User:The Reverend Imam Din Shahbaz DD

The Reverend Imam Din Shahbaz Doctor in Divinity

Interpreter, Translator, Commentator, Writer Poet, Musician, Theologian, Pastor, Teacher, Preacher, Scholar & Philosopher

The Reverend Dr Imam Din Shahbaz was born in a small village Zafarwal, district Narowal, the eastern Punjab (now in Pakistan) in the year 1845. He had a keen desire to know Jesus from his childhood, so he started visiting the local Church, at the same time he was also a student at the Hunter Memorial School (named after a Christian Martyr) in Sialkot.

In 1861, he accepted Jesus Christ as his redeemer, at the age of sixteen. He was baptized by the Reverend Robert Clark.

In 1862, he was appointed as a school teacher in Hunter Memorial School, Sialkot.

In 1866, he joined the Church Missionary Society School in Amritsar (now in India) as a school teacher and later he taught in various schools till 1875 and also worked as an evangelist from 1875 to 1880.

In 1880, the First United Presbyterian Church announced a poetry competition in the magazine “Noor Afshan”. The Reverend Dr. Imam Din Shahbaz was declared as a winner among many poets, scholars, linguists and philosophers.

In 1886, he became ordained by the Right Reverend W. G. Young. His calling was to pastor the Church in Gurdaspur (now in India).

In 1881,the Reverend Dr. Andrew Gordon, an American missionary set a committee to render the Psalms from Hebrew to Urdu language in versified rendition. From 1882 to 1887,sixty eight Psalms were translated.In 1885, the Reverend Andrew Gordon fell sick and due to physical weakness returned to America and deceased on August 13, 1887. After His death, the Reverend Dr. Samuel Martin made all the efforts possible to complete the unfinished work and reconstituted the committee.Being an excellent poet with admitted proficiencies in script writing the Reverend Dr.Imam Din was acknowledged as a leading translator of the Biblical Psalms. It turned out later that; because all the translated psalms were in Urdu language and based on the American western folk tunes so it failed to be receptive and acceptable among the illiterate folk.

Judging the failure, the Reverend Dr. Imam Din Shahbaz’s lasting contribution to Urdu and Punjabi speaking people around the world was his poetic rendition of psalms into Punjabi language including transposition of compositions from American folk tunes to Indian classical ragas. From 1887 to 1904, the Reverend Dr. Imam Din Shahbaz versified most of the Psalms in Punjabi language.

In 1905, the Reverend Dr. Imam Din Shahbaz was asked to visit America, where his monumental contribution to Christian praise and worship for Urdu and Punjabi speaking congregations was treasured and appreciated.He was honored by presenting an award of Doctor of Divinity (DD) by an American University.

In 1906, he returned back to India and was appointed as a Pastor in the First United Presbyterian Church in district Sialkot. He also carried on his epic deed of versified rendition of Psalms in Punjabi language. Sialkot Mission also helped him a lot in this regard. Not long, the Reverend Dr. Imam Din Shahbaz had been a member of two translation committees and due to his enduring reputation to create work, this time he was assigned as a head of the translation committee. This constellation was constituted on the facts because earlier versified Urdu language translation harmonized with American western folk music was failed to establish the reputation among the Punjabi speaking congregations, so the whole concentration was on the completion of remaining work by interpreting the Psalms in Punjabi language and by maintaining the traditional manners of Indian classical music in rhyming order.

Along with poetic sense and eloquence of theological expressions, the Reverend Dr. Imam Din Shahbaz also had good understanding of composing Indian classical tunes. In 1908, he did an outstanding effort and a Book named “Punjabi Zabur Desi Ragan Vich” was published in roman Punjabi with staff notation in Banaras, India. He launched his work in the same year at the Sialkot Convention. It broke all the records of popularity.

In the later part of his life, due to the constant concentration and consistent reading he gradually started losing his eyesight. In 1908, he almost became sightless. However, adversity could not restraint his diligence. With the help of Babu Sadiq Masih, a local clergy man, he continued his work with Psalms. Babu Sadiq Masih used to read the Psalms for him.The Reverend Dr. Imam Din Shahbaz continued depicting them to Punjabi language and setting into Indian classical tunes in pure“khayals” and “ragas”.

