While reflecting on the World Poetry Day my memory stepped back to the college/university days when our professors would say that Abdul Samad Sheikh (Shams Fakir) is known as John Milton of Kashmir for his semblance of theme with that of Milton. As we could read during our PG studies that John Milton a religious poet for his poetry is loaded with the biblical theme combining with the social theme. Same is the case with Shams Faqeer. Besides being the religious poets they have been the philosophical poets as well.
So, I thought it as a moral obligation to discuss about the position and status of a famous Kashmiri poet Shamus Faqeer who is commonly called as the Milton of Kashmir, in the context of religion and philosophy. And I shall try to make a comparative analysis of the poetry of both the poets and draw a sound and logical conclusion to the effect that how Shams Faqeer is compatible with the mystical English poet- John Milton. Further I would like bring some comparison of the topmost texts and collections of the poetry by both the poets so that the readers may be happy to read about what has been the legacy of this great poet.
Milton’s “Paradise Lost” and “Paradise Regained” are the two epics that are biblical in theme and philosophical in nature. The former indicates the fall of Adam and Eve plus their expulsion from the heaven after they committed the sin of eating forbidden fruit. It also talks about the revolt of Satin and his followers against God and their banishment from it. The theme is universal in nature to the effect that man was created to be submissive to God and enjoy the bounties of heaven , but his sin expelled him from the heaven which implies that innate tendency of temptetation towards the animal desires are sustentative of punishment. And it also focuses about the proud temperament of Satin who otherwise was the head of all angels, but his arrogance destroyed his status which indicates that pride and arrogance are not the divinely etiquettes. While as the latter one discusses character and role of Prophet( Jesus) as he sacrificed himself for the sake of humanity and freed mankind from the eternal sin.

OF Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit
Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast
Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat,
Sing Heav'nly Muse, that on the secret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed,
In the Beginning how the Heav'ns and Earth

Rose out of Chaos: …
( John Milton , Paradise Lost )

Shams Fakir has been the profound Kashmiri poet and a celebrated one. I would like to discuss some of his poems here especially Meraaj Nama. Shams Faker’s various poems are reflective of such themes. His “Meraaj Naama” is one of the famous poems that reflect the transcendentally spiritual journey of beloved Prophet (pbuh) from earth to heaven and the discourse that took place there in between Allah and Prophet.

Kourye meraaj sayen nabiyan,
Zahoor tamekyu chu dhoun aalman,
Hazarat-e-jabreel khbar heth aao,
Asslam-u-aalikum ghum ghusa traav,
Wathiv sael kariv haz laamkanan,
Zahoor tamikyu chu dhoun aalman.

…
The poem elaborates the invitation and the subsequent journey of beloved prophet to the heavens and the discourse they had with Almighty Allah. The poem reveals the different stages of the journey and the meet with previous prophets. On the very first stage , they saw prophet Hazrat-e-Essah(a.s) sitting all alone and told prophet (s.a.w) that he had been waiting for him for a long time. On the second stage, they met virtuous and chastised people alongside the religious scholars and they were astonished to see a beautiful bird.
There are various records of what happened during the Miʿraj, however, most accounts have similar components: Muhammad rose into paradise with the blessed messenger Gabriel and met a various prophets at every one of the seven degrees of paradise; first Adam, John the Baptist and Jesus, Joseph, at that point Idris, at that point Aaron, Moses, and finally Abraham. After Muhammad (PBUH) meets with Abraham, he proceeds to meet Allah without Gabriel. Allah SWT discloses to Muhammad SAW that his followers must offer Namaz for 50 times each day, however as Muhammad came back to Earth, he meets Moses who advises Muhammad to return to God and request fewer prayers since 50 is too much. Muhammad SAW goes between Moses and God multiple times until the prayers are decreased to the five every day supplications, which God will remunerate tenfold. That once more, Moses advised Muhammad to request significantly lesser however Muhammad felt embarrassed and said that even with lesser prayer times, his devotees probably won't perform determinedly and said he is grateful for the five.
The episode of Meraj (the Night Journey and Ascension of Prophet Muhammad) is fundamentally a matter of faith and a spiritual miracle in Islam. However, many modern scholars and thinkers analyze this event through the lens of modern physics—specifically Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity—to provide conceptual parallels that make the miraculous journey understandable to the human mind.
Here are the key scientific concepts often linked to the Meraj:
Einstein's Theory of Relativity & Time Dilation: This theory states that time runs at different rates for observers moving at different speeds, especially as they approach the speed of light. It suggests that if an object travels near the speed of light, time slows down significantly relative to a stationary observer. In this context, the rapid journey through the heavens in a fraction of a night can be understood as time dilation, where the Prophet's time slowed down compared to the time passing on Earth. The Concept of Buraq (Speed of Light): The Buraq, the creature carrying the Prophet, is often described in Islamic tradition as moving with extraordinary speed (like lightning), which is interpreted by some thinkers as navigating at or beyond the speed of light.Wormholes & Quantum Tunneling: Some theoretical physicists and modern commentators suggest that the journey might involve "wormholes"—theoretical shortcuts through space-time that connect distant parts of the universe instantly.Quantum Leaps: Some interpretations suggest the journey was a form of "quantum jump," where the Prophet was instantly transitioned from one place to another, skipping all space in between.John Milton in his “Paradise Lost” elaborated the creation of universe and then creation of Adam and Eve. All the religious like the Bible and the Quran mention the creation of Adam and Eve and the succeeding prophets. Different historical developments have been topics of these religious scriptures. And the modern science confirmed the creation of universe thorough Big-bang Theory. And human history has recorded all the episodes already mentioned in the Quran.
So, let me conclude my article with the remarks that Shamas Fakir has aptly been called as the Milton of Kashmir. The religious touch and philosophical insight reflected in the poetry is compatible to the utmost effect. Both the poets have elaborated the metaphysical concept in a sound way that has no space for doubt. Although the development of education and knowledge was yet underway, these great poets had been divinely inspired and illuminated by the intuition that in itself is a transcendental in nature.

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