Pioneer of Muslim Awakening Poet Golam Mustafa

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 At that time, the Turkish army was defeated by the Bulgarians in the Balkan Wars in Europe, casting a shadow of catastrophe on the entire Muslim world.  Suddenly news broke that Kamal Pasha had recaptured Adrianopol from the Bulgarians.  In this news, the life of a teenager studying in 10th class of Swajati Batsal danced with joy.  He wrote a long poem in one night entitled 'Rescue of Adrianople' (1913 AD).  He then sent the poem to the weekly Mohammadi, edited by renowned journalist Maulana Muhammad Akram Khan.  The poem was printed the following week.  He writes,

 "What's the message this morning?

 I came down to catch him. "

 At that time, the rhythm, expression and expression of this poem were all new.  So there was a storm of discussion in the readership centering on this poem. It was easily recognized that a modern poet had appeared in the Muslim society of Bengal.  It was through this poem that his journey as a poet began in the field of journalism.

 I was talking about the pioneer of the Muslim Awakening, the poet Golam Mostafa.  His contribution is a rare example in Bengali literature.  The literary genius of this poet developed in his school life.  In 1911, when the poet was in the eighth grade, he wrote a letter to a friend after a long summer vacation.  This was his first poem.  The poem is:

 "SS soon s oh brother

 Shital karaha prana diya darshan.

 Holidays and leisure schools open,

 But why is it so late? "

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 Golam Mostafa was born in 1897 in Manoharpur village under Shailkupa police station of Jhenaidah subdivision in Jessore district.  Father Kazi Golam Rabbani, grandfather Kazi Golam Sarwar.  They were both lovers of literature - fluent in Persian and Arabic.  The poet's mother was also a poet by nature.  The nature of poetry grows from the person with the mother to the poet.

 The poet's father Kazi Golam Rabbani was also famous as a rural poet.  Dada Kazi Golam Sarwar used to inspire the nation by composing national provocative poems against the indigo planters during the indigo rebellion at that time.  He was a contemporary of Deenbandhu Mitra, the author of the play 'Neel Darpan'.  Kabir's father was a subscriber of 'Hitabadi' and 'Bangabasi' magazines from his childhood.  This thought of Swajati Batsal's father also affected the mind of the boy Golam Mostafa.  The poet's father used to recite 'Vidya Sundar' and 'Annada Mangal' of Bharat Chandra every night.  Many people from this village used to gather for hearing.  Poet Golam Mostafa also listened to these books of poetry with great interest from his father.  The seeds of literary practice germinated in his heart at an early age for all these favorable environments.  The thoughtful influence of the practice of literature in the poet's family may have helped him to develop Islamic consciousness in the construction of literature.

 Poet Ghulam Mustafa was very much aware of the Islamic tradition, culture and the life of the Muslim society.  So his thoughts and feelings are expressed in some of his poems.  He has sung about national prosperity in some poems like Independent Egypt, Hindu-Muslim, Mostafa Kamal, Vijay Ullas etc.  And the development of national heritage consciousness has taken place in his poems like Manush, Fatema-i-Doaj Daham, Al-Helal, Shabe Barat, Eid Utsav etc.

 The poet has written by reciting the life philosophy of the beloved Prophet:

 O Messenger, in the light of this auspicious morning,

 I salute you - to the absolute pool from afar

 Let's wake up today in our minds

 There is infinite power in human life. ”

 (Fatima-i-Dawajaham)

 In the poem 'Eid Utsav', the poet sings the song of friendship and universal brotherhood of Islam:

 "Today, in the midst of all the catches, a huge statue of humanity has found joy

 Today, the feeling that has awakened in the soul must be kept throughout the year.

 Happy Eid to all today,

 For the union of all human beings,

 Good, stay awake, let the evil go away.

 God bless you. ”

 (Eid Festival: Blood Rage)

 In the poem 'Rakhal Khalifa', the poet Amirul Momenin introduces the incomparable characteristics of the caliph Omar Farooq in this way:

 "The stubborn caliph, he did not say a word,

 Agree so don't necessarily do;

 The shepherd is walking on the surface - the caliph pulls the reins.

