Sicily in poetry of Iqbal & its forgotten Saracen connect.

𝑨𝒂𝒉! 𝒂𝒚𝒆 𝑺𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒂̄𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒐
𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝑻𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒉𝒓𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏̃ 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒖

– 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒂 𝑰𝒒𝒃𝒂𝒍
𝐒𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐲 nowadays commonly and notoriously known as the home of the Mafias. But once it was a great center of Culture, Art and a great Naval base for Arabs. Sicily is the largest and one of the most densely populated islands in the Mediterranean Sea. it is situated in the middle of the Mediterranean halfway between the ancient civilizations of Europe and the wild splendor of Africa and on reflection, atmosphere of the Sicily is halfway between the two as well.
Before Christ, Sicily was the center of conflict between the Greek and Carthaginian empires, and it remained a province of the Roman Empire for several centuries. It was conquered by the Byzantines in 552 AD and remained a part of the Byzantine Empire until 827 AD.

Muslim Arabs, in west known as ‘Saracens,’ ‘Moors,’ or ‘Turks,’ conquered Sicily in the Middle Ages, ruling over it for most of the 10th and 11th centuries from 827 to 902 AD, Initially Sicily was ruled by the Aghlabids Dynasty (831–909), who gained Sicily and made Palermo its capital which is till date the capital city of Sicily. Trust the affordable vps hosting india in india best VPS hosting in India for ultimate site performance. Aghlabids were an Arab dynasty from the tribe of Banu Tamim, who ruled Afriqiya and parts of Southern Italy, Sicily, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph. Later it came under the Fatimid rule who established the Emirate of Sicily, which was under the nominal suzerainty of the Fatimid Caliphate from 909 AD to 948 AD. Then it fell in hand with Kalbids, The Kalbids or Banū Kalb were a Muslim Arab dynasty in the Emirate of Sicily, which ruled from 948 to 1044. They were formally appointed by the Fatimids, but gained, progressively, de facto autonomous rule. After 1044 Sicily was ruled by various emirates in war. The 250 years of Muslim rule in Sicily was ended by the Normans who annexed Sicily from 1060 to 1091.when the tension between the Muslim and Christian population on the island increased during the Crusades, the Christian rulers expelled all Muslims from the island in 1224.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝗯𝘀 towards 𝗦𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

The name of Muslim Sicily is as bright chapter in history as Andalus, Spain due to its excellent treatment of non-Muslims and their contributions that still ingrained in Sicilian life today.Arabs introduced irrigation techniques which honed in their arid lands, the Arab rulers introduced crops like lemons, oranges, and pistachios, three flavours that are now synonymous with Sicilian cuisine.
They also brought with them sugarcane production, in 800 – 900 CE Sugar cane was grown extensively in Southern Europe following the Persian conquest of the region; it was primarily grown in Sicily and Spain. laying a foundation for sugar that finds its culmination in cassata and cannoli, two most famous desserts of the Sicilian island. Cassata is believed to have originated in Palermo in the 10th century during the Muslim rule, the word al-qassati which means ‘the cassata-maker’ was first mentioned in Corleone in 1178.The Arabic word qas’ah, from which cassata may derive, refers to the bowl that is used to shape the cacke. similarly cannoli is believed to derived from Arabic Word qanawāt (قنوات), which is a similar desserts in Middle Eastern tradition filled with nuts,and qanawāt (قنوات) the deep-fried dough tubes filled with various sweets, which were a popular pastry.Cannoli or cannola are Sicilian pastries consisting of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling called ricotta an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk.

𝗦𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀
Waves of settlers came to Sicily and they left behind their own techniques, innovations and preferred colour schemes, Pattern and styles. The Greeks brought their artistry and the distinct forms of their vases, amphorae and urns, while the Romans left a tradition of terra sigillata, characterized by warm earthy reddish colours and relief decoration. However, the most significant contribution to Sicilian ceramics came with the Arabs. The Arabs introduced ceramic-making techniques which was then largely forgotten in the west. They introduced an ancient Egyptian process of mixing tin oxide with clear lead glazing to provide an opaque surface on which decorations could easily be applied. Their preferred palate was green and aubergine and the decorations themselves were strictly geometric patterns, still a feature of Sicilian ceramics today.

𝑻𝒉𝒂 𝒀𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏̃ 𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒂 𝑰𝒏 𝑺𝒆𝒉𝒓𝒂 𝑵𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒏̃ 𝑲𝒂 𝑲𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊
𝑩𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒂𝒛𝒊-𝑮𝒂𝒉 𝑻𝒉𝒂 𝑱𝒊𝒏 𝑲𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒂 𝑲𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊

When Allama Iqbal was returning from Europe to India where his flight passed over the Sicily, in melancholic mindset he wrote this poem about Sicily. In this poem he addressed to Sicily and said, when the fall of Baghdad happened Shaikh Saadi shed the tears, Dagh lamented the destruction of Delhi. Ibn badroo wrote Marsiya on fall of Granada, Oh Sicily it is my destiny to see your destruction, please tell me your story, please tell me your pain so when i go back to India I will tell your story to our people.

