاهيندي ڪن کي، ’لا‘ موراهين ناهه،

باالله ري پريان، ڪٿان ڏسجي ڪي ٻيو

‘la’ lahindi kin khe, ‘la’ morahin naah,

billah re paryan, kithan disje ki biyo

(b)

سڄڻ منجهه هئام، مون اُٿي ويا اوٺيا

هيڏانهن هوڏانهن هٿڙا، هنئڙي جاڙ وڌام

sajaṇ manjh huam, moon uthi vaya oṭhiya

hedanh hodanh hathṛa, hinyaṛe jaṛa vidhaam

Following words from these verses need to be analyzed grammatically:

Word: kin, lāhīndī, nah, moraheen, re, re piryaan, disjay, bio, kee huām, vidhām sajaṇ, manjh, uthī, uthī viya, oṭhia, hedanh, hodanh.

A grammatical analysis of these words reveals that these are indefinite pronouns (ko, ki, kin), present participle (lahīndī), diminutive forms of verbs (nahay=na +ahay), adverbs (morāhaīn), usage of Persian prefix (re-piryan), passive forms of verbs (disjay from dis), ordinal number of adjectives (bio), pronominal suffix (huām, vidhām), conjunctive participle (uthī, uthī viyā), compound verb (uthee viya), the dual usage of adverbs (hedanh hodanh), usage of diminutive nouns (hathṛa, hinyaṛa) etc. The analysis of these and other grammatical forms proves that Sindhi language had achieved the status of a standard and complete language.

7- It was mentioned earlier that in the Sama period, the relations of Sindh with Gujrat, Kachh, Kathiawar, Rajasthan, Bahawalpur, Multan, Uch, Dera Ghazi Khan and the Leghari mountainous regions, and in Balochistan with Lasbela, Jhalawan, Khetran and the farthermost borders of Mekran coast progressed thereby introducing Sindhi language in these areas, and reciprocally Kachhi, Gujrati, Rajasthani, Seraiki and Balochi languages and the culture of these areas influenced parts of Sindh.

(a) In the Sama period, the shrines of saints and special gatherings of the sufis and sughars were a great source for progress and propagation of Sindhi language. Poets expressed their sufistic and guiding principles in the form of Ginans, Kafis, Saloks, and Gahas in the genres of sorathas and dohas. In addition to these genres, other newer forms of poetry were added to the treasure of Sindhi language. The unison of dohas and sorathas gave birth to the genre like bait.

(b) During this period, the linguistic treasure of Sindhi language also expanded. In addition to guidance, Sufism and war poetry, the subject of love also started being explored, thereby causing addition of thousands of words belonging to these emotions in the Sindhi language. The poets used their works to throw light upon the social and political circumstances, historical narrations and geographical descriptions, e.g. villages, dwellings, cities, rivers, lakes and their cultural and social aspects. In this context the verses of Shaikh Hammad, Nooh Hothiani and Mamui faqirs depict the prevailing conditions of the country and contemporary rulers.

Syed Hisamuddin Shah Rashdi writes in Maklinama:

“Syed Ali was a great poet and scholar of Persian and Sindhi languages. He wrote poetic verses in Sindhi language as well. Syed Ali and Dars Allaudin were remembered by people of those times for their poetry but it could not be preserved, and only one of the verses (doheeṛo) has been given by the author of Muariful Anwaar in his book.” (18)

(c) It was the poetry of this period which has described the reural culture of Sindh. For example this Sindhi verse (soratha) by Ishaque Ahaangar presents a scene quite common in rural life:

ٿيان مان جھرڪ، ويهان پرينءَ جي ڇڄ تي

مانَ ڪَرَن ڊرُڪ، ٻوليءَ ٻاجھاريءَ سين.

thiyan man jhirk, vehan priyan je chhaja te

maana karan daruka, boli-a bhajhari-a seen.

In addition to description of culture and traditions of rural Sindh, this verse contains remarkable grammatical peculiarities in words like thiaṇ (to be), karaṇ (to do), bajhāri bolī (self compassionate talk), chhaj and jhirk (sparrow). No doubt this verse (soratha) shows the importance of Sindhi language of the Sama period and it proves that in this period, a pure and beautiful language containing the idioms and phrases of customary daily life were commonly used; for example chhaj, jhirk, machhi, loṛha, biha, kalach, rachh, vangi, kalaṛ, vathi; and the imagery of a flying sparrow from the roof for the beloved, is a splendid example of the beauty of the language. Similarly in many other verses words like chaak chikhaṇ, autaqa karaṇ, aasaa band hujaṇ, sir dayi siṭa joṛaṇ and munh moṛaṇ etc. are examples of phrases commonly used in household speech.

Verses of some poets from the Sama period are found in “Bayan-ul-Aarfain” of Mian Shah Karim that the honorable gentleman told his disciples at various occasions. They also contain verses by Kazi Kadan. Some of the verses belong to a poet named Parraṛ. For example:

چندن چُور ڪريندي، رتو مُہ ڪُهاڙ

سڄڻ ڏُڄڻ نه ٿئي، رُسي جي سؤوار،

پروڙيو پراڙ، نه ڪرهيدي قرب ٿئي.

chandan choor karinde, rato muh kuhaṛ

sajaṇ dujaṇ na thiye, ruse je sau vaar,

paruṛio paraṛ, na karhede qurb thiye.

Similarly Dr. Baloch has also quoted examples of a verse from another poet which is included in Biaanul Aarfain (19):

ڪارين ڪَنين ڪڪڙا، ڪَرَهَه ولاڙ وڃن،

ويلو ڪن نه وچ ۾، نه اوڳار ڀَڃَن.

karen kanen kakṛa, karaha valaṛ vanjan,

velo kan na vicha men, na augar bhajan.

Both these verses require our attention because of the qualities of imagery and grammar in addition to the richness of the language.

(d) The poetry of this era shows extensive use of poetical figures to express the beauty of the beloved. In this context, numerous examples of poetic figures (sanat majaaz mursul, tajnees harfi, sanat tajnees khati, sanat tajahul arfana, sanat ihaam, sanat tashbeeh, istaara, sanat murasa and sanat musaja) have been used.

8- The Beginning and Progress of Sindhi Prose:

In addition to poetry, numerous examples of prose are found in the Sama period; showing that Sindhi language had progressed in the genre of prose as well. Numerous sayings, proverbs and quotes have been found to belong to this period which provides ample evidence of the vastness of the linguistic treasure of Sindhi language in addition to the thought process and wisdom of the scholars, poets and sughars of those times.

Syed Hisamuddin Shah Rashdi has given a line quoted by Syed Murad Shah, which Mr. Rashdi believes to be a prose sentence. (20) One may say that Syed Murad Shah would not have uttered just one line or sentence, indeed he would have spoken in his mother-tongue about normal daily life but only one of his sentences has been preserved in the written form; in fact it is quite clear that Syed Murad Shah would have spoken/written in prose in Sindhi language. Anyway, this is a sentence that he uttered randomly on hearing about the birth of his grandson Syed Ali Sani. Syed Hisamuddin Shah Rashdi writes:

“Until now (the Sama period), in the Arghun period, we have found seven verses of Kazi Kadan but from the piece of prose by Pir Murad Shah it appears that in addition to Kazi Kadan, other Sindhi poets also existed in that period.” (21)

The sentence is as under:

”او ڀاءَ! رب ڏيئي وڏي ڄمارَ“

“O bhāu! Rabu dyaee wadī jamāra”, (meaning: O Brother! May God grant you a long life)

This is a vocative or subjunctive sentence, which is used even now to express a desire; otherwise according to the principles of syntax, the verb “dyaee” should have appeared at the end of the sentence; but if this verb had been used after the word jamaar (life), in that case the expression of a desire or wish would not have been there, which the speaker had intended. e.g. please note the differences in the following examples:

In the simple sentence, an impression of a prayer can be noticed but the sentence of Syed Murad Shah shows both a prayer along with a desire. Similarly the word ‘O’ in the beginning of this sentence has been used as a vocative letter, which is in accordance with the principles of syntax of Sindhi language of modern times. The expression and meaning of both the sentences depend on the intonation and accent. Everyone who speaks Sindhi should feel the difference in the two sentences on the basis of this intonation.

9- The Period of Foreign Rulers (Mughal Nawabs) from 1555 to 1700 AD:

(a) Even though Arghuns and Tarkhans were also foreign rulers but despite that Sindhi language progressed during their times. The progress of language during the rule of the indigenous rulers (Sama and Soomra) was also quite good, when numerous good poets, scholars and sughars were born who served Sindhi language in every possible way. Based on studying the works of these scholars and poets, one can observe the splendid qualities of Sindhi language in addition to the treasure of words described earlier.

(b) The Arghun and Tarkhan period is also marked by the birth of numerous scholars, educationists, poets, sufis and saints. Among them Hazrat Ghousul Azam Makhdoom Nooh Sarwar, Shah Abdul Karim Bulrai (1536-1623), Shah Lutfullah Qadri, Makhdoom Bilawal, Makhdoom Mato Thattvi and other poets and scholars are worth mentioning, who have left priceless and matchless examples of the qualities of Sindhi language in their works.

(c) The official language in the period of Arghuns and Tarkhans was Persian. Scholars and historians like Ameer Abdul Qasim Sultan, writer of Beglarnama, Mulla Abdul Karim Atta and others used Persian for expression of their thoughts in their writings. The religious clerics and scholars wrote their decrees (fatwa) in Arabic. Makhdoom Mato Thattvi was one of the very famous scholars. Professor Qureshi Hamid Ali has written about this scholar in his article:

“Makhdoom Mato Thattvi whose real name was Ruknuddin was the Khalifa of Makhdoom Bilal of Talti. He was a renowned scholar who had command over the subject of Hadith. People who believed in praying and piety were his followers and disciples. He authored many books and periodicals including Shariah Arbaeen and Shariah Gilani etc. He passed away in Thatta in 949 AH (1543 AD).” (22)

Similarly Shaikh Sadruddin, Makhdoom Ali Qadri, Allama Kazi, Makhdoom Thattvi, Mulla Abdur Rasheed of Larri Bander, Syed Qazi Shukrullah Sheerazi, Mir Tahir Muhammad Nasiani, Syed Jamal Bin Mir Jalaluddin and others were very prominent scholars of that time. (23)

(d) Shah Abdul Karim Bulrai (1536-1623 AD) was a great poet and sufi saint of this era. Kazi Kadan was also one of the great names of this period and he held the post of Chief Justice (Kazi). Moreover Makhdoom Nooh Sarwar was also a great poet and scholar from this era who introduced the genre of Dahar in Sindhi poetry. These scholars and poets brought about newer words, idioms, phrases, topics and novel concepts in Sindhi language. Luari Sharif, Aghamkot, Bulrai, Rajo Khanani, Thatta, Sehwan, Nasarpur, Miranpur near Jhok Sharif, Karyo Ghanwar, Joon, Kot Alam, Paat, Rohri, Shikarpur, Hala, Badin, Boobak and other cities were places where literary activities were very commonly held.

(e) Shah Beg Arghun had defeated Jam Feroz Sama in 1521 AD and conquered Sindh. He brought Persian and Turkish poets and scholars with him to Sindh, therefore in addition to Arabic, literary activities in these languages also systematically started showing their presence in Sindh. Centers for Sindhi language teaching had been established in Sindh from the days of Soomra rule.

Shah Beg Arghun died in 1521 AD and his son Mirza Shah Hassan (1523-1555) became the ruler of Sindh. Literature continued progressing in his time as well. He was a good poet of Persian language and his pen-name was Sipahi (meaning a soldier). (24) Owing to his interest in literature, scholars of Iran came to Sindh thereby increasing the trend of expression of ideas in prose and poetry in Persian language.