 This scene is amazingly beautiful. "

 Although he followed the rhythm of Rabindranath Tagore and Satyendranath Dutt in the form of literature, the main preoccupation of his literary work was Islamic ideology and tradition.  He said:

 "Even though I was a fan of Rabindranath or Satyendranath, I had a strong desire to create our own literature. I simply wanted the embodiment of Islamic culture in Bengali literature, not in the name of communal discrimination."

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 Poet Golam Mostafa is also known as a translator.  He has enriched Bengali literature by translating the following books from Arabic and Urdu literature.  ‘Ikhwanus Safa’, ‘Musaddas-i-Hali’, - ‘Kalam-i-Iqbal’, ‘Shikwa’ are some of his translated books.  He also authored a number of books on thought and rationalism.  ‘Islam and Communism’, ‘Jihad in Islam’, ‘My Thoughts’, these are the fruits of the knowledge of his deep thought.

 His prose style was fascinating and everlasting in its own characteristics.  In his last years he devoted himself to the work of translating the Qur'an into Bengali.  But he could not finish this work.  During the Pakistan period, at the request of the then Central Bengal Development Board, he started writing biographies of Rashedin in Khulafa, and only after he had finished his biography of Abu Bakr did the call for his death come.

 Poet Jasim Uddin writes: - “On the day when the writing of the biography of Hazrat Abu Bakr was over, he called everyone and prayed to God in Gadgad language.  Then he fell ill. After hearing the news of his illness, I went to the hospital to see the poet many times.  The poet has no knowledge then.  The poet never thought that he would not return from the hospital. "

 Poet Golam Mostafa's 'Bishwanabi' is a surprisingly successful creation.  Although this immortal book is written in prose, it is also rhythmic and sweet like poetry.  At that time, the library was a successful biography of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).  It is very rare in our Bengali literature to compare the way the emotions of the heart and sincere feelings are described in the book.  He later wrote an epic called Bani Adam in the amitraksha verse of the Qur'anic event.  Which is an immortal and immortal feat in Bengali literature.

 Ghulam Mustafa was a believer in the Muslim nationalist ideology and supported Urdu during the 1952 language movement.  He served as the Secretary of the Language Reform Committee of the Government of East Bengal formed in 1949.  A notable feature of his poetry is its simple and artistic expression and rhythmicity.  He also wrote a few textbooks and they were very popular in undivided Bengal.  Some of his poems were read at school level.

 Most of Golam Mostafa's literature focuses on Islamic ideals and Muslim traditions.  He did not write merely for the sake of beauty;  Rather, he wrote to implement Islam and Islamic ideals.  Although he wrote humorous poems, he had a keen eye on the Qur'an-Hadith and Islamic ideology tradition.  He was always careful that no writing should be anti-Islamic or distorted.  The main objective of his literary pursuit is the embodiment of Islamic consciousness and the awakening of the literary culture of the Muslim society.  He has written in the form of lyric poems on the issues of awakening Islamic features of the Muslim nation.  In his life's pursuit, he has embodied Muslim features and distinctive issues in literature.  In this context, he writes in the article ‘My goal is ideal’,

 "The era in which I was born is the era of depression of the Muslims of Bengal. In that era, our literature had no uniqueness, no individuality. Every nation's thinking power, tradition, ideas and aspirations are embodied in its mother tongue.  "In the heart of his literature. Literature is therefore the echo of the nation's mind. The true face of the whole nation can be seen through literature. As such, no literature of the Muslims of Bengal was written then. That is why I wanted to compose the national literature of the Muslims from a young age."

 In the time of Golam Mostafa, communism spread all over the world through the Russian Revolution.  It also affected the Indian subcontinent.  As a result, many young Bengali Muslims were inspired by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism.  In this context, Golam Mostafa wrote a political book called 'Islam and Communism'.  In this book he has very efficiently proved the futility of Marxism and Lelinism.  He also said that Islam is the only way of liberation.  In this book, he also discusses Islam and other religions and religious thought.  He writes in the introduction about the purpose of writing this book:

 "Many young Muslims today seem to be more inclined towards communism. They have abandoned the Islamic ideology and forgotten the form of communism. Communism is the ideal society and state system for them. As if there was no such beautiful system anywhere in the world.  It is their idea that the rule of communism is better than the rule and that this system is the best solution to the problems of the present age. This is my attempt to dispel this misconception. "

 When Kazi Nazrul Islam's poem 'Rebel' was published, he wrote 'controlled' poem in protest.  Addressing the poet Nazrul Islam, he said:

 Ogo ‘hero’

 Restrain, consolidate, 'improve' then shir!

