WALKING THROUGH A BAZAAR

Anyone who has visited the traditional bazaars, or 'shopping centers' in the nontraditional sense, of Lahore would know how they are hustling and bustling with people throughout the day and night. The word 'Bazaar' is an Urdu word which encapsulates within it all types of shops ranging from cloths to crockery to shoes and much more. It can be understood as a shopping center in modern understanding. These bazaars  are perhaps one of the most liveliest of places in Lahore. Shopkeepers are standing in front of their shops calling for customers to check out whatever they are selling. Many shout discounted prices that are available on their products while others use clever tactics to lure in potential customers. Some customers are fighting over negotiating the prices while others are endlessly trying out articles before deciding which one to buy. The cloth shops are by far the most busiest of them all. They have a special connection with women. The cloth shops are filled with women who are extremely picky in the clothes that they buy. Endless debates takes place between women and shop keepers; a sight to behold in itself. I can't forget tagging along with my mother, as a child, while she used her negotiating tactics, which seems to be an inherent feature in women at this point, to get the shopkeeper to agree to her price. Sometimes I felt bad for the shopkeepers because they almost always had to reduce their price from let's say a thousand rupees to four hundred rupees. These shopkeepers, mostly Pashtuns, of the cloth shops are some of the most humble and patient people I have encountered. Women would ask them to bring out all the folded articles of cloths, even if they end up buying nothing, and the shopkeepers would not even frown in anger or frustration. Anybody who has studied customer relations in business books, can see the embodiment of the instructions in these shopkeepers. The first thing these shopkeepers would do is present a customer with a soft drink or tea as soon as they enter their shop. They'll talk politely and even lead customers to other shops if they do not find what they are looking for at their shop. Anybody who's feeling low should perhaps visit these bazaars to lighten their mood. The liveliness of a bazaar can bring life to even the mostly emotionally disconnected. 

I happened to visit one of these bazaars recently alongside my friend. He requested me to accompany him and help him in buying a cloth for a suit he was planning to get stitched. I had been busy with my life lately. Studying and working left me with little time to reflect or visit such places. I willfully agreed to his request and managed to take time out of my schedule. We decided to visit a bazaar dedicated solely to cloths in Gulberg, Lahore. It was around three or four pm when we reached the bazaar. As expected, it was difficult to find a place to park our car. After spending a good ten to fifteen minutes, we finally parked our car and proceeded to the bazaar's entrance. Of no surprise, the place was overcrowded with mostly women going from shop to shop in order to find that 'perfect cloth'. The entrance wasn't one big gate but multiple alleys without any gates and shops on both sides. Just before I was about to follow my friend down one of the alleys, everything seemed to go quiet for some moments. Everything seemed to have slowed down as I recalled something I had been reading but not reflecting upon.

Allama Iqbal opened his eyes in a time when the Muslims of the world were facing decline to what was a great civilization for the past fourteen hundred years. Muslims everywhere were facing difficulties a new world was awakening and new ideas were taking birth. The Ottomans were at the end of their great rule which encapsulated almost all of the middle east. The Muslims of the subcontinent had already been going through tough times especially after the greater India was declared 'Dar-al-Harb' or 'Land of Fighting' by scholars. Muslims were given two options either they fight or migrate to what remained of the Muslim lands. Many Muslim groups chose the former strategy but the British and Indians were too strong to be fought against. Many movements such as the 'Caliphate Movement' in the subcontinent, sought to support the declining Turkish empire by fighters or money. Many such movements failed as naturally the cycle of empires had destined the decline of the Muslim world. Iqbal, after his educational era, got deeply affected by the state of the Muslims after he came back from Europe. The rise of new ideologies such as nation states, nationalism, reformed education and fast technological advances posited a threat to the Islamic injunctions. Being at the forefront of this battle, this 'God-chosen' man was gifted with the art of poetry and immense intelligence which he used to awaken the Muslim world from deep slumber. The importance of his poetical works for the Muslims of the subcontinent can be summarized in the following verses from one of his poems, he says about himself: 

مرا سبوچہ غنيمت ہے اس زمانے ميں

کہ خانقاہ ميں خالی ہيں صوفيوں کے کدو

My flagon is blessing great, for this age athirst and dry:

In the cells where mystics swell, big empty gourds are lying by.

Iqbal was really alone challenging all of these new ideologies in order to present Muslims with guidance through this newly developing world. His poetical works, both in Urdu and Persian, are filled with discussions on capitalism, communism, nationalism, fatalism, poverty in the subcontinent and much more. Regarding challenging these ideologies he said:

عذاب دانش حاضر سے با خبر ہوں میں

کہ میں اس آگ میں ڈالا گیا ہوں مثل خلیل

The scourge of present science and thought, to me, no doubt, are fully known,

Like Abraham, the Friend of God, in its flame I have been thrown.

His famous work 'Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa' is a clear representation of the deep sorrow and pain he felt at the state of the Muslims worldwide. I can feel how Iqbal would have felt at the state of the Muslims of his time. The Muslims of my time are facing some of the same problems. The destruction of Syria, Iraq, Palestine had a deep impact on me. The Muslims now are not any better than those at his time. 

As I stood there, motionless, my eyes tiered up as I tried hard not to cry profusely. Seeing the liveliness of the bazaar and shopkeepers trying to make livelihoods peacefully and buyers contributing in the circulation of wealth. I leaned forward towards my friend and whispered to him that how happy would Iqbal have been by looking at this place. As I tried to hide my tears in the overcrowded bazaar, I realized that the only thing that Iqbal saw throughout his lifetime was pain and suffering of the Muslims. He envisioned Pakistan but was not able to see it come into creation. I felt as though he longed to see the sight I was seeing in that bazaar. Poverty was a great problem in the subcontinent and Muslims were the most marginalized. One of the reasons Iqbal wanted a Muslim state was for the problem of bread of the Muslims to be solved. Seeing that come into fruition made be incredibly grateful to Allah. I couldn't help but dream of how happy he would have been seeing what I was seeing. As I continued walking through the bazaar I recited his poetry, which kept me in a "spiritual state" where I felt connected to him. I was physically in the bazaar but I was spiritually with Iqbal.

Although as an ummah we face many problems, but I felt a sense of hope and motivation to do something for the betterment of the Muslims as I walked through the bazaar. I pray that Allah revives Iqbal's works in the youth and make it a source of our rise to power. I conclude with a couplet from one of his poems:

قُوّتِ عشق سے ہر پست کو بالا کر دے

دہر میں اسمِ محمّدؐ سے اُجالا کر دے

Raise through Love, all humble to greatness and to fame

Enlighten the groping world with Muhammad’s Name