Bekhud Badayuni

Urdu poet Mughal era/British India
Born	17 September 1857(1857-09-17) Badayun
Died	10 November 1912(1912-11-10) Badayun
Pen name	Bekhud Badayuni
Occupation	Poet/Lawyer/Government
Period	post-Mughal-era
Genres	Ghazal, Hamd, Naat, Ruba'i
Subjects	Love, Philosophy, Mysticism, Islam
Influences Daag Dehlvi, Maulana Hali

Muhammad Abdul-Hayy Siddiqui (Urdu/Arabic: محمّد عبدالحي صدیقی‎), writing under the pen-name Bekhud Badayuni (Urdu/Persian: بےخود بدایونی), was one of the leading Urdu poets of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

It is customary for Urdu poets to assume a pen-name (takhallus) that can be employed as a pun in the final couplet of every ghazal, often combined with a second name that denotes the poet's place of origin. In this case, "Bekhud", the pen-name means beside oneself (with joy or grief), out of one's mind; in ecstasy, transported, enraptured, intoxicated; senseless, delirious, commonly used in the context of spiritual ecstasy, and is paired with "Badayuni", which indicates ties to the city of Badayun.

History

Bekhud Badayuni's most recent biographer was the late Dr. Asad Ahmad of Aligarh Muslim University's Urdu Department. Most of the biographical details in this article draw on Dr. Ahmad's work, which in turn was informed by the work of prior biographers including the great Hasrat Mohani.

Bekhud Badayuni was born on September 17, 1857 into Badayun's prominent Siddiqui family, known for its leadership in the areas of Islamic scholarship, mysticism (tasawwuf or "Sufism"), and literary pursuits. He was a descendant of the first Caliph, Abu Bakr; an intermediate ancestor, Hameeduddin Mukhlis, immigrated to Delhi from Iran in the late 13th century during the reign of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban, and was the brother of Shaikh Saadi Shirazi, one of the seminal and most-quoted poets of Persian literature. Balban appointed Hameeduddin qadi-ul-quddat (literally "judge-of-judges", or Chief Justice) and granted him an extensive landholding in Badayun, at the time one of the key cities of the Delhi Sultanate. It is also reported that Hameeduddin presented Saadi's two major works, Golistan and Bostan, as a gift to Prince Muhammad Shaheed (Balban's favorite son, and patron - along with Balban - of the great poet, musician, and mystic Amir Khusro).

Life

Bekhud trained and qualified as a lawyer, and spent time practicing law in Muradabad and Shahjahanpur. Tiring of the practice of law, he eventually entered into government service, serving as a high official first in the princely state of Sirohi (in Rajasthan), then in the princely state of Jodhpur, where he spent the remainder of his days. He died in 1912 in Badayun.

Influences

Bekhud initially entered the tutelage of Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali, Ghalib's most renowned protege; it was under Hali's guidance that Bekhud chose his pen-name. Around 1879, concurrent with the publication of Hali's Musaddas-e-Hali (considered the beginning of the modern age of Urdu poetry) and Hali's shift in focus away from traditional forms and subjects of poetry, Bekhud left Hali and became the disciple of Nawab Mirza Khan Daagh Dehlvi, the last of the great poets of the erstwhile Mughal court. Upon Daagh's death, many of his numerous disciples clamored for the honor of being his jaa-nasheen (successor to his title and reputation as the greatest living Urdu poet); in his own memoirs, Bekhud reproaches many of Daagh's disciples for the manner in which they squabbled, and himself chose to remain aloof from the debate. Despite Bekhud's own reticence, Dr. Asad Ahmad quotes a well-known anecdote relating that Daagh, when asked to name his jaa-nasheen, replied, "Bekhud-ain [the two Bekhuds]", referring to Bekhud Badayuni and Bekhud Dehlvi (a fellow student of Daagh).

