Abdulla Shaig has started his work with poetry. During his years of study in the school of Yusif Ziya in Khorasan, he wrote his first ghazals and translated two fables by Krylov from Russian into Persian. At first, he signed his ghazals as Valekh but later adopted penname Shaig.

Kuyi-dildar imiş, ey zahid, o cənnət dediyin,
Qaməti-yar imiş, əlbət, o qiyamət dediyin.
Bu məqamata deyirsən yetişər əhli-hüda,
Şaiqi-zar imiş o əhli-hidayət dediyin.

In the beginning of XX century Shaig produced more poems, writing passionately on burning social and political topics. He was upset by unrealized hopes in connection with the 1905 revolution and its unexpected results, and this sadness was reflected in his poems Vətən (Motherland), Bir quş (Bird), Niyə uçdu?(Why did it fly away?), İyirminci əsrə xitab (Appeal to XX th century), Hürriyyət pərisinə (To the angel of freedom).

Söndun nə çabuk, ruhuma qüvvət verən ey nur,
Ümmidi-vüsalınla sənin bən yaşayırdım,
Şövqünlə o daşqın dərələrdən həm aşırdım,
Hicran bəni, ah, etdi yenə xəstəvu rəncur.

Inspired by the literature of Tanzimat in Turkey, Shaig wrote several nazire (responses) to the great representative of this movement Mahmoud Akram Radjaizade. Some of his best poems Yad et! (Remember!) and Bir quş (Bird) are nazire (responses) to Mahmoud Akram.

Vəqta ki, gülər bahari-amal,
Hər yerdə yaşıllanar çəmənlər,
Vəqta ki, olar müsaid iqbal,
Bülbüllər ötər, susar zəğənlər,
Parlaq bir işıq alar fəzanı,
Dünyanın üzü dönər cinanə,
Gəzdikcə o aləmi ziyanı,
Baxdıqca o gülşəni-cəhanə,
Yad et məni – şairanə yad et!

Abdulla Shaig was one of representatives of Turkism in Azerbaijani literature. He glorified the idea of Turkism in both his lyrical and epic poetry. In his works the unified, indivisible Turan is symbolized by a Red Apple. The poet who saw salvation in unification of Turkic people, in 1918 writes his poem Marş (March dedicated to Musavat, the main political party of the Turks. In this poem Shaig called upon his compatriots to unite around Musavat, its ideology and its chosen path.

Birləşəlim, türk oğlu, bu yol millət yoludur,
Ünlə, zəfərlə, şanla tariximiz doludur.

In his poems Neçin böylə gecikdin? (Why are you so late?),Vətənin yanıq səsi (Exhausted Call of Motherland), Arazdan Turana (From Araz to Turan) and Yeni ay doğarkən (When the new moon rises) one can observe the author’s views about Turkism.

The horrors of political repressions in the 1930s made a profound impact on Shaig. With his poems Xalq düşməninə (To the Enemy of the Nation), Bu qürurlu boyun burulmazmı? (Won’t This Proud Neck Be Broken?) the poet expressed his opposition to political regime and its leaders.

Bir zaman haqq-hesab çəkərkən el
Bu cinayətlərin sorulmazmı?
Verdiyin bu cəzalara qarşı
Sənə də məhkəmə qurulmazmı?

Shaig’s poetry propagates the ideas of humanism, national identity and humanness. Hamımız bir günəşin zərrəsiyiz (We Are All Rays From the Same Sun), a poem widely regarded as a manifesto of Shaig’s work denies the idea of discriminating people on the basis of their religion, race or national origin and calls on all people to unite in solidarity with each other.

Həpimiz bir yuva pərvərdəsiyiz!
Həpimiz bir günəşin zərrəsiyiz!
Ayramaz bizləri təğyiri-lisan,
Ayramaz bizləri təbdili-məkan,
Ayramaz bizləri İncil, Quran…

Arzu Hajiyeva
PhD in philology