The Language of Kazi Kadan’s Poetic Works:

Kazi Kadan saw the periods of Sama and Arghun rule. He was born in 1465 AD. Dr. Baloch writes:

“Kazi Kadan is the first great poet of Sindhi language; he is the father of contemporary Sindhi poetry. And he is the famous poet whose authenticated poetry in the written form is available and it throws light on the Sindhi language of the region adjoining Bakhar.” (25)

The purpose here is not to argue who was the first big poet of Sindhi language; Pir Sadruddin, Kazi Kadan, Mai Markhan, Sumang Charan, Bhago Bhaan or someone else for that matter! It is besides the point that Pir Sadruddin and after him, the entire works of his successors was kept safe by the Ismaili community within the confines of their seminaries and they thought of those writings as secretive poetry, but so far as the written form of poetry in Sindhi, Seraiki, Gujrati and Hindi languages is concerned, one can say without any doubt that Pir Sadruddin’s works are enormous. Not only is his poetry voluminous but the topics and the lyricism according to the poetic principles are in abundance. Different types and genres of his poetry are available in various parts that are recited in unison regularly in the seminaries of the Ismaili community throughout the world. There is a strong influence of Maulana Rumi on the poetry of the Pirs and a discussion about the reasons of such an influence is beyond the scope of this book.

The language of Kazi Kadan’s poetry indicates towards the customary language of the Sama and Arghun periods. Kazi Kadan’s poetic language shows these peculiarities. Dr. Baloch writes with reference to Tareekh-e-Masoomi as:

“Kazi Kadan was a Hafiz (one who remembers the Holy Quran by heart) and possessed the art of recitation in addition to being a scholar who mastered the knowledge of Hadith, Fiqah (jurisprudence) and references of Sindhi language. He was a champion of essay writings of his times. He was well versed with mathematics and had expertise in engineering. He knew Sufism and explained different methods in Sindhi language. He was therefore taunted upon by other scholars. He travelled widely and visited religious sites many times. He was a disciple and follower of Syed Muhammad Jonpuri who got fame with the title of Miran Mehdi.”

The above narrative by Mir Masoom clearly shows that Kazi Kadan was an intelligent, honest and spiritual saint and scholar. This is also evident from his verses. (26)

Since Kazi Kadan was a resident of Bakhar, studying the language used by him provides ample information and knowledge about the language of Upper Sindh in the 16^th Century i.e. the Utraadi dialect. Dr. Baloch writes about his language as:

“The verses from the immense collection of Kazi Kadan’s poetry provide strong signs of the language of the Upper Sindh in the area of Bakhar in the 16^th Century AD.” (27)

He further writes:

“If we look at the verses of Kazi Kadan they reveal a lot about the words, phrases and syntactical structure of Sindhi language of those times; additionally it confirms the description of novel ideas, concepts and deep philosophical and other thought processes.” (28)

(f) While discussing the period of the Sama rule, the qualities of the language used by Kazi Kadan in his poetry have been described earlier. In this context, the following verse of his has been grammatically analyzed:

جوڳيءَ جاڳايوس، سُتو هوس ننڊ ۾،

تهان پوءِ ٿيوس، سنديي پري ان پيچري!

jogi-a jagayos, suto hos ninda men,

tihan poye thiyos, sandye paryan pachre!!

Few more verses of Kazi Kadan (29):

(1) سيئي سيل ٿيام، پڙهيام جي پاڻان،

اکر اڳيان اُڀري، واڳو ٿي وريام.

seyi sail thiyam, paṛhyam je paṇan,

akhar agyan ubhri, vagu thi varyam.

(2) ڪنز قدوري قافيا، ڪي ڪو نه پڙهئوم،

سو پار ئي ڪو ٻيو، جئان پرين لڌوم.

kinz qadoori qafya, ko kina paṛhyom,

iho par ee biyo, jihan preen ladhom.

(3) لوڪان نحو صرف، مون مطالع سپرين،

سوئي پڙهيو سو پڙهان، سو ئي سو حرف.

lokan nahav sirf, moon mutalay supreen

so ee paṛhyo so paṛhan, so ee so harf

(4) سڄڻ منجھه هئام، مون اُٿي ويا اوٺيا،

هيڏانهن هوڏانهن هٿڙا، هينئڙي جاڙ وڌام.

sajaṇ manjh huam, moon uthi waya oṭhiya,

hedanh hodanh hathṛa, hinyaṛe jaṛa vidham

(5) سائر ڏيئي لت، اوچي نيچي ٻوڙئي،

هيڪائين هيڪ ٿيو، ويئي سڀ جهت.

sayer deyi lata, unchi neechi boṛyaee,

hekayeen hek thiyo, veyee sabh jihata.

(6) ’لا‘ لاهيندي ڪن کي، ’لا‘ مورهين ناهه،

باالله ري پريان، ڪٿ نه ڏسي ڪي ٻيو.

‘la’ lahindi kin khe, ‘la’ morahin naah,

billah re paryan, kithan disje ki biyo

(7) ڪنز قدوري قافيا، جي پڙهين پروڙين سڀ

ته ڪَرَ منڊي ماڪوڙي کوهه ۾، پيئي ڪڇي اُڀ.

kinz qadoori qafya, paṛhi parooṛin sabh,

ta kar mandi makoṛi, khooha men, peyi kuchhe ubh.

Khan Bahadur Muhammad Siddique Memon writes:

“The word ‘jogi’ was first used in Sindhi literature by Kazi Kadan, which was later used by others as well.” (30)

In this context, it is essential to mention that about 275 years before Kazi Kadan, Pir Shams Sabzwari Multani (1165-1276 AD) had not only used the words like ‘jog’, ‘jogi’ and ‘jagesar’ in his Ginans, but he had written five consecutive ‘Ginans’ on this subject; but after Pir Shams Sabzwari, it was Pir Sadruddin (1290-1409 AD) who also composed ‘Ginans’ with these words. Therefore there is a need to modify the opinion of late Mr. Memon.

(g) The following verse by Kazi Kadan is also very interesting for the study of Sindhi grammar:

سيئي سيل ٿيام، پڙهيام جي پاڻان،

اکر اڳيان اُڀري، واڳو ٿي وريام.

seyi sail thiyam, paṛhyam je paṇan,

akhar agyan ubhri, vagu thi varyam.

The verse contains the words like ‘saiyee’, ‘thiyam’, ‘paṛhiyam’, paṇan’, and ‘varyam’ where in addition to the pronominal suffix and inflection of verbs, examples of usage of compound verbs is also seen.

The words ‘paṛhan’ (reading) and akhar’ (letter) draw our attention towards the method of education and teaching. Similarly the word ‘vagoo’ has been used as a metaphor. Regarding this verse, Khan Bahadur Muhammad Siddique Memon opines:

“Kazi Kadan has emphatically discussed the obvious/exoteric form of education, since he was a learned man himself. He has described his experiences in a very effective manner.” (31)

The verse quoted below shows the apparent topics like ‘qanz, qadoori’ (religious subjects) and in addition the reading and understanding of ‘qafia’ (rhyming); in this context it throws light on the apparent knowledge of that era.

ڪنز قدوري قافيه، پڙهي پروڙين سڀ،

ته ڪر منڊي ماڪوڙي، کوهه ۾، پيئي ڪڇي اُڀ.

kinz qadoori qafya, paṛhi parooṛin sabh,

ta kar mandi makoṛi, khooha men, peyi kuchhe ubh.

It is quite remarkable of Kazi Kadan that he has explained the obvious knowledge by means of using the customary idiom of that era and has expressed that there are no bounds or frontiers of knowledge. The meaning of the idiom ‘ubh kuchhaṇ’ is ‘working for the impossible’. Similarly by using the simile of ‘manḍi makori’ (a limping ant), he has shown the expanse of Sindhi language thereby proving his command over the language.

(h) In the romantic stories like Sohni Mehar and Sasui Punhoon he has used the figure of metaphor in his verses. These symbols and metaphors have increased the beauty, greatness and magnificence of Sindhi language. For example;

سائر ڏيئي لَتَ، اونچي نيچي ٻوڙِيئي،

هيڪائي هيڪ ٿيو، ويئي سڀ جِهَت.

sayer deyi lata, unchi neechi boṛyaee

hekayee hek thiyo, veyi sabh jihat

سڄڻ منجھه هُئام، مون اُٿي ويا اوٺيا،

هيڏانهن هوڏانهن هٿڙا، هينئڙي جاڙ وڌام.

sajaṇ manjh huam, moon uthi vaya oṭhiya,

hedanh hodanh hathṛa, hinyaṛe jaṛa vidham.

10- (a) The other great poet of the Arghun and Tarkhan period was Shah Karim Bulrai (1536-1623 AD). He was born in the period of Tarkhan rule when Kazi Kadan was still alive. Although he composed verses in Persian and Sindhi languages but he did not record or preserve them in written form. It was six years after his death when one of his disciples Mian Muhammad Raza s/o Muhammad Wasay wrote a book called ‘Bayanul Arfain Fi’ in Persian, in which he compiled Shah Karim’s Sindhi and Persian verses that had been recited in his speeches and literary meetings which were memorised by Mian Raza and other disciples. There were 107 Sindhi and 11 Persian verses. Among the Sindhi verses, 6 belonged to Kazi Kadan while 5 were from other poets, leaving behind 96 Sindhi verses that belonged to Shah Karim. (32) These were considered as quite a big number at that time. Khan Bahadur Memon writes:

“A proper script for writing Sindhi language was not in place and the learned men of those times did not consider it important to have their poetry preserved; and therefore one can surely say that the complete works of Shah Karim have not been passed on to us in this day and age. The poetry of the King of Sindhi poetry i.e. Shah Latif’s, seems to have been influenced by Syed Abdul Karim, which is a proof of the greatness of Shah Karim and his poetry. Therefore he is considered, as an accomplished poet of ancient Sindh without any doubt.” (33)

(b) In the days of Shah Karim i.e. by the time the Tarkhan rule ended, Sindhi language had developed a lot and its vocabulary had increased significantly. It had included newer subjects and through the use of locally used similes, symbols and metaphors, the Sindhi culture, traditions and customs were preserved. In this context Sindhi language was blessed with great poets and scholars like Pir Sadruddin, Ishaq Ahangar, Kazi Kadan and after them Shah Karim, Makhdoom Nooh, Lakho Lutf Shah and Shah Lutfullah Qadri who left indelible imprints of the Sindhi culture, traditions and civilization through picturesque quality of their amazing poetry. Quoted below are a few verses by Shah Karim, Makhddom Nooh, Lakho Lutfullah and Shah Lutfullah Qadri, that depict a picture of the Sindhi Civilization.

(1)

ڌڪين ڌات پيو، هينئڙو لوهه سنداڻ جيئن،

سنڀاري کي سڄڻين، ورچي تا نه ويو.

dhikeen dhat payo, hinyaṛo loh sandaṇ jiyen,

sanbhare khe sajanen, virche ta na vayo.

(2)

سهي جيئن سنداڻ، ڌڪن مٿي ڌڪڙا،

وهه وڃايو پاڻ، ڏي ڏٻائون ڏڱرين.

sahe jiyen sandaṇ, dhakan mathe dhakṛa,

vah vinjayo paṇa, de dubaoon dangren.

(3)

سِرُ سانداڻ ڪري، پڇِج پوءِ پريتڻو،

ڌَڪن هيٺ ڌري، مانَ گڏينئي رُڪ سان.

siru sandaṇ kare, puchhij poye pretiṇo,

dhakan heṭh dhare, mana gadyanyi ruka san.

In these verses Shah Karim has symbolized ‘hinyaṛo’ (heart) with ‘sandaṇ’ (anvil) to explain his love. His poetry contains splendid examples of similes, metaphor, Majaz Mursil, Tajnees-e-Taam (pun) and alliteration. For example:

وَرَ وسري ته ڪوهه، ورُ نه وسريوس

ڪونه چوندو ڪڏهين ته اڱڻ اونداهوس.

vara visre th kooh, varu na visryos

kona chavando kadhen ta angaṇu undahos

Similarly he has used many words showing opposites:

مُٺ ڀيڙيائي ڀلي، جو اُپٽين ته واءُ،

جُه پڌرو وِڌءِ ڳالهڙي، ته ڇڏي وڃي ساءُ.

muṭh bheṛyayee bhale, jo upteen ta vaau,

juh padhro vidhai galhiṛi, ta chhade vanje saau.

(c) Shah Karim’s language contains enormous grammatical qualities. He also composed new words and has used pronominal suffixes a lot. He has introduced new idioms and proverbs. His dialect is Larri and has some words used only by the people of Larr (Lower Sindh). For example ‘koh’, ‘saiṇan’, ‘kaiṇan’, ‘gharoe’, ‘kaṛbai’ and ‘tiyan’ etc.