Poetry

Much of Bekhud's poetry has fallen out of contemporary discourse, for a variety of reasons. In part, this circumstance is due to Bekhud's own reticence and limited publication of his works - he did not publish his collection of poetry (diwan) until 1910 (two years before his death) despite having compiled the bulk of it as early as fifteen years prior. Biographers and critics have speculated that even this late publication of Bekhud's work occurred primarily to combat the plagiarism and misappropriation of his poetic works by other poets (since, short of publication, oral transmission is the primary medium for Urdu poetry). Bekhud's residence in Jodhpur, isolated from the main centers of Urdu literature in Delhi and Lucknow, also limited the circulation of his work and provided the opportunity for some of Bekhud's contemporaries in the centers of literature to pass his work off as their own. For this reason, much of his work has grown unfamiliar to the current generation of Urdu speakers, despite having been integral to any serious poet's or critic's study of Urdu poetry until late into the 20th century. At the same time, several of his works have been mis-attributed to Bekhud Dehlvi or other poets of his time.

Published works

Hosh-o-Khirad ki Dukaan [The Shop of Sense and Wisdom] (1889) (هوش و خرد کی دکان)

Sabr-o-Shakeeb ki Loot [The Plundering of Patience and Forbearance] (1889) (صبر و شکيب کی لوٿ)

Marraat-ul-Khayaal (Diwan) [The Mirror of Thoughts] (1910) (مراﺓ الخيال)

Afsaanah-e-Bekhud [The Tale of Bekhud] (Year?) (افسانه بےخود)

Selected Ghazals

Below are a few examples of Bekhud Badayuni's ghazals, though he also wrote in several of the other genres of classical Urdu poetry.

[This first ghazal is often mis-attributed to Bekhud Dehlvi]

