Veil and The Beloved

Dr. Muhammed Afzal Shahid

In recent times the tradition of veil, in particular by the Muslim women, has come
under fire in enlightened and progressive parts of the world. Freedom of speech and
practice of religion aside, laws have been passed in some countries to make
wearing of the veil (hijab) illegal.
In his masterpiece anthology of Heer, Waris Shah, the great Panjabi philosophercum-sufi poet, has also touched upon the subject of ghund, i.e., veil. The context in
which Waris Shah has composed a stanza on veil is briefly described below.
Dhido Ranjha, the youngest son of Maoju Chaudhry of Takht Hazara, after death of
his father, is forced out of his ancestral land by his brothers. He toils as a cow herd
in Jhang where he falls in love of Heer, the beautiful daughter of Chuchak, the head
of the Sial clan. Kaido, a village elder, strongly objects to their love affair and turns
it into talk of the town. Parents of Heer, without, and against express consent, of
Heer, forcibly marry her away to Saida Khera of Rangpur. On the urging of Heer,
Ranjha becomes a Yogi and arrives in Rangpur. There, during one of his begging
round in Kheras house, he endures an ugly encounter with Sehti, Heers sister-inlaw. During that ordeal, Ranjha also meets fully clad Heer. He knows that Heer is
behind the veil but Heer is yet to ascertain that in the guise of Yogi is her lover.
Ranjha makes his comments on veil while addressing Heer at that occasion. Original
Panjabi text of the stanza, its transliteration (and meanings of some words) and
translation in English are presented below.

es gu wich saba khrabya ne, a laeke gu n sye n!

gu husan d b cope leda, lamme gu wa rhe mrye n!
gu shqa de bee ob deda, nea t ke pijre mrye n!
tado eh jahn saba nazar we, jado gu n zara otrye n!
gu annheya kare sojakya n, gu lh mho utto lye
n!
Waris Shah na vye motya n, pul a deye nah sye n!

Word: meanings: n: O! You girl/woman; saba: all kind of; khrabya: faults; a
laeke: alighted; sye: burn; husan: beauty; b: shine; cope leda: hides; lamme
gu wa: woman with long drawn veil; rhe: en route; mrye: stricken, dead;
shqa: lovers; bee: ships; ob deda: sinks; nea: looks; t ke: shut; pijre:
cage; tado: then; eh jahn: this world; nazar we: becomes visible; otrye: take
off; annheya kare: blinds; sojakya: sighted ones; lh: uncover, take off;
mho utto: from over the face; lye: O Bride; na: do not; vye: cast/throw
away; mot: pearl; pul: flower; a deye: subject to heat.
This veil is mother of all evil, you should burn your veil in a bonfire
Veil hides shine of the beautiful, long veil of yours will kill you, dear
Boats of lovers sink under the sea of veil, encaged your looks are
dying here
Whole world is visible only when, the veiled lifts a little her veilcorner
It is veil that blinds the sighted ones, unveil your bride-face and
show me, dear
Waris Shah dont cast away precious pearls, never heat or burn
delicate flower
Waris Shah is naming some of the problems due to veil and for the veiled. It
hides the natural beauty of its wearer, sinks hopes of potential lovers by concealing
identity of the beloved, keeps one in dark and/or provides only a tunnel/narrow
view, if any, and virtually blinds the sighted ones. Eyes are mines of tears, not to be
wasted away. Good looks are highly praise worthy. Beauty is delicate like that of a
flower. It withers if it is subjected to heat. It must never be burnt in the unbearable
heat (of customs/traditions). Waris Shahs message is that one should never give up
hope even under the most adverse circumstances.
Towards the end of his anthology of Heer, Waris Shah makes a comment on his
style of composing Heer: tamsl de l beyn kta, i.e., I have used symbolism in
my narration.
Ranjha is aware of the agony Heer is going through as a result of separation
enforced on them in the face of prevailing traditions. The painful separation keeps
her smoldering inside like a live volcano. Her eyes shed tears, symbolized as
precious pearls, all the time. Waris Shah likens cheeks of young Heer to delicate red
rose petals. Ranjha is trying to console Heer and encourage her not to give up hope.
She must not let heat caused by helplessness and despair adversely affect her.
Complete self-destruction in such an inferno must stay out of question.
All published books on Heer have wrong/corrupted text of this stanza. The last
line of the above stanza in books by Sharif Sabir, Abdul Aziz and engraved tablet at
mausoleum of Waris Shah wrongly read as: Waris Shah na dabbye motya
n, pul a de wich nah sye n. Waris Shahs classical Punjabi of Lamma
Des is not evident in this text. Moreover, the subtlety evident in the authentic text

is truly sublime; as opposed to a very ordinary idea expressed in the line cited
above.
In the last stanza of anthology of Heer, Waris Shah had also alluded to spiritual
side that he had intended to convey. Waris Shah had written: Heer rooh te chaak
qalbut jano, i.e., please understand that Heer symbolizes ethereal spirit/soul while
the chak (the servant, Ranjha) is the material body that is constituted from
perishable elements of this world. Due to very different constitutional make up,
both, soul and material body, long to join their respective sources from where both
had separated. The soul trapped in the material body is behind a veil and cannot
see beyond the opaque barrier. It is unable to reach its only One source from
Whom it had separated. For this it has to free itself from the perishable material
body. Only then it may be able to enjoin its true Beloved for eternity. Waris Shah is
advising us to keep hope and patiently wait for the appointed time of meeting with
the Beloved.