(d) Shah Karim’s poetry shows frequent use of pronominal suffix; for example

اَمڙ کوءِ گھروءِ، مونئان ساٿڙو وڃي نڪريو

amaṛ khoye ghuroe, munaan sathṛo vanje nikryo

The ‘oe’ of the word ‘gharoe’ (گهروءِ) is used as a pronominal suffix. And the words in this line like ‘amaṛ’ and ‘sathṛo’ are examples of diminutive nouns. The verses quoted below show numerous grammatical peculiarities in addition to the use of pronominal suffixes. For example;

وَرَ وسري ته ڪوهه، وَرُ نه وسريوس،

ڪونه چوندو ڪڏهين، ته ڪو اڱڻ اونداهوس.

vara visre ta kooh, varu na visryos,

kona chavando kadheen, ta ko angaṇu undahos

Vara: oblique case of varu

Visri: “visri veyi” Past tense with verb in passive form

Koh: Interrogative pronoun

Visrios: In this verb “s” is a symbol of pronominal suffix of third person singular.

Ko: Indefinite pronoun

Hos: symbol of pronominal suffix of the third person singular

Second example:

سپڙ ڄام سيڻانِ، ويهي رات وِرونهيو!

sapaṛ jama saiṇan, vehi raat vironhyo!

A grammatical analysis of this line is presented here:

Saiṇani- i.e. ‘sānun’; here in the word ‘saiṇāni’ the ‘ni’ is a sign of pronominal suffix in third person plural. “sāṇ” (preposition) has also been used with this word, and other such examples are kaiṇani, paṇani, kaṛbai etc.

(e) Shah Karim’s poetry shows the usage of compound postposition quite frequently. For example:

(1) ڪا لَءِ سندي سڄڻين، ڪا پورهئي ڪاڻ ڀري،

ka laye sande sajṇen, ka porhye kaṇ bhare

(2) جو لکَڻ منجھه ماڻهوين، سو مَکڻ منجهه کير.

jo lakhaṇ manjh maṇhuven, so makhaṇ manjh kheer.

In the first line, the ‘lae sanday’ is an example of compound postposition.

Khan Bahadur Memon believes that Shah Karim has made genitive case using the possessive case. For example: (34)

(1) هنيون نه حاضر جن، پرين نه اکڙين ۾.

hanyon na hazir jin, preen na akhṛin men.

(2) اکڙيون تو هي، مڇڻ ويهين وِسَهِي.

akhṛiyoon to he, machhaṇ vehin visahi.

(3) چارئي پَلَوَ چِڪ ۾، اديون مون آهينِ.

chaar ee palava chika men, adyoon moon ahin.

In these verses:

Jin hinyoon:   means jin jo hinyoon: (whose heart)

To akhṛ ioon: means tuhinjoon akhṛioon:      (your eyes)

Chāraee palav moon: means munhija chaāraee palau (all of my four corner (of cloth))

One can infer that Shah Karim’s language enriched with wisdom, vast vocabulary and grammatical qualities is a symbol of the greatness of his expression:

آهي پاڻ ئِي سلطان، پاڻ ئي ڏئي سنيهڙا،

پاڻ ئي ڪَرَ لهي، پاڻ سڃاڻي پاڻ.

ahe paṇa ee sultan, pan ee dayi sinehaṛa,

pana ee kara lahe, pan sunjane pan.

The word ‘paaṇ’ (self) has been used five times in this verse. Khan Bahadur Memon writes:

“The literal meaning of balaġhat is to achieve the goal of complete match of the meanings with their presentation of words and recital at a very high standard. It is obvious that every word has a meaning as defined in the dictionary but to give another greater meaning to a word while still following the defined parameters and principles is a work of balaġhat. And the principles and rules according to which a word can be assigned other meanings in addition to the pre-defined and prescribed meaning is called ‘ilm-e-bayan’ i.e. the knowledge of words and the expression of their meanings.” (35)

(f) In addition to poetical figures, Shah Karim has used many idioms in his poetry. For example:

paaṇ vijayaṇ (losing oneself), liyaka lataiṇ (crossing borders), pireen pasaṇ (beholding the beloved), paira digha karaṇ (extending one’s boundaries (feet)), dhakain dhaat pavaṇ (struck like metal), virchi vajaṇ (getting bored or fed up), sanġ chhinaṇ (breaking ties), mat ginhaṇ (take advice), hinyon diyaṇ (give heart), linġa gadaṇ (physically joining), jafa diyaṇ (to betray), hath karaṇ (to find), ghaṛo bahraṇ (to fill a pot-to serve), vela karaṇ (arranging food), choor karaṇ (to make tired), saiṇa huaṇ (being relatives), akhyan dhar thiyaṇ (being away from sight), kara lahaṇ (to care for), paaṇ sujaṇan (soul-searching), khoe pavaṇ (to lose importance), pata pacharaṇ (to defeat), vaiṇa sahaṇ (to tolerate taunts)

(h) Among Shah Karim’s contemporaries, Makhdoom Nooh was also a poet of great qualities. For example:

(1)

پيئي جا پرڀات، ماڪ نه ڀانيو ماڙهوئا،

روئي چڙهي رات، ڏسي ڏُکوين کي.

peyi ja pirbhat, maka na bhanyo maṛhua,

roye chaṛhe raat, dise dukhoyin khe.

(2)

اُپٽيان ته انڌيون، پوريون پرين پسن،

آهي اکڙين، عجب پَرِ پسڻ جي!

uptiyan ta andhyoon, pooryon preen pasan,

ahe akhṛin, ajab pari pasaṇ je!

(3)

نه سي جوڳي جوءَ ۾، نه سا سگھي چانٺ،

ڪاپڙين ڪنواٽ، وڏيءَ ويل پلاڻيا.

na se jogi jo-a men, na se saghe chanṭh,

kapṛin kanwat, vadi-a vail palaṇya.

(g) From among the other earlier poets and scholars, in addition to Kazi Kadan, also mentioned by Shah Karim, the names of great saints from Aghamkot called Makhdoom Ismail Soomro and his contemporary scholar Makhdoom Usman Aghami are also important. According to Shah Karim, Makhdoom Usman Aghami was a famous poet and scholar who had recited the following verse while responding to a question asked by the daughter of Makhdoom Ismail Soomro, which is quoted here:

چار ئي پلئه چڪَ ۾، پڇي پاريَر وِٺ،

                                                  ان اهڙي احتياط سين، ڦٺَ پڄاڻا ڦَٺ!

char ee palava chaka men, puchhe pareyar viṭh,

ina ehṛi ehtiyat seen, phatha pujaṇa phatha!

11- The Arrival of Sindhi language and Culture to the States of Rajasthan and Gujrat:

We have already mentioned about the poetry of Kazi Kadan found from Ranela village of district Bhawani in the Haryana State (India) by Mr. Hiro Thakur which was written in Devanagari script. It was discovered from the temple of Dadu Panthi Bhagat Haridas which he later got published from Delhi in 1978 with the title “Kazi Kadan Jo Kalam” (The poetic works of Kazi Kadan).

Similarly names of two more poets of that era have been found which were not from Sindh. One of them was Darvesh Dadu Diyal (1544-1603 AD) who wrote a few Sindhi verses having been inspired by Kazi Kadan. The other saint was Mahamati Pran Nath (1581-1694 AD) who was born in Umerkot in Sindh but lived in Navankot and Rajkot towns of Jam Nagar State in Kathiawar. He has composed a lot of verses in Sindhi language which are full of grammatical qualities, the examples are quoted below.

(a) The Langauge of Dadu Diyal’s Poetry:

It was mentioned in earlier chapters that there are a lot of similarities between Sindhi culture and that of the present day Rajasthan and Haryana. There is a likeness of thought among the poets, scholars and saints. And because of that the sufis and saints of Sindh and those of Rajasthan, Gujrat, Kachh, Kathiawar and Haryana in India visited each other quite frequently. The proof of such a claim is found in the reports of the experts of archeology. Mr. Hiro Thakur had found a book written in Devanagari script from the shrine of Dadu Panthi Bhagat Haridas, which contained poetry of about 68 bhagats. One of its chapters was consisted of poetry by Kazi Kadan and other bhagats of Sindh. (36)

Dadu Diyal was quite impressed by the words used by Kazi Kadan. Dadu Diyal’s influence was not confined to Haryana and a pupil of Dadu Diyal in the main town Jaipur of State Jaipur in Rajisthan also had a collection of poetry by these saints of Sindh.

Dadu Diyal was a contemporary of Shah Karim Bulrai. As mentioned earlier, Sindh, Rajasthan, Gujrat and Kachh held close social, educational, cultural and literary relations with each other. From ancient times the eastern and south-eastern borders of Sindh were shared with them and all these regions were under the Empire of Sindh. In the east up to Bhamal and Lothal, and in the south-east the whole region up to Soorat was within the borders of Sindh. Therefore the conditions of these areas were similar to Sindh; and because of the social interaction the language was also almost similar and the Dhatki dialect of eastern Sindh provides credence to such a claim. Similarly in Rajasthan, the Jaisalmer, Mewari and Marwari dialects have a lot of resemblance with Sindhi language.

Dr. Baloch has written:

“Up until partition, the main clans and tribes that had lived in this area were: Sodhas and Thakurs among the Hindus and Sameja, Rahuma, Nohria, Sangrasi, Dohath and some others were among the Muslims.” (37)

With reference to Dadu Diyal, Dr. Baloch writes:

“The poetry of the Sufis and saints of Sindh influenced the bhagats and virtuous men of Rajasthani region who were also followers of the sufi principles and believed in the oneness of God. Especially the  poetry of the great scholar and sufi saint Kazi Kadan (1465-1551) had a remarkable effect on the Rajasthani sufi Dadu Diyal (1544-1603) and under this influence Dadu Diyal not only wrote poetry in Sindhi but even his pupils and disciples made the poetic works of Kazi Kadan famous in Rajasthan and its adjoining areas.” (38)

Some examples of Dadu Diyal’s poetry are given below (39), so that one can observe the qualities of Sindhi poetry of one of Shah Karim’s contemporaries.

(1) دادو! دعوا ڇوڙ دي، بن دعوا دِن ڪَٽ،

ڪتني سودي ڪر گئي، اس پاساري ڪي هَٽ.

dado! dawa chhoṛ de, bin dawa din kat,

kitne sode kar gayee, is pasari kay hat.

(2) دادو! دعوا ڇوڙ دي، تو هووي خير ڪا خير،

نا ڪسي ڪي دوستي، نا ڪسي ڪا بير.

dado! dawa chhoṛ de, to hove khair ka khair,

na kisi ki dosti, na kisi ka bair.

(3) دادو! جھاتي پائي پس پري، هاڻي لاءِ مَ وير،

سٿ سڀوئي هليو، پوءِ سندونِ ڪير.

dado! jhati paye pas pare, haṇe laye ma vair.

sath sabho ee halyo, poye sandoni kair.

(4) دادو! غافل ڇو وتين، آهي منجھه الله،

پري پاڻ جو پاڻ سين، لهي سڀوئي ساهه.

dado! ġhafil chho vateen, ahe manjh Allah,

pare paṇa jo paṇ seen, lahe sabhoee saah.

(5) دادو! جين تيل تِلن ۾، جين ڳُنڌ ڦُلن،

جين مکڻ کير ۾، تين رب رهن.

dado! jen tel tilan men, jen gundh phulan men,

jen makhaṇ kheer men, teen rab rahan.

The Sindhi used in these verses of Dadu Diyal is full of words and grammatical qualities of Rajasthani languages. He has used almost the same similes and metaphors that Pir Sadruddin had used 125 years before this saint. For example: ‘soday ker gayi’ (traded), ‘dawa’ (claim), ‘pasari’ (grocer), ‘hut’ (shop), ‘sath sabhoye halio’ (went along others), ‘ġhafil’ (Sleeping or unaware), ‘tail tilan mai’ (meaning having qualities), ‘ganḍh phulan’ (nectar/sap), ‘makhaṇ kheer’ men (butter in the and milk).