 ‘Rebel’?  It makes you smile!

 Bandhan-kara can be achieved by crying and rebelling?

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 Poet Golam Mostafa was a musician.  His remarkable talent is found in this arena.  He gained special fame as a singer and lyricist.  He was especially unique in composing Islamic songs, ghazals and milad mahfils' famous Qiyambani (Rasul Ahban Bani).  He learned music from Ustad Jamir Uddin Khan.  Then Nazrul's Islamic songs were flowing in the Muslim society like a listener, at that time Golam Mostafa also mixed some songs in that stream.  However, the main reason behind this was: when the poet Golam Mostafa was a disciple of Ustad Jamir Uddin Khan, Nazrul Islam and Abbas Uddin were also his disciples.  The three gems that appeared on that day like Shukatara in the destiny of the Bengali Muslim nation were combined through the discipleship of Ustad Jamir Uddin Khan.

 Almost all the songs composed by Golam Mostafa have been recorded by Abbas Uddin and his own voice.  Some of these songs are composed by the poet in his own characteristics and ideals such as: - ‘In the glory of God….  And O Prophet Salam Alaika and Rabbana listen listen our munajat ’.  These songs are shining with unique and eternal glory.  The ideal of this song is eternal.  He composed many Islamic and patriotic songs against the backdrop of the Pakistan movement.  In his personal life, Golam Mostafa was a man of very simple nature.  In recognition of his contribution to literature and culture, he was awarded the title of 'Kavya Sudhakar' (1952) by the Jessore Sangha and 'Sitara-i-Imtiaz' (1960) by the Government of Pakistan.

 The poet Golam Mostafa was a beacon of light in the Islamic tradition of the time, a pioneer in the awakening of the backward Muslim society.  In this case, he is undoubtedly the predecessor of Kazi Nazrur and Farrukh Ahmed.  In his life in Calcutta he developed a close relationship with Kazi Nazrul Islam and the role of Abbas Uddin was unique.  Poet Nazrul was then associated with All India Radio Calcutta.  Poet Nazrul Islam came forward to compose Islamic songs at the urging of Golam Mostafa and artist Abbas Uddin.  In fact, through gramophone records, those songs spread all over the country and caused an unprecedented stir in the sleeping Muslim community.  Therefore, it can be said that the poet of Muslim renaissance Golam Mostafa, artist Abbas Uddin and poet Nazrul should be united.  From their respective positions, they have made outstanding contributions to Bengali literature and elevated the trend of Muslim tradition.  They were bound by the formula of friendship.  And the basis of these friendships was human welfare and ideals.  Notable among his friends were Kazi Nazrul Islam, vocalist Abbas Uddin, poet Shahadat Hossain, poet Jasim Uddin, poet Abdul Qadir, poet Abdus Sattar, principal Ibrahim Khan, Dr Muhammad Shahidullah and others.

 Becoming a writer of Golam Mostafa was not so easy.  He had to burn a lot of wood in his life.  The daughter of the poet Firoza Khatun writes: "Like the handwriting of my father, the poet Golam Mostafa, his language is very beautiful and sweet. His life was not so easy and comfortable. His life was not so easy and comfortable.  He had to go to his destination. As a child, he had to stay at his uncle's house, sometimes at his uncle's house due to his father's negligence. He had to do tuition in his childhood due to financial constraints, but he got fast in class.  In diversity. In the charisma of his own merits and talents, he made the running life radiant. "

 Poet Golam Mostafa died at the hospital on 13 October 1984.  He was one of the great artisans of the revival of Islamic thought in Bengali literature.

 But, bad luck to us !!  The question of how much we have been able to keep the deposit of the Muslim heritage left by Golam Mostafa becomes a big question today.