In 1916, he was transferred from Sialkot to Bhalwal, District Sargodha (now in Pakistan) as a resident pastor and lived with his family in Mission Compound. While serving in Bhalwal, he completely versified 150 Psalms in Punjabi language adopting pure local accent with common spoken words and further separated them in 405 different parts. He composed all the tunes apart from 7 parts (based on American folk tunes).

He was not only an intellectual versifier but also a gifted musician having novel notions to create soul touching compositions. His work is based on Indian classical music mostly in raga “Bilawal” and “Bharvi”for example:

Zabur 40-Pehla Hisah-PehlaWazan (mein sabar de naal aas rakh ke) is composed in raga “Bilawal” Zabur 100 (aye sab zameen de loko) is composed in raga “Bilawal” Zabur 122-Pehla Hisah-Pehla Wazan (mein khush hoya jado’n menu akhan lage) is composed in raga “Bilawal” Zabur 145-Duja Hisah-Duja Wazan (nehayat ha raheem khuda) is composed in raga “Bilawal”

Zabur 22-Teja Hisah-Duja Wazan (Khudaya apne bhai’an noon mein tera) is composed in raga “Bharvi” Zabur 22-Choutha Hisah-Teja Wazan (yad Yahowa de sab karan gay) is composed in raga “Bharvi” Zabur 62-Duja Hisah (Khudawand noon udeek de reh) is composed in raga “Bharvi” Zabur139-Duja Hisah-Duja Wazan (Khudaya teri rooh tou mein bhala) is composed in raga “Bharvi”

Apart from raga “Bilawal” and raga “Bharvi” his other work is:

Zabur 9-Duja Hisah-Pehla Wazan (daim Yahowa Ya-Rab) is composed in raga “Bihag”

Zabur 63 (tarke mein tanu dhoondan) is composed in raga “Piloo”

Zabur 66-Doja Hisah-Duja Wazan (saryo loko sade Rab no’n dhan dhan akh key ga’ao) is composed in raga“Bheem Plasi”

Zabur 84-Pehla Hisah(Khudawanda tou lushkran da Khuda ha) is composed in raga“Malkauns Sampooran”

Zabur 103-Duja Hisah-Duja Wazan (rehmat naal ha bharya hoya) is composed in raga “Jon Puri”

Zabur 106-Pehla Hisah-Pehla Wazan (karo shukar o sana tusi Rab de) is composed in raga “Aasa” Zabur 121 (akhi’an chukna han mein wal paharan) is composed in raga “Aasa” Zabur 127 (je Yahowa na ghar noon banawe) is composed in raga “Aasa”

Zabur 145-Pehla Hisah-PehlaWazan (aye mare shah Khudawanda wadyae teri kar’an ga) is composed in raga “Darbari”

Only 7 out of 407 versified Psalms are based on American western folk tunes i.e.:

Zabur 1-Pehla Wazan (o dhan ha jo na mun-da ha salah) anonymous Zabur 99-Pehla Hisah (Yahowa raj aap karda ha) Auld Lang Syne (American western folk ballad) and a Christmas carol Zabur 139-Pehla Hisah-Pehla Wazan (tou Yahowa meenu janchda) anonymous Zabur 150 (Hallelujah sana ga’o) Oh my darling, Clementine (American western folk ballad)

In the concluding part of his work he hired a local musician named Radha Kishan and other Christian ministers who assisted him in this regard including Babu Sadiq Masih. To accomplish the final goal he asked Miss Henry Gordon and Miss Mary Martin to assist him. They primarily focused on teaching the versified Punjabi Psalms and its tunes to the women and children.

In the last days of his life, Reverend Dr. Imam Din Shahbaz completely lost his eyesight. Despite the destitution he carried on his mission till death. He attained the Impossible by doing his part diligently in order to fulfill the great commission. Now Punjabi Zaburs are widely used as a source of Praise and Worship in all the Church Services, Conventions, fellowship meetings and conferences. Apart from versified Punjabi rendition of psalms he has composed and wrote many other hymns and carols. Now the versified Psalms are recited and its tunes are sung among all the Punjabi and Urdu speaking Christian denominations around the world.

The Reverend Dr. Imam Din Shahbaz died in 1921 and is buried in the local cemetery of Bhalwal, District Sargodha (Pakistan). He will live among the hearts through generations.

Arbab Younis https://www.facebook.com/arbab.younis.1