• The Chopayoon of the Gujrati Saint Mahamati Praṇ Nath:

Mahamati Pran Nath is a big name among the Gujrati poets who were contemporaries of Dadu Diyal; Mr. Jhamoon Chhugani has published two volumes of his research on his poetry.

As mentioned earlier, Gujrat, Kachh, Kathiawar and Rajasthan regions were once a part of Sindh. In addition to cultural, social and commercial ties between these areas, the scholars and poets had relations with each other since ancient times. The civilization of Sindh was spread on one side to Lothal and its eastern side up to the coast of Maha Nadi; in the north it extended up to the Oravali Mountains to the south-east up to the Mandva coast of Kachh and the port of Soorat; and their rulers were subordinate to the kingdom of ancient Sindh. That is the reason for the resemblance of these languages with Sindhi; the details of the occurrences can be found in the book “Sindh ji Lisani Geography” (A Linguistic Geography of Sindh).

Mahamati Pran Nath was born in the city of Jareja Samas called Jam Nagar in Kathiawar state in 1581 AD i.e. during the era of Moghul Nawabs. He was son of Keshu Thakur, the chief minister to the Jam of Jam Nagar. His mother was a Sindhi woman whose name was Dhan Bai; and so the mother-tongue of this saint was Sindhi. (40)

The mentor of this saint was also a Sindhi saint who was born in Umerkot in 1581 AD and his name was Dev Chander but he became famous later under the name of Sami Najanand. Who had migrated from Sindh in 1606 and lived the rest of his life in Navan Nagar where he met Mahamati Pran Nath. (41)

It is common knowledge that even the present language of Navan Nagar is Kathiawari. The courts of the Raja of this state and other states of Kathiawar had a good number of writers, poets, scholars and virtuous men and therefore people of these areas were well versed with Sindhi. Furthermore the arrival of saints like Sami Najanand who had sufi visitors at his place where the verses, saloks and other genres of poetry were frequently recited; therefore Sindhi language was a common and known language here.

Hearing the poetry in his teacher’s quarters, Mahamati Pran Nath also started writing poetry. He frequently visited Thatta and other cities of Lower Sindh. One Lal Das from Thatta became his disciple. This saint (Mahamati Pran Nath) passed away 4 years after Shah Latif was born i.e. on 29^th June 1694 AD.

The poetry (chopayoon) of Mahamati Pran Nath has been published in Sindhi-Arabic script by Jhamu Chhugani. In order to gave an idea of this book, a few of his chopayoons are reproduced here as examples: (42)

(1) آخر ويرا اُٿڻ جي، آئين روحين ڇڏيجا راند

اُٿي وچ عرش جي، ڪوڏُ ڪري مڙوُن ڪانڌَ

aakhir vaira uthaṇ jee, aayin roohen chhadeja rand

uthi vich arsha je, kodu kare miṛoon kandh

(2) ڌڻي موُهجي روح جا، هاڻي چوئان ڪِين ڪري،

روح کي ڏِنو پر ڏيهڙو، چئو سو دل ڌري

dhaṇi moohji rooha ja, haṇe chuan keen kare,

rooh khe dino pardehaṛo, chao so dil dhare

(3) ترسائيين ته ترسان، مون کي مون منجھان ڪي نه سريو،

سڀ ڳالهيون آن جي هٿ ۾، ڄاڻي تيئن ڪريو.

tarsayeen ta tarsan, moon khe moon manjha ke na saryo,

sabh galhyoon aan je hatha men, jaṇe tiyen karyo.

The language used by Mahamati Pran Nath is entirely the Kathiawari dialect of Sindhi language which is clear from the words like ‘mohjay’ (impress), ‘choaan’ (say), and ‘aan’ (me) etc. Studying the works of these two saintly poets i.e. Dadu Diyal and Mahamati Pran Nath clearly shows that by the times of the Moghul rulers, Sindhi language had become a complete and standard language due to its large treasure of words and its grammatical qualities.

12- Similarities between Sindhi and Dhatki Dialects:

It has been mentioned earlier that Sindhi, Lahandi, Gujrati, Kachhi, Kathiawari and Rajasthani belong to a single group of languages i.e. they are off-shoots of one principal language. That is why Mewari, Marvari, Jaisalmeri and other dialects of Rajasthan and Sindh are linguistically similar.

Although the Dhatki dialect is considered as one of the Rajisthani group of languages, but this dialect is a sort of a mixture. Dr. Baloch has written about Parkari-Sindhi-Dhatki as under:

“The basic structure of Dhatki is that of Sindhi but its fabric has clearly got Rajasthani colours. From ancient times, Dhatki dialect has been the connecting link between the Sindhi and Rajasthani cultures. Some Rajasthani proverbs, quotes of wisdom and folk stories like Dhol Marvi etc. became known in Sindh through Dhatki. On the other hand Sindhi proverbs, stories and verses of poetry were popular in Rajasthan. The tribes and clans belonging to Sindh settled in the parts of Rajasthan made Sindhi language famous there.” (43)

13- (a) It is important to look at the language used by a poet who was a resident of Sindh in the Moghul period. The poet’s name was Pir Lakho Lutfullah, but Lakho or Lakhano was his pen name. This gentleman was born in 1591 AD i.e. the period when Sindh was ruled by the Moghuls. His poetry has become mixed in the Risalo of Shah Latif. Only three of his verses have been discovered where he has expressed the scenic beauty of spring and Sohni as metaphor of love. He used pure Sindhi similes and words like ‘angoorioon’ and ‘keetkiyoon’ to praise the beloved.

(b) Pir Lakho Lutfullah has given the names of flowers and plants as similes, metaphors and symbols and has used selected and special words of Sindhi to describe the beauty of the plains in the month of Phagan (spring of the lunar calendar) that had never been used before him. For example:

pholiyun (ڦوليون), phagaṇ mānhan (ڦڳڻ مانهن), kānhan (ڪانهن), phul (ڦُل), pholy hinyoon (ڦولي هنيون), sailh (سيلهه), bailha (ٻيلهه) etc.

(c) This sughar poet formed numerous compound and complex words e.g. ri lalaṇ (ري لالڻ), sabhag (سڀاڳ), phagaṇ manhan (ڦڳڻ مانهن).

(d) He used many pronominal suffixes like khajayas (disturb), vadhyas (grew), sikhyas (learnt), vayaas (went). The pronominal suffix ‘s’ in these verbs should be studied carefully because he has used this suffix for first person singular very much like Kazi Kadan who had used it in his poetry e.g. jogi jagayos, suto hos ninda main.

(e) Similarly Lakho Lutfullah has used numerous compound verbs (potentials) e.g. pasio pholay (پسيو ڦولي), varay vidhyas (واري وڌياس), chhaij karaṇ (ڇيڄ ڪرڻ) and vihu vijhaṇ (وهه وجھڻ) etc. Similarly the following words not only point to the vast vocabulary of Sindhi language but need to be analyzed grammatically e.g. khaṛkaṇ (کُڙڪڻ), sukaṇ (سُڪڻ), burran (ٻرن), chhankaṇ (ڇڻڪن), baily (ٻيلي) and vihu (وِهُه)

Some examples of his poetic words are as under:

(1)

انگوريون ۽ ڪيتڪيون، ڦوليون ڦڳڻ مانهن،

ري لالڻ لاکو چئي، سي آءٌ ڪريان ڪانهن،

جي سڄڻ هُئي مون ٻانهن، ته ڦُل پسيو ڦولي هنيون.

angooryun ayen ketkiyun, pholyun phagaṇ manh,

re lalan lakho chaye, se aaun karyan kanhan,

je sajan huyi moon banhan, ta phul pasyo pholay hanyon.

(2)

انگوريون ۽ ڪيتڪيون، ڦوليون ڦڳڻ هيلَ،

ري لالڻ ’لاکو‘ چئي، سي آءٌ ڀانئيان سيلَهه،

جي سڄڻ هُئي مون ٻيلهَه، ته ڦُل پسيو ڦولي هنيون.

angooryun ayen ketkiyun, pholyun phagaṇ haila,

re lalaṇ ‘lakho’ chaye, se aaun bhaniyan selha

je sajaṇ hui moon bailha, ta phul pasyo phole hanyon.

(3)

کڙڪن کجاياس، ٻيلي پاس ٻُرن جي،

ڇڻڪن جي ڇيڄ ڪيا، تن واري وِهُه وڌياس،

لاکو لطف الله چئي، آڇي آب گھڙياس،

سرتيون ڪنهن سڀاڳ کي، سڪڻ لَئي سکياس،

وَسان ئي ويياس، مليس جي ميهار کي.

khaṛkan khajayas, beli pas buran je,

chhaṇkan je chhaija kaya, tin vare vihu vidhyas,

lakho lutfullah chaye, aachhe aab ghiṛyas,

sartyoon kehn sabhag khe, sikaṇ laye sikhyas,

vasan ee veyas, milyas je mehar khe.

14- (a) Shah Karim died in the days of the Moghul rulers in 1623 AD. During this very period, another great poet Shah Lutfullah Qadri was born. According to Dr. Baloch’s opinion he was born in 1611 AD (1020 AH). (44) Dr. Baloch has written in the book “Shah Lutfullah Qadri jo Risalo” as under:

“While composing ‘Minhajul Maarfat’ he knew how to explain the points of sulook (mysticism) in Sindhi since he included Sindhi verses in different chapters; perhaps these verses were greatly appreciated by people and Shah Lutfullah felt that all the basic important points of sulook (mysticism) could be easily understood in Sindhi verse; therefore he compiled this collection of poetry (Risalo) as a conscious effort and with great dedication and commitment.”

The subject is Wahdat (oneness of God) and the ways to follow Tareeqat (religion). It starts with the description of the guide, disciple and Shariah and ends on the divine qualities and oneness of Almighty Allah. The Risalo ends with a discussion about oneness of God Almighty and the conditions of disciples and the saints and Pirs.

The number of verses composed by Shah Lutfullah Qadri amounts to about 400. Anyway, based on the present research one can say that Shah Lutfullah Qadri’s Risalo is the first voluminous book of Sindhi poetry. (45)

(b) This opinion proves that by this time in the literary history, Sindhi language had achieved such progress and development that large volumes of books on the oneness of God and on tareeqat had started being written. The opinion of Dr. Baloch that follows appears rather partisan when he says:

“Perhaps since the 9^th century AH (15^th century AD) the saintly men and scholars had started propagating their teachings to improve human and social attitudes by means of their poetry. Soul-satisfaction, understanding divinity for self-betterment, sympathy for fellow beings and search for the truth and reality became the main subjects of their poetry; and in this way simple ‘narration and talk’ was replaced by ‘meaning and concept’ in Sindhi poetry. Stories and nuances were envisioned as a metaphor in order to emphasize ‘truth and reality’. The initiation of poetry of wisdom and Sufi following which was thought provoking flourished the plant of substantive Sindhi poetry, that is visible from the poetry of Kazi Kadan, which finally took the shape of a blossoming tree in the poetry of Shah Latif. The poetic works of Shah Lutfullah Qadri appear like a bridging link of Sindhi poetry between Kazi Kadan and the times of Shah Latif.” (46)

The above quoted opinion by Dr. Baloch has been called partisan; because for some unknown reason Dr. Baloch does not believe that the poetry of Ismaili preachers or the Sufi saints of Punjabi language or the Sufi poets of Rajasthan and the Kathiawar like Baba Farid Ganj Shakar, Madhu Lal Shah Hussain, Baba Bulhay Shah, Dadu Dyal and Mahamati Pran Nath, contain the subjects of soul searching, divine understanding, and realisation of truth and reality. If Dr. Baloch talks only of the Sindhi poetry, it would serve well to remind the readers about the subjects defined in the poetry of Ismaili Pirs, Baba Farid Ganj Shakar, Dadu Dayal, Mahamati Pran Nath and Pir Lakho Lutfullah that are summarized below. Further the Ginans given in earlier chapters and the poetry of Baba Farid and other poets can be referred to. The subjects are as under:

“To have an open heart, to recite the names of Almighty Allah and His Prophet (PBUH), to avoid hatred and falsification, to consider the world as finite, to believe in Oneness of God, to consider the Prophet (PBUH) as the last messenger of God, to recite the Kalima of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and in addition to these, the description of the peculiarities of an infidel and a believer by means of similes and metaphors.” (47)

(c) The question arises: whether the poetry on these subjects in Sindhi, Kachhi, Punjabi, Gujrati, Seraiki and Hindi would not be considered to enlighten the human thought and purification of the soul?! The truth is that the Ismaili elders and other sufis and saints had started writing such poetry long before even the 11^th century AD. Therefore a claim has to be made that the poetry of Sindhi language containing these subjects along with lyrical prose had started some 400 years before Kazi Kadan (1465-1551 AD) by Ismaili saints and preachers. The first Ismaili saint whose Sindhi poetry has been found in the genre of Ginans was Pir Satgur Noor who had come to Sindh and Multan in 1079 AD with the purpose of preaching, as has been mentioned earlier as well.

