Marsiya is a form of poetry that has its origins in Arabic. In Arabic the pronunciation of the word is “Marziya” (where “z” would be pronounced as in Castilian Spanish), or “Marthiya”. The word in Arabic means “lamentation”.
Despite, having originated in Arabic the form of poetry became more popular in Persian and later on in Urdu.
Marsiya is a type of elegy that mourns a deceased loved one. In its purest form it is written in remembrance of Husayn ibn Ali and other martyrs of Karbala. In spite of what some might suggest, a Marsiya can be written for a family member or to any loved one as well, although it is not a “pure” Marsiya. One example of such a Marsiya is this one, written by the famous Urdu poet Ghalib, which is written with the meter and rhyme of a Ghazal, another type of Urdu/Persian poetry of an easier discipline:
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The pure Marsiya is dedicated to, as mentioned above, the martyrs of Karbala and sometimes to Ali ibn Abi Talib (in which case it can be called a “Manqabat”). It is more popular among different sects of Shia Muslims. The meter as well as the rhyme is very strict. One stanza normally consists of six verses, which have a rhyming pattern of
A
A
A
A
B
B
Here is one example by Faiz Ahmed Faiz:
Raat aai hai Shabbir pey yalgaar-e-bala hai
Sathi na koi Yaar na ghamkhawr raha hai
Moonis hai to Ek dard ki Ghanghore Ghata hai
Mushfaq hai to Ek Dil key Dharrakney ki sada hai
Tanhai ki, gurbat ki, pareshani ki shab hai
Yeh Khana-e-Shabbir ki Wirani kee shab hai
Some Marsiyas have more than one Kaafiya and/or Radeef (rhyme endings in Urdu and Persian). One example is this Manqabat by Dr. Rehan Azmi:
Mere Sarkaar Hussain ibn Ali ke baba
Surkh parcham ke nigehdaar jari ke baba
Gyarah masumo ke sardaar sabhi ke baba
Qatl-e-Mohsin ke azadaar Qali ke baba
Bibi Qulsoom ke, Zainab ke misaali baba
Kaayam-e-aale-Muhammad ke jalaali baba
Here, in the first four lines, there is a double rhyme, the first one “-aar”, the second one “-i ke baba”; although the first rhyme of the two does not conform with the meter.
Most of the major poets of Persian and Urdu have written a Marsiya at some point of time, but the most important names are Qaani in Persian who ignored meter, Mir Babbar Ali Anees and Mirza Salamat Ali Daabir in Urdu, both from Lucknow, the city with Shia majority in India.
One example of Mir Anees’ Marsiya:
Aayi nidaye ghaib se Shabbeer marhaba
Is haath ke liye thi ye shamsheer marhaba
Ye aabru ye jang ye tauqeer marhaba
Dikhlaadi maa ke doodh ki taaseer marhaba
Ghalib kiya Khuda ne tujhe kainaat par
Bas khatima jihaad ka hai teri zaat par
There is an easier version of Marsiya, which is less strict as far as rhyme and meter are concerned. It is called “Noha”, literally meaning weeping in Persian. A Noha is used as the motivational music during mourning of Ashura (the tenth day of Muharram, the day on which Husayn was killed in Karbala). On this day, the Shia commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali by beating their chests and sometimes participating in self flagellation called “zanjeer zani” in Persian and Urdu.
Ashura in Delhi
Photography: Martí Casas http://www.marticasas.com/
(Copyright: Martí Casas, all rights reserved)
One example of Noha:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpaw89TfgNY
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