Faiz Ahmad Faiz: The Literature of Protest

A poet, teacher, writer, freedom fighter, and recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize, Faiz Ahmed Faiz is one of the most eminent poets of the subcontinent.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz: Early Life

Born in 1911 into an educated family in the culturally rich city of Sialkot (the birthplace of Allama Iqbal), in pre-Partition Punjab. His father was a prominent lawyer and a member of an elite literary circle that included Allama Iqbal, the national poet of Pakistan. Faiz’s early life and relatively privileged childhood laid the foundation for him to become one of Pakistan’s most prominent poets, second perhaps only to Iqbal. Even those critical of his social and political beliefs would not deny him that position. However, they often qualified their praise by regretting that a man of his stature had fallen among the communists.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s early education included religious studies when he began memorizing the Holy Quran at the age of four. In 1916, Faiz entered Moulvi Ibrahim Sialkoti, a famous regional school, and was later admitted to the Scotch Mission High School, where he studied Urdu, Persian, and Arabic. He received a bachelor’s degree in Arabic, followed by a master’s degree in English, from the Government College in Lahore in 1932, and later received a second master’s degree in Arabic from the Oriental College in Lahore. After graduating in 1935, Faiz began a teaching career and became a lecturer at M.A.O. College in Amritsar and then at Hailey College of Commerce in Lahore. Moreover, Faiz took a keen interest in diverse traditions of classical poetry, exploring languages such as Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Punjabi, Hindi and English. These experiences equipped him with the linguistic tools that would considerably define his linguistic expressions.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz: Life

Faiz’s early poetry was primarily conventional, focusing on lighthearted themes of love and beauty. However, while living in Lahore, he began to expand into politics and community, and the thematic interconnectedness he felt was fundamental in both life and poetry.

During this time, he also married Alys George, a British expatriate who reverted to Islam, with whom he had two daughters.

In 1942, Faiz left his teaching career to join the British Indian Army, where he was awarded the British Empire Medal for his service during World War II. After the 1947 partition of India, Faiz resigned from the army and became the editor of The Pakistan Times, a socialist English-language newspaper.

On March 9, 1951, Faiz was arrested along with several army officers under the Safety Act, accused of involvement in the failed coup attempt known as the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case. He was sentenced to death but spent four years in prison before being released. Two of his poetry collections, Dast-e Saba and Zindan Namah, reflect his life in prison, which he viewed as an opportunity to gain a new perspective on life. After his release, Faiz continued living in Pakistan and was appointed to the National Council of the Arts under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s government. His poetry, already translated into Russian, earned him the Lenin Peace Prize in 1963.

In 1964, Faiz moved to Karachi, where he became the principal of Abdullah Haroon College while also serving as an editor and writer for various prominent magazines and newspapers. During the 1965 war between India and Pakistan, he worked in an honorary capacity for the Department of Information, penning powerful poems of outrage over the bloodshed between Pakistan, India, and later Bangladesh. However, after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was overthrown by Zia-ul-Haq, Faiz was forced into exile in Beirut, Lebanon, where he edited the magazine Lotus and continued writing poetry in Urdu. He remained in exile until 1982. Faiz passed away in Lahore in 1984, shortly after being nominated for the Nobel Prize.

Throughout his turbulent life, Faiz remained a prolific writer and publisher, eventually becoming the best-selling modern Urdu poet in both India and Pakistan. While his poetry adhered to formal diction, his poems maintained a casual, conversational tone, creating tension between the elite and the common, somewhat in the tradition of Ghalib, the renowned 19th-century Urdu poet. Faiz is particularly revered for his mastery of traditional Urdu forms like the ghazal and for his exceptional ability to expand the conventional thematic expectations to include political and social issues.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz: The Literature of Protest & Revolution

Faiz is a poet who served the conscience of his time. He recognized the significance of poetry and literature in shaping society. For him, a society without meaningful poetry is wretched in its existence—devoid of dreams and hope. Therefore, he used poetry to advocate the freedom of the people of Pakistan, freedom in its true sense. Faiz realized that, in the art of poetry, the content and not the form were fundamental. He was an artistic rebel who drew inspiration from the Sufi tradition of dissent and strived to eliminate social classes and inequity. He possessed the ability to construct Urdu poetry that addressed the larger social and political issues of his times, all the while retaining the style and delivery of a ghazal. He crafted poems that echoed the sufferings of the common people: oppression, injustice, exploitation and poverty. He is regarded as a poet who used his words to not only draw attention to beauty and love but also to humanity and justice. 

Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s poem, “Hum Dekhenge” (which translates to We shall witness), is a powerful anthem of resistance, a composition that reflects the spirit of resilience and hope. Faiz wrote Hum Dekhenge in 1979, during a period of political unrest under the military dictatorship of Zia Ul Haq to show the public resentment against the oppressive dictator. It reads:

Hum dekhenge, hum dekhenge,

[We shall witness. We shall witness,]

Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge,

[It is inevitable (that) we too shall witness,]

Hum dekhenge, hum dekhenge,

[We shall witness. We shall witness,]

Wo din ke jis ka waada Hai,

[The day that has been promised,]

Jo Lauh-E-Azal mein likha hai, hum dekhenge

[That is written in the book of destiny. We shall witness,]

Hum bhi dekhenge, hum bhi dekhenge

[We, too, shall witness. We also shall witness,]

Jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-e-garaan

[When the mountains of oppression and cruelty,]

Rooyi ki tarah urr jayenge, hum dekhenge

[Will blow away like cotton. We shall witness,]

Hum mehkumon ke paon tale,

[Underneath our feet—we the governed,]

Ye dharti dhar dhar dharkay gi,

[The ground will echo like a thumping heartbeat,]

Aur ahl-e-hakam ke sar oopar,

[And the sky over the heads of the rulers,]

Jab bijli kar kar karkegi,

[Will echo with the sound of thunder,]

Hum dekhenge, hum dekhenge.