Kazi Kadan (1465-1551 AD) was without doubt a predecessor of Shah Karim (1536-1623 AD) and Shah Lutfullah Qadri (1611-1679 AD). (48) Shah Karim was 14 years old when Kazi Kadan passed away. He was very much influenced by his sufistic verses. Shah Karim was the one who was the sole narrator of Kazi Kadan’s verses. He used to recite his poems in his social meetings; and from which 7 verses were included in his poetic works. (49)

Based on the research done on the poetry of Kazi Kadan by a Sindhi scholar, Mr. Hiro Thakur, our local researchers have brought a change in their opinion. (50) Recently Dr. Baloch has done an extensive research on his poetry. Anyway one has to concede that in order to visit the history of Sindhi language, we need to find such poetry in the temples and other places of worship in the neighboring areas of Sindh like the Indian states of Kachh, Gujrat, Jam Nagar, Rajkot, Mana Vadhar, Junagarh, Jaisalmir, Jaipur, Bekanir, Haryana and Himachal Pardesh and in addition to them, in the personal libraries of the Rajas and Maharajas of these ancient states of India.

(d) The analysis of Sindhi language used by Kazi Kadan in his poetry (as above) was to try and prove that Sindhi language was a fully developed language even in the Sama period; which was used for describing scholarly thoughts and complex subjects. There was enough treasure of words to describe and explain these subjects.

Dr. Baloch believes that in the classical poetry of Sindh, Shah Karim was perhaps the first poet who depicted 15 of the commonly known (folk) stories for his allegorical verses; for example stories of Sohni, Marvi, Sasui, Lilaan and Moomal, in addition to the Ghatoos (fishermen), Mokhi and Matara, the bards of Kachh, Khahoris, Dataars and Manganhars; and other topics. The symbols of Hans (hanj), meeting the beloved travelling on a camel, blacksmiths, seamen and their spouses, Morkhan and Morkhai, the hideouts of the thieves etc. were used by him as metaphors.

(e) In the earlier chapters, examples of the poetry of Pir Satgur Noor, Pir Shams Sabzwari Multani and Pir Sadruddin were used as a proof of the magnificence, richness of structure and of the development of Sindhi language and the subjects of their poetry containing metaphors, similes, signs and symbols. For instance the Ismaili preachers used the local words and circumstances to preach to the common people of Sindh, especially the newly converted Ismaili disciples through their Ginans. They used the symbols of the baghu (stork) and the Hans (goose), metaphors, symbols and similes to explain the difference between believers and the infidels. The Ismaili saints made use of weavers, fishermen, boatmen, blacksmiths, goldsmiths and their crafts as metaphors and symbols to spread their message. They also used Jogis, Khahoris and Samis and pre-Islamic folk stories like Raja Pehlaj, Harmakas, Raja Yadhshatar, Tara Rani, Diyat Kalingi and other stories metaphorically. In this context, Pir Shams and Pir Sadruddin have done wonders. An article published in the journal Mehran had this to say:

“Pir Sadruddin’s works are full of subjects of Sufism and spirituality. They have called the world as finite and have advised their disciples that one will not achieve much from the worldly things, therefore it is essential to remove hatred and false notions from the heart; and avoid being a slave of the soul and be free from bad practices and dedicate oneself for truth.” (51)

Pir Sadruddin has said regarding human life that:

“Man has been given this life to pray and dedicate himself to God. He has repeatedly advised to avoid careless attitudes and has cursed slumber.” (52)

Pir Sadruddin believed in the concept of faith (Hum-a oost). One of his Ginan gives the following message:

“The way eyes have vision, flowers have fragrance, milk has butter and the sun has light, similarly God Almighty exists in the human soul in addition to other things.” (53)

 (f) It is indeed correct that the ancient qualities of Sindhi language before the 11^th century AD are found in the language of the sufis, saints and sughars of later periods; which were continued by poets like Ishaque Ahanger, Kazi Kadan, Shah Karim and Makhdoom Nooh and other spiritual poets outside Sindh. And after them, it was used in the language by great scholars like Shah Lutfullah Qadri. Dr. Baloch writes:

“Shah Lutfullah Qadri had a subject of Sulook and Tareeqat which he wanted to explain using examples of poets and virtuous men who searched for truth and reality which he symbolized with the boatmen who buoyed their boats in deep seas and with the Jogis, who faced hardships to achieve their goal. Shah Lutfullah Qadri started the use of new metaphorical subjects in classical Sindhi poetry like Samoondi and Nakhuan (seamen and the boatsmen) and “Jogis and Adesis” (ascetics and mendicants) that had not been used by any other poet before him; although after him these subjects became models for poets like Miyon Shah Inat and Shah Abdul Latif. Both these poets used them (in Sur Samoondi, Sur Surirag, Sur Poorab and Sur Ramkali) with great inspiration.” (54)

The examples of symbolic and metaphorical poetry by the Ismaili preachers given above can be relied upon to negate the opinion that of Dr. Baloch:

“Through these examples Shah Lutfullah Qadri initiated new subjects in classical Sindhi poetry like Samoondi, Nakhua, Jogi and Adesis, that had not been used by any poets before him.” (55)

The Ismaili preachers had been using these subjects like Jogis (ascetics), Sami, Adesi (mendicants), Nakhua (boatsmen), Vanjarra (sea-traders), Katar (weavers), Vapaar (businessmen), Hari (farmers), Lohara (ironsmiths) and Sonara (goldsmiths) in their poetry since the 11^th century; although one can concede that:

“After him (Shah Lutfullah Qadri) these subjects became examples for Miyon Shah Inat and Shah Latif and both these poets used them (in Sur Samoondi, Sur Surirag, Sur Poorab and Sur Ramkali) with great inspiration.” (56)

Dr. Baloch has analyzed the artistic structure of the poetry of Shah Lutfullah Qadri and his use of novel genres and ideas and all the forms and steps of evolution from Sindhi Doha (couplet) to Sindhi bait (verse). He has quoted examples of addition of verses in the two lines and writes:

“Contrary to that, the poetry of Shah shows frequent examples of verses where with 4 or 5 lines and in certain Lutfullah Qadri shows use of 6 to 7 lines.” (57)

This peculiarity of the poetry of Shah Lutfullah Qadri can be considered as a great proof of evolution of Sindhi language. Dr. Baloch has thrown light on another novelty in the poetry of Shah Lutfullah Qadri in very emphatic words. According to him the use of Varaan (repeating) in a poetic way, is observed for the first time in the poetry of Shah Lutfullah Qadri consistently. (58) This may also help in the study of the evolution of Sindhi language, to show the magnificence of Sindhi language in the Tarkhan and Moghul periods. Explaining the Takrar (duplicate) and Varaan (repeat) verses, Dr. Baloch says:

“According to this system, the poet uses certain words, idioms or phrases in more than one verses repeatedly. The purpose of this repetition is providing credence and support to a thought or concept, or as an expression of heart-felt desire and praise.” (59)

According to Dr. Baloch’s research, not only Shah Lutfullah Qadri made important additions in the appearance and artistic design of Sindhi verse but also increased the number of rhyming lines forming longer paragraphs (band), the examples of which are noticed in his poetry. (60)

Dr. Baloch writes:

“Based on the present knowledge, one can say that the most ancient poetry in Sindhi language is in the form of long band. After Shah Lutfullah Qadri numerous other poets and scholars used this genre of ‘long bands’ to express various subjects. And the first few examples are found in ‘Abul Hassan ji Sindhi’, ‘Ziauddin ji Sindhi’, ‘Makhdoom Muhammad Hashim ain Mian Abdullah’s books’. These scholars explained the religious issues in Sindhi for easy understanding.” (61)

15- (a) Another important factor that Dr. Baloch has pointed to with reference to Shah Lutfullah Qadri is ‘imparting education in mother-tongue’. In this context too, Dr. Baloch has quite a partisan view. He writes:

“The writings of poets and scholars before Shah Latif, whether they are in prose or poetry, either in Arabic or Persian. Shah Lutfullah Qadri was perhaps the first Sindhi scholar and saint, who felt that the people of Sindh, whose mother-tongue was Sindhi, would be able to understand things better in Sindhi; and for their ease and benefit it was necessary that educational and scholarly deliberations be made only in their own mother-tongue so that not only could they easily comprehend them but develop an affinity and interest in them. Under this concept he composed his Risalo with great affection in Sindhi for the following three purposes:

• Scholars can understand the educational issues in Arabic or Persian but the common man who possesses less knowledge compared to the scholars can not, therefore these issues (problems) should be elaborated in Sindhi so that the people could find it easy to comprehend them:

“And that Sindhi verse being easier, those with low acumen understand it.”

(ii) When the book is in their ‘own language’ i.e. their mother-tongue, they will be able to learn much faster:

“Language being their own, understand they will faster’.

(iii) They will like and learn with interest if its in their mother-tongue:

“With interest and love, says Lutfullah! They will learn and read.” (62)

(b) Explaining further, Dr. Baloch writes:

“These three purposes carry immense importance in the concept of education and training. The reason behind the compilation of the Risalo was not just poetry but it was education: i.e. explaining the subjects of Tareeqat. For this educational purpose, he considered writing the Risalo in their mother-tongue because he believed that a person can learn quicker and better in that medium. And in this way Shah Lutfullah Qadri laid down the foundation of the concept of education through mother-tongue of the Sindhi people in his Sindhi Risalo. Makhdoom Abul Hassan Thattvi who was perhaps his younger contemporary practically materialized this concept and wrote a book in Sindhi for educating people, that was later taught in the educational institutes of Sindh by scholars and teachers.

Anyway, according to the present information, Shah Lutfullah Qadri’s Risalo is the first important book which entirely consists of Sindhi verses.” (63)

(c) In this regard, discussing the early period of Soomra rule and the Arabs, it was mentioned that examples of teaching through Sindhi medium had been mentioned by researcher Al-Beruni in his famous book Kitabul Hind. So far as the question of religious teaching through another language is concerned, it has been emphatically stressed upon with references that the foundation of religious teachings of Islam in mother-tongue (Sindhi language) was laid by Ismaili preachers, as has been claimed above with examples (64) and in addition for trade and commerce, accounting, numbers and names of things and other subjects were also taught in Sindhi language for which Al-Beruni has provided evidences. It has been proved by examining letters and writings present on the shards and bricks found during the excavations of the ruins of Brahamanabad (Mansoorah) and Bhambore that long before the advent of Islam in Sindh, Sindhi language was used as a medium of education in Pathshaala (Hindu schools) and commercial shops. And so it was asserted that the system of training and education in Sindhi language had been there even before the 5^th century AD. Although in this context, the first major book written in a standard and developed form in Arabic Sindhi script was “The Risalo of Shah Lutfullah Qadri.”

