Bidil

Bidil Dihlawi, Mirza ‘Abd al-Qadir (1644-1720), is an Indian poet composing poetry in Persian. Born in ‘Azimabad, present day Patna, India, he was a distinguished poet composing in the Indian Style. His ancestors hailed from the tribe of Arlas, a tribe of Mongol and Chaghatai Turkish descent settled in Bukhara. His father, ‘Abd al-Khaliq was a Sufi attached to the Qadiriyya Order who had served in the army in his youth but he abandoned his military position early in life and entered the mystics’ services. He named his son, ‘Abd al-Qadir, after Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani, Chief of the Qadiriyya Order. ‘Abd al-Qadir lost his father at the age of five and his young and erudite paternal uncle, Mirza Qalander, assumed his custody. Besides his mother tongue, Bengali, he gained some knowledge of Rikhta (later known as Urdu), Sanskrit, and learned Persian and Arabic at school. He began learning the Qur’an at the age of six and completed studying it in one year. He presented his early poetical compositions to his paternal uncle, his first patron and teacher. He first used the nom de plume Ramzi, but through the blessings of Shaykh Muslih al-Din Sa’di Shirazi and bearing in mind the latter’s hemistich ‘Bidil az Binishan chih Guyad Baz’ (What a lover who has lost his heart may say about the traceless?) he changed his nom de plume to Bidil (one who has lost his heart, devout lover). He wrote his first poetical pieces at the age of ten. Besides associating with poets and scholars, he turned to studying the works of distinguished Persian poets and his works reflect his profound knowledge of their poetry. He was first inclined toward the Khurasani and ‘Iraqi Styles, but on a journey to Dilhi he turned toward the Indian Style. His prime of life was coincident with the hearsay of Shah Jahan’s ailment and civil strife for power which turned ‘Azimabad into a major focus of sedition. It was at that time that Mirza Qalandar asked Bidil’s maternal uncle, Mirza Zarif, to assume his custody. Mirza Zarif, a religious and erudite scholar, played a major role in the formation of Bidil’s mystical and literary character and his serious acquaintance with philosophy, theoretical Sufism, theology, jurisprudence, traditions, and exegesis. Accompanying Mirza Zarif, Bidil traveled to the capital Urisa in 1660 and gained the acquaintance of Shah Qasim Huwallahi who was well versed in belles-lettres, philosophy, and mysticism. He traveled to Delhi in 1664 where he joined the audience of the distinguished mystic, Shah Kabuli. Other distinguished mystics of the time included Mawlana Kamal Bihari Qadiri devotedly respected by Bidil. Shah Fazil was a distinguished Sufi, well versed in composition in prose and verse, serving as Bidil’s master. In his Chahar ‘Unsur (The Four Elements), Bidil enumerates Shah Qasim Huwallahi, Shah Kabuli, Shah Muluk, Shah Yikkih Azad, Shaykh Kamal Bihari, and Shah Fazil as his spiritual masters. To earn a living Bidil found a military employment in Delhi, but requested by Muhammad A’zam Shah, Awrang Zib’s son, to compose a eulogy befitting his exalted position, he abandoned his office and departed from the capital. He traveled for long in Akbarabad, Lahore, Hasanabad, Shah Jahanabad, and Mathra. His extant calligraphic pieces reflect his artistry in the art of calligraphy. He was venerated by kings and notables. His contemporaneous biographers praised him. He associated with many poets, scholars, and mystics. In his midlife, accompanied by his family, he arrived in Delhi on 31 May 1685 and settled there. Faced by severe poverty, he sought assistance from local rulers. The ruler Nawwab Shuk Allah Khan provided him with accommodation and a lifelong stipend. Bidil lived in the same home to the end of his life (5 December 1720) and was buried there as stipulated in his testament. His tomb was visited by his followers, but subsequent disturbances, particularly Nadir Shah’s and the Afghan siege laid to Delhi led to its ruin and his burial place is unknown today. The burial place alleged to be his is a later fabrication. He was not survived by any children. His poetry reflects the influence  of almost all distinguished Persian poets. Similarly, Bidil has influenced prose and verse in the Indian subcontinent, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. The Urdu language has been enriched by Bidil’s works in prose and verse through his students and followers. The ceremony of ‘urs Bidil was held on the occasion of his demise in Afghanistan and Tajikistan and the sessions of reading Bidil (Bidilkhwani) are held there attended by experts and lovers of his compositions. Numerous manuscript copies of his works in these countries reflect public reception. Iqbal Lahori loved and praised Bidil and at times includes a hemistich or couplet of Bidil in his works. Comparing Bidil and Ghalib Dihlawi, Iqbal emphasizes that Ghalib merely paid attention to the form of Bidil’s poetry and failed to understand its profound meaning. According to Iqbal, Bidil stands only next to Shankaracharia, the renowned commentator of the Upanishads, as the most distinguished thinker in the Indian subcontinent. Iqbal suggested his contemporary poets follow the model of Bidil’s poetry to improve their composition and regarded him on a par with Henry Bergson, the contemporary philosopher of renown. A generation of poets turned toward Bidil and were influenced by him in post-revolutionary Iran. Bidil’s works abound in delicate mystical themes and elegant and artistic similes, metaphors, and compositions. His delicate expression and strength of imagination and allegory, at times approaching the extreme, accord him distinction among poets composing in the Indian Style; particularly, his employment of numerous symbols, the