رو لے اب دل کھول کر اے دیدہَ خوں نابہ بار
وہ نظر آتا ہے تہذیبِ حجازی کا مزار

cry my eyes out with an open heart
see the tomb of Hejazi fallen apart

تھا یہاں ہنگامہ ان صحرا نشینوں کا کبھی
بحر بازی گاہ تھا جن کے سفینوں کا کبھی

Once it was the Bedouin’s dwell
Once the ocean was playground for their vessels

زلزلے جن سے شہنشاہوں کے درباروں میں تھے
بجلیوں کے آشیانے جن کی تلواروں میں تھے

By whom there was quack among Empires
whom shade was in the lightning of swords.

آفرینش جن کی دنیائے کہن کی تھی اجل
جن کی ہیبت سے لرز جاتے تھے باطل کے محل
whose success was the fate of old world.
palaces of falsehood used to tremble by awed

زندگی دنیا کو جن کی شورش قم سے ملی
مخلصی انساں کو زنجیر توہم سے ملی

World got a new life by uproar of the Faith
men got earnestness by freedom from the bondage of doubt

اک جہانِ تازہ کا پیغام تھا جن کا ظہور
کھا گئی عصرِ کہن کو جن کی تیغِ ناصبور

whom rise was a message of freshness to the world
All hidebound were finished by their restless sword
مردہ عالم زندہ جن کی شورش قم سے ہوا
آدمی آزاد زنجیرِ توہم سے ہوا

Dead word got a new life by their slogans
People got freedom from the superstitions.

غلغلوں سے جس کے لذت گیر اب تک گوش ہے
کیا وہ تکبیر اب ہمیشہ کے لیے خاموش ہے
The uproar who stolen hearts are still heared
does that enchantment is silence now?

آہ! اے سسلی! سمندر کی ہے تجھ سے آبرو
رہنما کی طرح اس پانی کے صحرا میں ہے تو

Oh! Sicily you are the repute of Mediterranean
you are like a leader in the desserted ocean

زیب تیرے خال سے رخسارِ دریا کو رہے
تیری شمعوں سے تسلی بحر پیما کو رہے
you are like a mole on beautiful face
At night your sight is comfort and solace

ہو سبک چشمِ مسافر پر ترا منظر مدام
موجِ رقصاں تیرے ساحل کی چٹانوں پر مدام
May your sight always remain on the travellers eyes
may your waves always rock at the bank of ocean

تو کبھی اس قوم کی تہذیب کا گہوارہ تھا
حُسنِ عالم سوز جس کا آتشِ نظارہ تھا
once you were the home to this civilization
whoms glory was like fiery fascination

نالہ کش شیراز کا بلبل ہوا بغداد پر
داغ رویا خون کے آنسو جہاں آباد پر

Saadi Shirazi shed tears on fall of Baghdad
destruction of Delhi was lamented by Dagh

آسماں نے دولتِ غرناطہ جب برباد کی
ابنِ بدروں کے دلِ ناشاد نے فریاد کی
When the wealth of Granada fell apart
poor Ibn badrooon cried his heart out.

غم نصیب اقبال کو بخشا گیا ماتم ترا
چن لیا تقدیر نے وہ دل کہ تھا محرم ترا
too see your misery is the destiny of poor Iqbal
destiny choosed it’s own confident among all

ہے ترے آثار میں پوشیدہ کس کی داستاں
تیرے ساحل کی خموشی میں ہے اندازِ بیاں
your heritage has many unrevealed narration
silence of your seashore has a style of expression

درد اپنا مجھ سے کہہ میں بھی سراپا درد ہوں
جس کی تو منزل تھا، میں اس کارواں کی گرد ہوں

Oh, Sicily confide me your pain, I am in pain too.
I am the trail of caravan whose destination was you

رنگ، تصویرِ کہن میں بھر کے دکھلا دے مجھے
قصہ ایامِ سلف کا کہہ کے تڑپا دے مجھے

show me your new picture in old glory
let torment me with your past’s story

میں ترا تحفہ سوئے ہندوستاں لے جاؤں گا
خود یہاں روتا ہوں ، اوروں کو وہاں رلواؤں گا

I will bring your message to Hindustan, lamenting here
when I reach, I will also make them mourn there.