(d) Although Shah Lutfullah Qadri has used the rather easy and commonly spoken language and has explained complex points of Islam through similes and metaphors; but the Sindhi language used has numerous Persian and Arabic words with some lines from the Holy Quran as well. Some of these words are given below as examples:

ijz (humility),  aqul (wisdom), fikr (thought), arif (saint), asfal, sujood (bowing in prayer), isim (noun or name), zaat (caste/clan), wahdat (oneness (of God)), haq (truth), ilm (knowledge), alim (scholar), inayat (benevolence), hasil (acquire), wujood (existence), haal (present), faani (finite), mahaal (tedious), hairat (surprise), makaan (place), harf (letter), hikayat (story), mehav (engrossed), khaas (special), aam (common), arsh (sky-heaven), kursi (chair), qaal queel (dialogue, discussion), hukum (decree/order), soorat (shape), seerat (character), husn (beauty), kamal (perfection), zarafat (wit),  jamaal (beauty), zahir (evident), batin (hidden-inner), khayal (thought), ashiq (lover), ijtihaad (new point), uloom (plural of ilm (knowledge)), jabeen (forehead), subhan (name of god), subooh (morning), adab (respect), rooh (spirit), rab (god), hasab nasab (pedigree), aabau (ancestors), aab (water), autaqan (meeting place), aaraam (rest), tauq (a yolk), huzoor (respectable man (used for the prophet pbuh), tafakur (thoughtfulness), tareeq (way), haqeeqat (reality), harkat (movement), hirs (greed), bagh (garden) etc.

The following words used by Shah Lutfullah Qadri are very interesting from a grammatical point in Sindhi. He formed many new words and frequently used pronominal suffix. For example the following words demand our attention:

bebaak (fearless), nabood (cursed end), haqaeen (truly), sabhkenh (everyone), saraaheen (praise), mulkain (of countries), hinahin (he himself), supak (crisp), abojh (unwise), sabojh (wise), pasaah (breaths), pireen-a ri’a (without the beloved), parooṛij (identify), maṛhoo (people/men), haijan (restlessness), poe (pavay) (occur/happen), saisain (thousands), gujharat (riddle), kamtar (lesser), ubato (upside down/ opposite), bhoon (earth), supriyan (of the beloved), dekharindaṛ (one who shows), saireendaṛ (one who moves), uthiyarindaṛ (one who awakens), lokaan (from peoplen), jogiyan (from jogis), naangan (serpents), ooye (you), jaṇan (knowing), jaan jaan (as and when), raatṛi (night), kuh jaṇan (do not know),  subhaag (good fortune),  zaat na taat (wilderness), jijaan (mother), dehaan (from one’s country), pasoon (see), khijaan (get tired), nisang (no company).

Similarly he has used many words for the Jogis (mendicants and ascetics) in his Sindhi poetry like: kaapri, jogi, kachhoti, laang, saami, kakoria, adesi, babu, baooti, kainaro etc.

Shah Lutfullah Qadri has used numerous phrases and idioms in his poetry and some of them are given as under:

hai hai karaṇ (lamenting), haik thiyaṇ (to unite/ become one), ban diyaṇ (shun), vaha vajaṇ (swim with the current), hath rasaṇ (to acquire), raah gum thiyaṇ (getting lost/losing the way), wujood vijayaṇ (forgetting oneself), fi-llah main faani thiyaṇ (sacrifice oneself in the Lord’s way), paaṇ vijhaṇ (set negation), pair lahaṇ (search/seek/try finding), doray achaṇ (seek, find), paaṇ parooṛaṇ (soul searching, self realisation), paaṇ vijayaṇ (dedication), sukh sumhaṇ (resting peacefully), mana main mach baraṇ (have an internal fire), doongar doraṇ (searching the mountains), aab autaṇ (shedding tears), para main pachaṇ (burn in desire), lokaan lok karaṇ (to make known), khabar lahaṇ (to enquire), maiṛay vijhaṇ (to collect), kees karaṇ (to inflict pain).

All this proves that by this era Sindhi language had acquired a higher state with immense qualities. These two verses can be reproduced here as examples:

(1)

اي جڳ جوڳو جوڳئين، جوڳين جوڳ سهاءِ،

جوڳيان سندي جوڳ ۾، مد منجئهين ماءِ،

هئي مون کي هاءِ، آءٌ جوڳُ نه سکڻو جوڳئين.

aye jag jogo jogiyen, jogin jog sahaye,

jogiyan sande jog men, mad manjehen maye,

hui monkhe haye, aaun jogu na sikhṇo jogiyen

(2)

ڪوڏا ڪِئو رسالو اي فقيرَ جوڙي بيتن،

ته هوءِ سِنڌي وائيَ سُهلو، ٻُجھڻ اَٻوجھن،

پاهنجي ٻولي ڪري، سگھائين اي سِکن،

لطف الله چئي لَئه پيو، وَر سِکن ۽ پڙهن.

koda kiyo risalo aye faqeera joṛe betan,

ta hoe sindhi vayee-a suhlo, bujhaṇ abojhan,

pahanji boli kare, saghayen ae sikhan,

lutfullah chaye lay payo, var sikhan aen paṛhan.

16- (a) As mentioned earlier, writing prose in Sindhi language has also been there since time immemorial. Numerous exhibits of Sindhi prose from the periods of Soomra, Sama, Arghun, Tarkhan and Moghul rule are available. After an analysis of these one can say that although the examples of prose relating to modern sciences is not available but samples of proverbs, idioms, lyrics, lines and writings of traders (accounting books) have been found that provide credence to the claim pertaining to the richness of Sindhi language and the wisdom and acumen of its scholars and poets.

Earlier the lyrically composed daily prayers (wazifa) by the Ismaili Pirs, Sindhi proverbs and one-line sentences of Pir Murad Shah were quoted as examples. Similarly a saying from the Tarkhan period is also quite famous, in which are mentioned cities of that period like Fateh Bagh, Noorai and Nasarpur and their magnificence in addition to the state’s trade and commerce, economics and geography. These towns were so famous in the period of Mirza Shah Hassan Arghun (1523-1555 AD, 930-962 AH) for their richness and commercial autonomy, that in the days of his exile, emperor Humayun had come to stay in Ama Bagh through Umerkot and had sent for his son Prince Akbar to come and stay there. The following saying provides proof of such prosperity of these cities which is also a great example of the prose of Sindhi language of those times. The saying is as under:

نرت نورائي، نار نصرپور، ڦل فتح باغ،

هلي ڏسو جُوڻ، جتي ڪپهه جو واپار.

nirt noorayi, naar nasarpur, phal fateh baġh,

hali diso jooṇ, jite kapeh jo vapar.

(Noorai dance, Nasarpur’s ladies and the flower of Fateh Bagh.

Come and see Joon where cotton is traded)

An analysis of this saying enables us to understand the economic prosperity of the country in those times. It also throws light on the grandeur of Sindhi language. The examples of its vocabulary is evident from words like  Nirt, Naar, Fateh Bagh, haan, hali disso, jitay kapah jo, vaapar and other words can be found.

One learns from this saying that there was a practice of writing “Pur” with the name of towns. Like Miran Pur, and Nasarpur etc. Such towns are found even today where ‘Pur’ is a suffix at the end of the name of a city e.g. Mirpur, Budhapur, Unarpur and Shahdadpur etc. Similarly there are towns with ‘Bagh’ e.g. Fateh Bagh and Barocho Bagh.

The saying also throws light on the economic conditions of Sindh and its different trades like cotton, various grains and grocery items. Not only that but this saying also tells us about the social and cultural circumstances of Sindh. It refers to the beauty of the women and the prowess and manliness of its menfolk. For example the cities of Noorai and Nasarpur were famous for the beautiful eyes and features of women. The women of Nasarpur were known for their height, posture and shapely body contours. And that Sindhi language had proverbs used in daily life.

Although some sayings and quotes of Shah Karim Bulrai have been found but since they were written by Mian Abdul Wasay in Persian, so one cannot comment on the qualities and structure of the original language of these sayings.

(b) The greatest prose writer of this period was Makhdoom Jafar Boobakai (RIP 1589 AD, 998 AH) who wrote a book relating to the matters of divorce in Arabic with the name of “Halul Uqood Fi Talaqul Sunood” (A book relating to solutions to the problems relating to divorce). This book contains some Sindhi sentences as well. These and other Sindhi sentences written in Persian books of some other scholars have been given by Dr. Baloch in his book “Sindhi Boli Ain Adab Ji Tareekh” (i.e. History of Sindhi language and its literature).

The other famous scholars who lived in that period in addition to Makhdoom Jafar Boobakai are as under:

(i) Makhdoom Abdul Qasim Sindhi: This scholar was the son of Mufti Muhammad Dawood. Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir had appointed him as his Shariah advisor. He died in 1691 AD (1103 AH). (65)

(ii) Syed Shah Wali Thattvi: This gentleman was Shah Abdul Qasim Sindhi’s son and was a disciple of a great scholar of his time. He was very good at poetry and prose and his book named “Tuhfatul Majalis” is a result of his enlightened persona. He died in 1738 AD/1150 AH. (66)

(iii) Makhdoom Fazlullah: He was a great scholar of his times and was a humanities expert. He was always busy in teaching activities. He was a contemporary of the ruler of Sindh, Mirza Issa Khan Tarkhan and Mirza Muhammad Baqi Tarkhan. (67)

(iv) Makhdoom Abul Khair Thattvi: This scholar was Makhdoom Fazlullah’s son. He was a very wise man with mastery on many sciences. He was involved in selecting problems of Fatawa Alamgiri. Nawab Qubad Khan Alamgir was one of his pupils. (68)

17- Sindhi language in this era was written in Nagric, Khwajki and other scripts in addition to the Arabic-Sindhi script. Among these scripts, Khwajki script was routinely being used for education, literature, trade and commerce through accounting books. In this context Mr. Sirajul Haque Memon had written an article in January 1971 in ‘Nain Zindagi’ Magazine, where he had mentioned the presence of literary manuscripts in Sindhi language written in Proto-Nagric and Nagric scripts; one of these manuscripts is a record book of transactions (Kaabaro) in Sambat 1710 (1650 AD).

This notebook was written a year after the death of Shah Karim Bulrai (1623 AD) during the period when Shah Lutfullah Qadri was alive (1611-79 AD/1020-90 AH), and 39 years before Shah Latif was born; and this clearly shows that Sindhi language was used for commerce and trade in other scripts as well. The notebook under discussion has the following subject: (69)

”سنبت 1710: ورک ناريءَ (نهاريءَ) چنڊ، گروار (خميس) ڏهاڙي اکر ڪيا: ننگر ساموئي ڀيتري ڏنڪ نامي لهاڻي سورجي پرئياڻيءَ لهڻا: اَڌرڻڪ نامي ڀاٽيي رامل تورسيانيءَ ڪَني روپيا 101 انگين اکرين سو ايڪوترا: پورا: کرا: آڪڙا: حال ڇڪي (سڪي) جا: شاهجائي: وهاج (وياج) سان: وهاج ماس پريت (در مهيني) ايڪ ايڪوترا ورتي ڏيندو: ڏيندي هر هُج (حجت) ڪانه ڪندو: ناري ني (ڏسي ڪري/نهاري) ڪاٻاڙو لکيو: ديس پرديس سهي (صحيح) جڏهن سوا جي پرئياڻي گھرندو، تڏهن رامل تورسياڻي ڀري جباب (جواب) ڪندو: اُجر (عذر) ۽ مالو (دير) نه ڪندو: ڀيروماس هي ڪاٻاڙو انگي اُڌارو نيائين. سهي (صحيح): بيو اُجر (عذر) ڪونه ڪندو: مت رامل تور سياڻي جما (جمع) ٿيا:

اکر سهي: رُپئين ايڪوترسو: وهاج (وياج) پڻ ايڪوتر:“

“sanbat 1710: varkh nari-a (nihari-a) chanḍ, gurwar (khameesa) dihaṛe akhara kaya: nangar samoyi bheetre dank naame luhaṇe soorji praiyaṇi-a lahna: aadharṇak nami bhatye ramal torsyani-a kane roopaya 1010 angain akhrain sau aikotra: poora: khara: aakṛa: haal chhike (sike) ja: shahjayi: vihaj (viyaj) saan: vihaj maas preet (dar mahine) aik aikotra varti deendo:deende har huj (hujat) kana kando: nare ne (disi kare/nihare) kabaṛo likhyo: des pardes sahi (saheeh) jadenh soor je paraiyaṇi ghurando, tadenh ramal torsyaṇi bhare jabab (jawab) kando: ujar (uzar) aen malo (dair) na kando: bhairomal hee kabaṛo angain udharo niyaeen. sahi (saheeh): biyo ujar (uzar) kona kando: mat ramal torsyaṇi jama (jamaa) thiya:

akhar sahi: rupayan aikotar sou: vihaj (viyaj) piṇ aikotar:”

Meaning:

Year Sambat 1710: on the moon of the month of Nahri : on Thursday the letter was written : Nangar Samoi gave and Lohana Soorji Piryani took : for his nephew named Ramal Toorsiani rupees 101 : in letters one hundred and one : full, pure, numbered in currently used currency : Shahjahai : with interest : interest shall be payable monthly one on one : will not make excuses in paying : wrote this kabaro under his direct vision : in any state when Soorji Piryani desires, then Ramal Toorsiani will pay as response : will not delay by excuses : Bherumas borrowed this  note (kabaro) : okay : will not make excuse : deposited with Ramal Toorsiani in words correctly : rupees one hundred one : interest also one.”