dard-e-dil mein kamii na ho jaaye درد دل میں کمی نہ ہو جاﮰ

dosti dushmanii na ho jaaye دوستی دشمنی نہ ہو جاﮰ

kehte ho koi ham ko dil kyoon de کہتے ہو کوئي ہم کو دل کیوں دے

kaheen sach much yahi na ho jaaye کہیں سچ مچ یہی نہ ہو جاﮰ

tum meri dosti ka dum na bharo تم مری دوستی کا دم نہ بهرو

aasmaan muddaii na ho jaaye آسماں مدعی نہ ہو جاﮰ

kaj-adaayi teri ada Thehri کج ادائي تری ادا ٹهہری

meri naiki badi na ho jaaye میری نیکی بدی نہ ہو جاﮰ

baiThta he hamesha rindon mein بیٹهتا ہے ہمیشہ رندوں میں

kaheen zaahid walii na ho jaaye کہیں زاہد ولی نہ ہو جاﮰ

hashr par deed kyoon uthaa rakkhi حشر پر دید کیوں اٹها رکهی

honay vaalii abhi na ho jaaye ہونے والی ابهی نہ ہو جاﮰ

apni khu-e-wafaa se darta hoon اپنی خوﮰ وفا سے ڈرتا ہوں

aashiqi bandagii na ho jaaye عاشقی بندگی نہ ہو جاﮰ

kaheen bekhud tumhari khud-daari کہیں بےخود تمهاری خودداری

maane’ bekhudi na ho jaaye مانع بےخودی نہ ہو جاﮰ

--

be-rukhi be-ittanaaii ho chuki بےرخی بےاعتنائي ہو چکی

aao man-jaao, laRaaii ho chuki آﺆ من جاﺆ لڑائي ہو چکی

ab mera dil bhi mukaddar ho gaya اب مرا دل بهی مکدر ہو گیا

ab meri unh ki safaaii ho chuki اب مری ان کی صفائي ہو چکی

jin ko paas-e-khaatir-e-sayyad he جن کو پاس خاطر صیاد ہے

un aseeron ki rihaaii ho chuki ان اسیروں کی رہائي ہو چکی

ab to mil jaao ke saarey shehr mein اب تو مل جاﺆ کہ سارے شہر میں

shuhrat-e-naa-aashinaaii ho chuki شہرت نا آشنائي ہو چکی

zulf kehti he dil-e-betaab se زلف کہتی ہے دل بےتاب سے

mere pphandon se rihaaii ho chuki میرے پهندوں سے رہائي ہو چکی

zauf ke haathon qadm uthte naheen ضعف کے ہاتهوں قدم اٹهتے نہیں

un ki mahfil tak rasaaii ho chuki ان کی محفل تک رسائي ہو چکی

tum mein khuu banda-nawaazi ki naheen تم میں خو بنده نوازی کی نہیں

ae buton tum se khudaaii ho chuki اے بتو تم سے خدائي ہو چکی

o wafaa dushman jafaajuu tand-khuu او وفا دشمن جفاجو تندخو

ho chuki bas be-wafaaii ho chuki ہو چکی بس بےوفائي ہو چکی

ab to bekhud se bhi parda hai unhe اب تو بےخود سے بهی پرده ہے انهیں

behijaabi khudnumaii ho chuki بےحجابی خودنمائي ہو چکی

---

abru kaa tasawwur thaa shamsheer nazar aaii ابرو کا تصور تها شمشیر نظر آئي

geysuu ka khayaal aaya zanjeer nazar aaii گیسو کا خیال آیا زنجیر نظر آئي

yaan fasl-e-bahaaraan ko taqreeb khazaan dekha یاں فصل بہاراں کو تقریب خزاں دیکها

tamheed kharaabii kii taameer nazar aaii تمہید خرابی کی تعمیر نظر آئي

ham apne hii haathon sey jaan apni ganwaa bethey ہم اپنے ہی ہاتهوں سے جاں اپنی گنوا بیٹهے

jab maut key aaney mein taakheer nazar aaii جب موت کے آنے میں تاخیر نظر آئي

sang-e-dar-e-jaanaan par kii naasiya fursaaii سنگ در جاناں پر کی ناصیہ فرسائي

itnii ke muqarrar kii tahreer nazar aaii اتنی کہ مقدر کی تحریر نظر آئي

main mahw-e-tajallii hoon mujh ko to zamaaney mein میں محو تجلی ہوں مجه کو تو زمانے میں

har shakl mein teri hii tanveer nazar aaii ہر شکل میں تیری ہی تنویر نظر آئي

kuch aur na baRh jaaye miya’aad aseeri kii کچه اور نہ بڑه جاﮰ میعاد اسیری کی

kyoon mujh ko rihaaii kii tadbeer nazar aaii کیوں مجه کو رہائي کی تدبیر نظر آئي

---

zamaaney par to na qaaboo kabhi chalaa na chaley زمانے پر تو نہ قابو کبهی چلا نہ چلے

idhar hii phir na chalein ham jidhar zamaana chaley ادهر ہی پهر نہ چلیں ہم جدهر زمانہ چلے

woh khizr-e-raah hai mera jo raah gum kar dey وه خضر راه ہے میرا جو راه گم کر دے

woh gum-shudah hoon ke jis kaa kaheen pata na chaley وه گمشده ہوں کہ جس کا کہیں پتہ نہ چلے

woh haath hein jo na uthein kabhi dua key liye وه ہاته ہیں جو نہ اٹهیں کبهی دعا کے لیے

zabaan woh hai jo dum-e-arz-e-mudda’a na chaley زباں وه ہے جو دم عرض مدعا نہ چلے

woh zeest zeest hai mar mar kai jo guzartii ho وه زیست زیست ہے مر مر کے جو گزرتی ہو

woh dard dard hai jis par koii dawaa na chaley وه درد درد ہے جس پر کوئي دوا نہ چلے

agar hai manzil-e-maqsad kii justajuu bekhud اگر ہے منزل مقصد کی جستجو بےخود

woh chaal chal ke terey saath zamaana chaley وه چال چل کہ ترے ساته زمانہ چلے

See also

• Urdu poetry
• List of Urdu language poets