most frequent of which is ‘mirror’, creates a peculiar atmosphere in his works. It is owing to the same innovative expressions that biographers generally regard him as the inventor of a novel style. His thoughts are exalted, profound, and transcendental. He is one of few poets who display wondrous exaltation in their poetic expressions of philosophical thoughts and mystical experiences. He is termed as philosopher-poet, above all for his peculiar view on existence and life. Believing in vadat al vujud, in many of his compositions he evidently approaches Muhy al-Din Ibn ‘Arabi, the distinguished Muslim mystic. Bidil’s poetry does not imply philosophical skepticism, though his mystical perplexity, essentially different from intellectual perplexity, may create such impression. To him, the world and man are manifestations of the Truth and God Almighty has manifested and reflected Himself in such mirrors. Following in the footsteps of other distinguished mystics, he accords particular significance to man with respect to the Truth. Bidil accords further formal and semantic scope to the ghazal. The domain of his themes is obviously vast and appreciation of his diction requires acquaintance with particular metaphors and symbols used in his compositions. In his qasidas Bidil mainly approaches the style of Khaqani Shirwani and merely praises the Prophet and Imam ‘Ali. His compositions treat of Divine Unity, cosmogony, and anthropology. Monotheistic and mystical aspects mark his ghazals. Numerous works of his in prose and verse are extant whose editions have appeared in India, Pakistan, Iran, and Tajikistan. His complete works (Kulliyat), three volumes of poetry and one volume of prose have appeared in Kabul (1962-1965). A new edition of his complete works by Akbar Bihdarwand and Parwiz ‘Abbasi was published in three volumes in Tehran (1997). Bidil’s earliest of mystical composition is the mathnavi entitled Muhit-i A’zam which he completed in 1667. In a preamble in prose to this poetical composition, Bidil alludes to many of his contemporary poets. The work may be regarded as a mystical Saqi Nama. It includes eight dawrs elaborating on the genesis of the world of existence. It clearly reflects Ibn ‘Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam’s influence on Bidil’s. Bidil regards existence as a tavern in which the Truth is the saqi and man is its eternal imbiber. This is drunkenness of love and intuitive knowledge, a token of the eternal relation of God and man. It has appeared several times in Tehran (1991). One of Bidil’s mystical compositions in verse is the long mathnavi entitled Tilism-i Hiyrat, which was versified in 1669. It may be mainly regarded as an esoteric and mystical quest into man’s inward world. Bidil’s anthropology is particularly reflected in it. Following preliminary ontological and cosmological discussion, he turns towards man. In this spiritual travelogue, Bidil searches in human corporeality. Tur-i Ma’rifat is another long mathnavi composed by Bidil in 1687 in the central regions of India. Accompanied by Nawwab Shukr Allah Khan, Bidil made a journey to the Mount Birat and composed this mathnavi in two days. In this work, he symbolically perceives the truth of the outward aspect in manifestations in a natural environment depicted and interpreted metaphysically. Observation of nature provides Bidil’s thought with the opportunity to soar into placelessness (lamakan). At the end of the mathnavi, Bidil comes to the thought of abandonment of will and encouragement of silence and once more, his introversive course leads him to the introversive one, serving as a pivot in all of his poetical compositions. Bidil’s most significant poetical composition is his mathnavi entitled ‘Irfan, composed in 1712. The composition opens with an elaboration on the nexus between God and man which is based on love. As prevalent among mystics, Bidil includes his themes in the garb of allegories and treats of the hierarchy of existence based on the mystics’ perspective, providing chapter headings befitting occasions, e.g. Tur, Naqsh, or Jahd. In his work, Bidil makes references to Hindu tales and some modern fiction techniques, e.g. stream of consciousness and time, are reflected in his works. Generally speaking, the views of the majority of distinguished mystics are reflected in this mathnavi, but the most prevalent are the views and teachings of Muyh al-Din Ibn ‘Arabi, particularly his vadat vujud. Bidil’s works in prose are extant as well, the most significant of which is his autobiography, entitled Chahar ‘Unsur, written between 1680 and 1694. He intertwines his prose with poetry and includes his ghazals, quatrains, mathnavis, and qit’as. The title makes a reference to the four elements: water, air, earth, and fire. He regards man as the outcome of these four elements, thus biography writing to him is an elaboration on the four elements. In his autobiography he refers to his discussions with Muslim and non-Muslim scholars which is significant in knowing thoughts in India. He also records his own as well as his masters’ mystical experiences. His prose is tinged with poesy and sounds florid to some extent. Another work in prose, Nikat, is his manifesto reflecting his basic mystical views and teachings. It is also intertwined with his poetry, but its prose style is more fluent. It is the best text for understanding his philosophical and mystical views. His epistles, addressed to friends and some local rulers, are well known as Ruqa’at. They also reflect mystical, ethical, and religious views. Collected works of Bidil, including his works in prose and verse, appeared in Bombay in 1881.  

Danishnama-yi Adab-i Farsi dar Afghanistan (345); Farhang-i Adabiyyat-i Farsi-yi Dari (98); Bidil-shinasi (1, 86-87).