On studying this trading and translations note (kabaro) in Sindhi language, one can say that in the 13-14^th century AD, notes, accounts, beejak (invoice), kabara (record of transactions), daily reports (roznamcha), registers of daily trading, invoicing and letter writing was well established in that era. It is worth noting that a similar language was used for writing invoices and accounts before partition (of the subcontinent), so one can say that there existed a special trading or commercial language. The language in the above quoted note shows some special qualities and peculiarities of Sindhi language that are as under:

• Even at that time there was a system of punctuation in the sentence writing and the break was denoted by using the sign of a colon of the present day language i.e. “:”.
• These notes were written in the local system of accounting in literal and legal manner where words like vihaj ( interest), jama (total/add),  akhar kia (in letters), lahona (owing),  poora (full),  kharra (pure), akra (price list),  angain dina (given in numerals), shahjahai siko (currency that was called Shahjahai), vihaj jo aghu (rate of interest), udharo vathan (to borrow), uzur karan (making excuses),   huj karan (giving reasons) etc. were used.
• The numerals in vogue in that era like 101 and in words (one hundred and one) and that in addition to cardinal numbers, the figures were also written in words. Fractions like half and full were also in use.
• The currency of that era was called Shahjahai Sikko (coin).
• It also becomes known that interest was paid according to the lunar calendar and privately the rate was 100%.
• In addition to the names of the Sindhi months and days, it becomes known that account keeping was done according to the Sindhi lunar calendar and the system of counting was according to the Vikramajeet Sambat.
• It also shows that the Sindh Kaal/Sambat (year) was out of fashion, mentioned earlier with reference to Al-Beruni.
• The grammatical structure of language used in this trading note (kabaro) shows:

Past tense: Akhar Kia (in letters), Lahna (borrowed), likhio (written), nian (took), thia (happened/occurred).

Future tense:  Var deendo (will get), huj kana kando (will not make excuses), ghurando (will ask for).

Compound verb: udharo nian (taking loan, borrow).

Adverb: jadenh (when), na (no), diharay (in the day), tadenh (then).

Postposition: saan (with) and kane (to)

Genetive/Possessive case: ja (of)

Compound noun: des pardes (home and away)

Conjunctive participle:  naari nay (having seen), kabaaro likhio (wrote a trading note)

Conjunction: ain (and), pin (also)

Third person pronoun: hee (he) etc

Similarly the names of castes, people and family are present in this trading note and it can also be said that the suffix “-ni” was used at the end of the names of certain families in Sindh in those times; for Soorji Piryani, Ramal Toorsiani etc.

The use of kabaaro (trading notes), Beejak (invoice) and Hundi (bill of exchange) continued up until 1947. Honourable Professor Abdullah Magsi has given a sample of such a Hundi from the British period which is as under:

ايڪو سهاءِ

”انگين اکرين روپيا سو ڇهه 00-600، نيمي روپيا سو ٽي، تنهنجا ٻيڻا روپيا سو ڇهه، ڀائي پريتمداس تلوڪچنداڻي ڏيج- حيدرآباد مان تاراچند پرسراماڻي چوي اسان هتي ڀائي ڀڳوانداس ٺاڪرداس جي پاسي راکي- توهان ڪراچيءَ منجهه شاهه واپاري جوڳ ڀري ڏيوڻا.

متي سانوڻ تاريخ سنبت 1943 درسني“ (70)

Aiko sahae

“in figures and words rupees 600-00, half of which Rupees three hundred, double of which is rupees 600, give to Bhai Tarachand Parsaramani from Hyderabad; that we kept  it with brother Bhagwandas Thakurani; you may kindly give to trader Shah in Karachi.

Mah (month) Sawan dated Sambat 1943 darsani”

(c) It is important to clarify that kabaro is a special document in commercial communication and it has specific type of language. There is a special subject of such a document. It is written still the same way, especially by Hindu traders. There is no difference in their subject, language and the structure of the sentences. Therefore it should not be misunderstood from the language used in the kabaro that up to that time the syntax of Sindhi language was such. Indeed the structure of the sentences used in day to day affairs was similar to the present day language.

Mr. Sirajul Haque writes in this regard:

“No scholar has given attention to the books written in Nagric script. One of the reasons for that is not knowing that script but the other reason is religious indifference if not religious bias, because the Nagric script has been a sign of Hindu religion; in which the books of Hindu religion were written whereas presently Arabic script is in use for Sindhi language. Therefore such instances were ignored in which Sindhi was written in the Nagric script. The result of such practices is that a great treasure of our language was either destroyed due to the lack of attention or whatever is left of it, is gathering dust in certain libraries, museums and basements.

It must be remembered that along with Arabic script, Nagric and Proto-Nagric scripts have also been in use for Sindhi. So much so that until the British rulers finally decided to get Sindhi language written and published in Arabic script, books were not only written in Nagric and Proto-Nagric scripts but were published as well. Presently our libraries have only the books written in Arabic script, while the books published in Nagric or Proto-Nagric are not available at least in any library of Sindh.” (71)

Mr. Sirajul Haque continues:

“Dr. Trumpp has given in his book the Ashloks of Mengha Bhagat in the story of Laila Majnoon (this book contains both, the Arabic and Nagric scripts; 53 pages are in Nagric and 124 pages are in Arabic script. The corrigendum is of 7 pages and 17 pages are those of Dr. Trumpp’s notes and references).The poet of this epic Laila Majnoon is Syed Fazil Shah who was either Shah Latif’s contemporary or lived a few years before him. This story was written in 1136 AH/1723 AD and Shah Latif died in 1165 AH/1752 AD. The story having 832 lines have been written in a very beautiful and good language. At some places the use of language is simply superb. The language of Mengho Bhagat’s Sindhi language is also remarkable. For example, have a look at this Ashlok:

نئڙي جپج نام کي، ڇڏي گيري گاؤ

جنم پاتُيه جڳ ۾، سمجھي ڏس سماءِ

متئون همراهُه، ٿيندءِ ڪٽنب، منجھان ڪونه ڪو“. (72)

niyaṛe japj naama khe, chhade gere gao

janam patuya jaga men, samjhi dis samae

mataun hamrahu, thindai kutunba, manjhan ko na ko”

Mr. Siraj further writes: “Sasui Punhoon Jo Qiso”: Arch G Goldsmith 1863 AD; the poet of this story is Arif. (73)

Mr. Siraj writes under the heading of Ancient Language:

”ڪرستانن جي مذهبي تبليغ بابت لکيل آهي. 1880ع ۾ ڪراچيءَ ۾ ڇپيو. هيئن ڳالهه ڪندا آهن ته ٽي پريا مڙس- هڪڙو مسلمان، هڪڙو ٻانڀڻ ۽ هڪڙو يهودي- ڪنهن کوهه جي ڀرسان پٽ تي ويٺا هئا، ۽ پاڻ ۾ بحث ٿي ڪيائون ته ماڻهن ۾ جي ٻوليون هلن ٿيون، تن مان ڪهڙي پراڻي آهي. بحث اهڙي جوش ۾ آيو ۽ هنن اهڙو آواز ڪيو،جو هڪڙو انگريزي ماڻهو، هنن جا هُل ٻڌي انهيءَ جڳهه ڏي ڊوڙي آيو. “ (74)

“karitanan je mazhabi tableeġha babat likhyal ahe. 1880 men karachi-a men chhapyo. hiyen galh kanda ahin ta ṭe parya muṛsa- hikṛo musalman, hikṛo banbhaṇ aen hikṛo yahoodi- kenh khooha je bharsan paṭa te vaiṭha hua, aen paṇa men bahas the kayaun ta maṇhun men je bolyoon halan thyoon tin man kehṛi puraṇi ahe. Bahas ahṛe josha men ayo aen hinan ahṛo awaz kayo, jo hikṛo angraiz maṇhu, hinan ja hula budhi unhai-a jagah de ḍori ayo.”

“It is written about religious preaching of Christians and was published in 1880 AD. They say that three wise men—a Mulim, a Banbhan (Hindu Brahman) and a Jew were sitting on the ground near a well and were arguing about which of the languages spoken commonly by people, is the most ancient. The argument became so heated and they made so much noise that an English man ran to the spot on hearing their voices.”

Siraj comments:

“How simple, fabulous and sweet this language is! (75)

Mr. Siraj continues:

“I have mentioned the books written in Nagric and Proto-Nagric scripts because I am certain that we have lost a huge treasure of our literary work due to our lack of attention towards them and because of this inattention whatever is left of it is still hidden in shrouds of darkness. When I read an old book from 1685 AD which was written even before Shah Latif was born; this verse appeared on two places:

ماڻِڪُ مِٽ ڪيوم، اونداهيءَ ۾ اوجرو،

هلندي در حبيب ڏي، سمر سو ٿيوم،

تيلائين ٿيوم (ٿيوس)، اگوندرو عالم ۾.

maṇik mitu kayom, undahi-a men ojro,

halande dar habeeba de, samara so thiyom,

telain thiyom (thiyos), agoondaro alama men.

This book has been written by some Hindu scholar and it’s a collection, in which he wrote whatever came to his mind, and had preserved it for his grand children and future generations. It has 196 pages. He has given a chaleeh akhree or aghotree (forty letter alphabet) in the beginning, where he has also given newly formed letters for Sindhi sounds by modifying Nagric letters. Scattered here and there can be seen sums of arithmetics, of multiplication and divisions, charts and calculations too. Most of the matter consists of religious askloks of Hindus, which are entirely in Sindhi at places, while at other places they are in Sindhi, Kachhi, Malabari and the usual Rajasthani style. At places he has also written the Hindi dohas of Kabir Panthi preachers. He has written many Sindhi verses too. If he has remembered a verse or a line, he has written it up. Among the Sindhi poets I could see the names of Sumang, Narang and Permanand. The most surprising thing is that this book points to the arrangement of poems in Surs, which was employed in the works of Shah Latif and Shah Inayat almost two centuries later. The compilation and order of the Sur Sarang, Dhanasiri, Kalyan and Hussaini etc. is centuries older than Shah Latif. Have a look at this verse from Hussaini:

پيئي سُکَ پچار، ڏِهَه ۾ ڏونگر ڄام جي

سرتئين سورب ڀور جيئن، سڀني ڪيا سينگار

آراڻيءَ آڌار، عالم لڳو آسري.

peyi sukha pachar, diha men doongar jama je

sartiyen sorab bhor jiyen, sabhni kaya seengar

araṇi-a aadhar, aalam lago asre.

From some of the verses one gets an impression that Shah Latif has either copied them or perhaps verses of other poets have been included in the Risalo. (76)

Mr. Siraj writes:

“In addition to the verses and lines, two epic stories of Sindhi poetic stories (manzoom qissa) are also there. The story of Saiful Malook and Badiul Jamal has been called by our writers as the story of “Malik Saiful” and it contains more than 100 verses or dohas. Another compilation is that of “Narsi Ji Hundi” which is a famous story of Kachh. This story has a very pronounced Kachhi accent. In addition to these, there are Ratan Mala (compiled), Baranh Maho (compiled) and other compilations of stories. Among the religious ashloks are Pipir ja ashlok. Sanan ja ashlok, Ganga ja ashlok and others related with religious festivities. The only thing that is not clear is who the writer or the author of the book was. There is a square with 12 boxes on a page, which has the name Suraj written in it. The most peculiar thing about this square is that from whichever direction one reads it, the same name can be read.”

