Altaf Husain Hali’s epic poem, the Musaddas (1879) on The Flow and Ebb of Islam is a landmark in the development of Urdu poetry. A key text for understanding the emergence of modern Indian literature, it is also crucial in gauging the response of South Asian Islam to European imperialism and modernity. The first part of this book consists of a critical introduction and analysis of the poem, in the context of the historical, political and literary background of the age. The themes of the poem are discussed in detail as are the issues it raises about historical narratives, rhetoric and imagery, and Muslim identity and modernity in British India. There is also a consideration of the many suggestive literary imitations of the poem in Urdu and other Indian languages. The second part contains an English translation of the poem with facing Urdu text, an appendix listing Hali’s revisions, a glossary of key words in the poem, and a full index. This skilful translation of a significant literary work, with its informative introduction, will interest students of modern Islamic thought and culture, scholars of Indian and Anglo-Indian literatures, and historians, of colonial and post-colonial India.
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