Shah Abdul Latif’s Poetry: A Reading in Eco-Islamic Mystic Poetics
The Islamic Culture "As-Saqafat-ul Islamia" الثقافة الإسلامية - Research Journal - Sheikh Zayed Islamic Centre, University of Karachi December 30, 2025 DOI: 10.58352/tis.v50i2.990 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative literary analysis (ecocritical close reading) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Selected verses from Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai's Shah-Jo-Risalo |
| Key findings | Argues that Shah-Jo-Risalo presents nature as imbued with inherent value and Islamic-mystical meaning, depicting reciprocal dialogue among human, non-human, and inanimate elements. The author contends that close reading of several surs reveals both constructive and destructive forces within the natural world and that Bhittai's eco-consciousness promotes ecological awareness and harmonious coexistence. |
Abstract
This study investigates Shah Abdul Latif’s poetry, dubbed as Shah-Jo-Risalo through the lens of ecocriticism. Shah-Jo-Risalo is a magnum opus in literature and a revered poetic compendium by a venerated Sindhi Islamic-Mystic poet Shah Abdul Latif. The Risalo envisions Latif’s exquisite mystical thoughts veiled in evocative Islamic-Poetic language. His poetry mirrors his quest for the ultimate destiny and togetherness of the soul with the Supreme. It is laden with Mystic-Philosophical thought; it reflects his observant eye on the natural world with a lofty flight of imagination and interfuses intricate relationships between human and non-human elements manifesting his environmental consciousness at par. Landscapes, waterscapes, flora and fauna are imbued with inherent value and metaphorical spiritual underpinnings. The undertaken study places Shah-Jo-Risalo within the ambit of eco-poetics and bespeaks how and in what ways his verses are pregnant with Islamic-Mystic thoughts rooted in the ecological reality of the time. In addition, this study delves into Bhittai’s poetic narrative Shah-Jo-Risalo to penetrate how and in what ways his verses project human and non-human entities and the relationship between human-human and human-universe. In this connection, this study embraces a qualitative approach and analyses selected verses that describe the geography and landscape of Sindh, highlighting the intrinsic values of the floras, fauna, mountains and waters symbolic of Islamic-Spiritual truths and interconnectedness between living and non-living, both entering into dialogues with each other. Close examination of the various surs in Bhittai’s poetry reveals constructive and destructive powers are in-built the natural world when examined in the light of an Eco critical lens. The study further unfolds that Bhittai captures the natural beauty in his verses effectively and powerfully expresses the inherent meaning in nature, reflecting his eco-consciousness and promoting ecological awareness for a harmonious co-existence with the natural world. Moreover, Bhittai weaves spiritual strains of divine love and matchless poetic imagination, transforming these humble characters from ancient folktales as a medium of expression to convey Islamic-Mystical insights.