Mr. Siraj has also mentioned a trading note written in Nagric script which seems to have been written between 1641 to 1650 AD and is in Vikramjeet Sambat 1710. Mr. Siraj writes:

“I have kept a span of 10 years i.e. from 1640 to 1650 because at the time of writing that Sambat it is not known whether the author has written the Sambat including the prevailing month or the coming Sambat without the prevailing month. If it is a common Sambat or Samawat, then the year accordingly will become 1651 AD i.e. approximately a hundred years before Shah Latif’s death.” (77)

Mr. Siraj futher writes:

“A hand-written manuscript of Khwajas (of Ismaili following) is not without interest. Since this script was in common use in Sindh therefore I am quoting an example which I found from the British Museum, which was written in Sindhi in this script.” (78)

He describes further:

“I saw a note on hundreds of Sindhi literary manuscripts, found from Kachh which belonged to a Soomro. This proves that the Soomra period saw to the prosperity of Sindh in general and that of art and literature, in particular. So that even after their period of rule they kept them as a memoir of a Sindhi family, this was their national treasure and heritage.” (79)

18- The writing of Sindhi words in ancient Persian manuscripts:

It has been mentioned earlier that the Arab travelers, scholars and historians have written pure Sindhi words in their own way and style, but their writings have proven that in that period Sindhi language was regularly spoken and used for day to day matters.

And later on in the periods of Sama, Arghun and Moghal rulers, pure Sindhi words were written in Persian and Arabic books in those times for their ease and some examples have been quoted below. In this period Persian was established for official communications, administrative purposes, letter writing and education and in literary circles. Since Sindhi was being used for day to day life, commerce and trade and as a medium of common communication; therefore it could not be harmed by Arabic and Persian languages. Dr. Baloch writes in this regard:

“At a local level there started a reciprocal interaction between the Sindhi and Persian languages, which increased the importance of Sindhi and there was a mutual exchange of Sindhi and Persian words, idioms

The programs of music and meditation in Sindh that had influenced Punjab and Delhi in earlier times were expanded, in fact they reached at a climax. The Sindhi bait, kafi songs and lyrics influenced the eastern and northern India (Burhanpur, Delhi and Agra) which helped in promotion of Sindhi culture and widened its horizon. In the south it reached Gujrat and Kathiawar, and Sindhi words were used in Gujrati. This period also saw an exchange of idioms between Sindhi and Seraiki and the road-map for better literary coordination between Hindi and Sindhi also took place.” (80)

In the periods of Sama, Arghun, Tarkhan and Moghal rulers, numerous books were written in Sindhi on history, literature and other subjects e.g.:

• Tareekh-e-Masoomi: Authored by Mir Masoom Bakhri.
• Tareekh-e-Thatta i.e Tareekh-e-Tahiri: Authored by Mir Tahir Muhammad Nasiani.
• Beglarnamo: Authored by Idraki Beglari.
• Mazhar Shahjahani: Aby Yousuf Mirak.
• Hadeeqatul Aulia: Authored by Syed Abdul Qadir.
• Tuhfatul Tahireen.
• Tazkarul Mirat.
• Mathnavi Chanesarnamo: Authored by Idraki Beglari.
• Mathnavi Husn-o-naz: Authored by Mir Masoom Bakhri.
• Tuhfatul Ikram: Authored by Mir Ali Sher Qane.
• Maklinama: Authored by Mir Ali Sher Qane.

Many words and terms as well as texts written in Persian were present in these and several other books. Dr. Baloch thinks:

“The importance of Sindhi culture and lexicon forced them to write about the literary trends in their books and used Sindhi words and sentences in Persian texts with meanings of some of them.” (81)

Dr. Baloch has given examples in this regard which are reproduced here for reference:

“Tarikh-e-Masoomi: Persian text, page 318 edited by Dr. Doudpota: khan khoot = gaṇa goota (ڳڻ ڳوت = کن کوت), ren = riṇ (رڻ=رين) = desert, (pages 42, 67, 102) in Persian it is ‘chool’ (desert)

Mah saphro jumo (ماه سڦرو جمعو) (page 52):

First Friday of the month.

Mah saphro soomar (ماه سڦرو سومار) (page 53): First Monday of the month.

Tika, Teka (ٽڪو= تکه، تکيه) (page 32, 44)

Katari (ڪٽاري= کتاري) (page 64)

Barji (بڙڇي= برجي) (page 64)

Sava lak (سوا لک= سوا لک) (page 70)

Pahra (پهره=پهرو) (page 76)

Daba (دٻو، دٻا= دبه) (page 108, 257)

Doondi (ڊونڊي= دوندي) (page 129)

Lakho (لاکو=Sindhi name) King Akbar

Khat (کٽ= کهت) (page 246)

Gaat (گھاٽ= گات) (page 247) etc. (82)

Similarly apart from words and idioms, some Arabic Persian books contain original Sindhi sentences written in Arabic or Persian languages. Dr. Baloch has given their detail in his same book. For example:

(1) If any person from Sindh tells his wife thrice “moon flaṇi chhadi” (مون فلاڻي ڇڏي). (83)

• moon khe sunh wado ahe je heea chaanauth tuhinji langhan=munkhe sih wado ahe ((مون کي سنهن وڏو آهي، جي هيءَ چائنٺ تنهنجي لنگھان=مُنکي سہ وڏو آهي. (84)

In the similar way on the pages from 261 – 281 in Dr. Baloch’s book texts are present which can still be understood.

19- Anyways the abstract of the development of Sindhi language during the Moghal period can be presented in these lines:

• Sindhi was the language of Sindhi society and idiom of everyday use.
• This language was used in business and trade, accounting, books, receipts and other business transactions such as bills of exchange, invoices and receipts, detailed accounts etc.
• This language was the medium for folk literature, oral literature, chhand, saloks, sutras and teaching and learning. There are quite a few examples of ginans, dohas, sorthas, jangnamas, seengar poetry, veer gahas, gujharat, sayings, salok and sutras available in Sindhi of those times.
• There were different versions of beautiful, rhyming prose also.
• Sindhi was a medium of religious preaching.
• This language was used for religious education, temporal education, business transactions and daily use.
• The principles of phonetics, grammar, medicine, geography, linguistics, ethics, religious learning, Islamic belief and law were written in Sindhi.
• This language was written in Devanagari, Ardhnagri, Lohanki, Khuwajki, Memonki, Bhatia, Khudawadi, Saakhru, Thattai, Malvari and Saindo scripts.
• This language was being written in Arabic- Sindhi script from an early period, in which Al-Beruni had made alterations to write names of medicines, people and places and other things. Not only this but the script was used for writing Bayanul Arfeen, Kazi Kadan’s poetry, Shah Lutfullah’s Sindhi Risalo, Makhdoom Jaafar Boobakai’s book with Sindhi sentences etc. In the period of Moghal governors, Makhdoom Abul Hasam also wrote in this script.
• The Ginans of Ismaili pirs and accounting book (Kabaro) have also been discovered, which were discussed in this chapter.
• The addition or inclusion of more lines in the couplets (baits) of Shah Lutfullah Qadri, can also be counted as examples of the development of language.
• The book refered by Mr. Siraj, written in Nagric and Proto-Nagric script, contains texts written in Sindhi.

Anyways, this development had been helpful in the expanse and richness of the language in latter periods, which will be evident in the next chapter.

References

• Agha Saleem, ‘Baba Farid Ganj Shakar ja Doha’, reference has been given, P: 27.
• Ibid
• Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Dr., ‘Sindhi Boli aen Adab ji Tareekh’, Third Edition, P: 129-133
• Agha Saleem, reference has been given, P:24
• Ibid, P:14
• Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Dr.,: ‘Sindhi Boli ain Adab ji Tareekh’, Third Edition, P: 164
• Ibid, 165
• Ibid, P:165-167
• Alana, Ghulam Ali, Dr., ‘Laar ji Adabi ain Saqafati Tareekh’, Ref. has been given, P:175
• Ali Sher Qane: ‘Tohfatulkaram’, edited by Syed Hissamudin Shah Rashdi, Sindhi Adabi Board, P: 68 & 69

And also see: Qureshi Hamid Ali, Khanai, Dr., Column, “Sindh ja Chand Aalim ain Muhadis”, Ref. Tohfatulkaram, Third Edition, published in Nain Zindagi, July 1995, P: 13

• Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Dr., ‘Sindhi Boli & Adab ji Tareekh’, Third Edition, P: 178-182
• Muhammad Siddique Memon, Khan Bahadur: ‘Sindhi Adab ji Tarikh, Part I, Hyderabad, R. H. Ahmed and Brothers, 1962, P:15 & 46
• Alana, Ghulam Ali, Dr., ‘Laar ji Adabi ain Saqafati Tareekh’, Ref. has been given, P:175
• This Ginan was read in a religious gathering by Master Muhammad Hassan at goth Sultanabad (taluqa Tando Allahyar), which was then written by one of the liseteners.
• Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Dr., ‘Sindhi Boli ain Adab ji Tareekh’, Third Edition, P:210.
• Ibid, P:305
• Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Dr., ‘Sindhi Boli ain Adab ji Tareekh’, Ref. has been given, P:192
• Ali Sher Qane: ‘Makli Nama’, Tasheeh ain Hawashi:syed Hissamudin Shah Rashdi, 1967, P:69
• Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Dr., ‘Sindhi Boli ain Adab ji Tareekh’, Third Edition, P:218
• Syed Hissamudin Shah Rashidi, see ref. 20, P: 69
• Ibid
• Hamid Ali, Khanai, Qureshi, Dr., ‘Sindh ja Chand Aalim ain Muhadis’, Column, published in monthly ‘Nain Zindagi’, July 1995, P:13
• Ibid
• Muhammad Siddique Memon, Khan Bahadur, Ref. 11, P:90 & 91
• Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Dr., ‘Sindhi Boli ain Adab ji Tareekh’, Third Edition, P:220
• Ibid, P:226
• Ibid, P:232
• Ibid, P:236
• Ibid, P:228
• Muhammad Siddique, Memon, Khan Bahadur, Ref. 11, P:91
• Ibid
• Ibid 95
• Ibid
• Muhammad Siddique, Memon, Khan Bahadur, see ref. 11, P:95
• Ibid
• Hiro Thakkar, ‘Kazi Kadan jo Kalam’, Pooja Publication, Delhi, 1978
• Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Dr., ‘Sindhi Boli ain Adab ji Tareekh’, Third Edition, P:292
• Ibid, P:292 & 293
• Ibid, P: 296
• Ibid, P: 284
• Ibid
• Ibid, P:287
• Ibid, P:292
• Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Dr., ‘Shah Lutfullah Qadri jo Sindhi Risalo’, Jamshoro, Institute of Sindhology, 1968, P:11
• Ibid, P:19
• Ibid, P:20
• Alana, Ghulam Ali, Dr., ‘Soomran je Daur ji Sindhi Shayri’, Column published in Monthly Nain Zindagi, February, March 1972, P.P
• See Ref. 43, P:22
• Ibid, P:26
• See Ref. 36
• Alana, Ghulam Ali, Dr., ‘Sarwari Jamaat jo Awaisi Tareeqo’, column published in quarterly Mehran, 2/1990, P:235
• Ibid
• Ibid
• See Ref. 44, P:22
• Ibid, P:22
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid, P:24
• Ibid
• Ibid, P:25
• Ibid
• Ibid, P: 25 & 26
• Ibid, P:26
• Ref. 8
• Hamid Alli, Khanai, Qureshi, Dr., Column ‘Sindh ja Chand Aalim ain Muhadis’, published in monthly Nain Zindagi, July 1995, P:11-12
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid, P:15
• Siraj, ‘Sindhi jo Agato Adab’, Column published in monthly Nain Zindagi, February, 1971, P:19-20
• Abdullah Magsi, Proffessor, Column, ‘Maanjhand ja Sindhwarki”, published in Mehran 1/1991, P:68
• Siraj, see ref. 69, P:21-22
• Ibid, P:223-24
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid, P:25
• Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Dr., “Sindih Boli ain Adab ji Tareekh”, Third Edition, P: 240 ain 241
• Ibid, P:244-245
• Ibid, P:250-245
• Ibid, P:258
• Ibid, P:260