Civilizational Nostalgia and the Ideology of Revival in a Persian Poem from the Indian Subcontinent The Complete Text of Madd va jazr-i Islām

Ubaidullah Bismil (1852–1939), a Persian-educated poet and writer from Punjab, left behind works on literature, history, and religious thought. Among his lesser-known writings is the Persian narrative poem Madd va jazr-i Islām (The Ebb and Flow of Islam), which represents the history of Islamic civilization as a narrative of rise, flourishing, decline, and possible revival. By recalling the Muslims’ former scientific and political greatness, the fall of Baghdad and al-Andalus, the expansion of colonialism, and the distressing condition of Muslims in his own time, the poet links past, present, and future within a temporal and emotional structure. After outlining the principal components of modern Islamic civilizational discourse and introducing Bismil’s life and works, the present article compares his poem with Altaf Husain Hali’s Musaddas-i madd u jazr-i Islām (1253–1333/1837–1914), composed by one of the reformers associated with the Aligarh Movement and Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan. It then examines and presents the poem’s principal themes and notable verses. The analysis demonstrates that “nostalgia” in Bismil’s poetry is not merely grief over a lost past. By arousing shame, self-respect, and determination, it becomes a motivating force in his call for education, research, industry, unity, and the comprehensive revival of Muslim society. The manuscript on which this study is based is preserved at the Library of Congress, and no printed edition of the poem has yet been identified.