[We shall witness. We shall witness.]

Bas naam rahay ga Allah ka,

[And only Allah’s name will remain,]

Jo gayab bhi hai hazir bhi,

[Who is both elusive and present,]

Jo manzar bhi hai nazir bhi,

[Who is the Spectacle and the Beholder,]

Utthega An-al-Haq ka naara,

[The chant of ‘I am the truth’ will be heard,]

Jo main bhi houn, aur tum bhi ho,

[Which I am, and so are you,]

Aur raaj karegi khalq-e-khuda,

[And God’s people will rule,]

Jo main bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho,

[Which I am, and so are you.]

Hum dekhenge, hum dekhenge.

[We shall witness, we shall witness.]

“Hum Dekhenge” goes beyond a mere expression of hope; it stands as a powerful call for justice and equality. Faiz’s words resonate deeply with the struggles of the oppressed, assuring them that a day of reckoning is imminent. At the same time, the poem serves as a warning to tyrants, reminding them that on that day, “we shall witness.”

The influence of “Hum Dekhenge” reaches far beyond literature. It has become a global anthem at protests, becoming a universal symbol of hope and defiance against injustice. Artists, activists, and leaders have drawn inspiration from Faiz’s words, demonstrating the power of poetry to spur a revolution.

Faiz’s verses came at a significant cost—he paid this price with imprisonment. His political detention is reflected in several of his poetry collections written during that period.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz: The Marriage of Poetry & Activism

Faiz was more than just a literary figure who explored the themes of romantic and patriotic love; he also emerged as a significant political personality. He boldly confronted the socio-political issues of his time, both through his poetry and his activism. Faiz became the voice of the suffering masses—a voice fueled by conviction, rising against the injustices of his era. He became the echo of resistance, the thunder of revolution. His words continue to resonate across Pakistan today, as many of the same issues persist, now in even sharper forms. Those who sought to label him failed to grasp the true depth of his poetry—or perhaps used those labels to cover their shallow understanding of the complexities he addressed.

“Hum Dekhenge” was not the only political poem written by Faiz Ahmed Faiz. In fact, many of his romantic poems carry strong political undertones. One such example is his well-known poem “Mujhsay Pehli Si Muhabbat Meray Mehboob Na Maang” (Oh beloved, don’t ask me to love you as I once did). In this poem, one of the verses poignantly reflects his shifting focus from personal love to the broader struggles of society, blending romance with a deep sense of political consciousness.

Aur bhi dukh mein zamanay mein muhabbat kay siwa

[There are other pains in life than that of love]

Raahatein aur bhi hain vasl ki rahat kay siwa

[There are other joys than the joy of reunion]

These words can be interpreted in multiple ways. From a socialist perspective, the poet asks his beloved to wait until tyranny is defeated, exploitation ends, rights and liberties are restored, equality is achieved, and the oppressed are uplifted. He suggests that while love holds significance, there are more pressing issues that cannot be overlooked. The duty towards the common people and society takes priority. This realization makes it difficult for him to love his beloved with the same intensity she seeks, until these social responsibilities are fully fulfilled.

An enduring feature of Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s poetry, as highlighted in the above interpretation, is its timeless relevance. Although some of his work was written before the partition of the subcontinent, his words continue to resonate with people across different generations, even 75 years after partition, as many of the same challenges still afflict Pakistan.

Faiz’s literature of protest inspires us to “forcefully spurn the hand of the killer,” embodying a refusal to surrender to oppression and standing firm on the belief that darkness will inevitably give way to light. He became the first Asian poet to receive the Lenin Peace Prize in 1962 and was nominated for the Nobel Prize the following year.

While Iqbal wrote stirring poems that inspired people to rise against oppressors, Faiz immersed himself in the people’s struggle and became a poet of revolution. His primary focus was the personal experience of the individual soul in the long, arduous journey of revolutionary struggle.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz: Legacy (Faiz Foundation Trust and Faiz Festival)

Established in 2009, the Faiz Foundation Trust holds the copyright to all of Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s literary works. It also operates a non-profit organization called Faiz Ghar (House of Faiz), dedicated to promoting Faiz’s humanistic ideals alongside fostering art, literature, and culture in general. The organization houses Faiz’s personal library, along with much of his memorabilia, including rare photographs, academic diplomas, letters, and manuscripts. In 2015, the Faiz Foundation Trust, in collaboration with the Lahore Arts Council, launched the first International Faiz Festival at Alhamra in Lahore, Pakistan. Held regularly since then, the festival aims to celebrate and promote Urdu poetry, music, literature, drama, and human rights in Pakistan.