For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
Recitation
مگر بے زباں نہیں ۔ اصغرؔ گونڈوی
۱
صحنِ حرم نہیں ہے یہ کُوئے بتاں نہیں
اب کچھ نہ پوچھیے کہ کہاں ہوں کہاں نہیں
۲
مجھ میں نوائے عیش کی رنگینیاں نہیں
سوزِ خموشِ عشق ہوں سازِ بیاں نہیں
۳
مُدّت ہوئی کہ چشمِ تحیّر کو ہے سُکُوت
اب جنبشِ نظر میں کوئی داستاں نہیں
۴
وہ بہترین دورِ محبّت گزر گیا
اب مبتلائے کشمکشِ اِمتحاں نہیں
۵
اب ہو تو سنگ و خِشت سے سر کو سکون ہو
وہ آستاں نہیں تو کوئی آستاں نہیں
۶
کیا مشقِ آرزو کی ہیں یہ سحر کاریاں
کیا گوشۂ قفس میں مِرا آشیاں نہیں
۷
کسبِ حیاتِ نو تری ہر ہر ادا سے ہے
مرنا پسند خاطرِ اربابِ جاں نہیں
۸
سارا عصول عشق کی ناکامیوں میں ہے
جو عمر رائیگاں ہے وہی رائیگاں نہیں
۹
تسلیم مجھ کو خانہ کعبہ کی منزلت
سب کچھ صحیح مگر وہ ترا آستاں نہیں
۱۰
ہوتا ہے رازِ عشق و محبّت اِنہیں سے فاش
آنکھیں زباں نہیں ہیں مگر بے زباں نہیں
۱۱
فِطرت سُنا رہی ہے ازل سے اِسی طرح
لیکن ہنُوز ختم مری داستاں نہیں
۱۲
دیکھوں ہُجُومِ غم میں وہ لے کِس طرح خبر
یہ کِس کا اِمتحاں ہے مرا اِمتحاں نہیں
۱۳
اب اُس نگاہِ ناز سے ربطِ لطیف ہے
مجھ کو دماغِ صحبتِ روحانیاں نہیں
मगर बे ज़बां नहीं – असग़र गोंडवी
१
सहन-ए हरम नहीं है ये कू-ए बुतां नहीं
अब कुछ न पूछिए के कहाँ हूँ कहाँ नहीं
२
मुझ में नवा-ए ऐश की रंगीनियां नहीं
सोज़-ए ख़मोश-ए इश्क़ हूँ साज़-ए बयाँ नहीं
३
मुद्दत हुई के चश्म-ए तहय्युर को है सुकूत
अब जंबिश-ए नज़र में कोई दास्तां नहीं
४
वो बेहतरीन दौर-ए मोहब्बत गुज़र गया
अब मुब्तला-ए कशमकश-ए इम्तेहां नहीं
५
अब हो तो संग ओ ख़िश्त से सर को सुकून हो
वो आस्तां नहीं तो कोई आस्तां नहीं
६
क्या मश्क-ए आर्ज़ू की हैं ये सहर-कारियां
क्या गोशा-ए क़फ़स में मेरा आशियां नहीं
७
कस्ब-ए हयात-ए नौ तेरी हर हर अदा से है
मरना पसंद ख़ातेर-ए अर्बाब-ए जां नहीं
८
सारा उसूल इश्क़ की नाकामियों में है
जो उम्र राएगां है वही राएगां नहीं
९
तस्लीम मुझ को ख़ाना का’बा की मंज़िलत
सब कुछ सही मगर वो तेरा आस्तां नहीं
१०
होता है राज़-ए इश्क़ ओ मोहब्बत उन्हीं से फ़ाश
आँखें ज़बां नहीं हैं मगर बे-ज़बां नहीं
११
फ़ितरत सुना रही है अज़ल से इसी तरह
लेकिन हुनूज़ ख़त्म मेरी दास्तां नहीं
१२
देखूं हुजूम-ए ग़म में वो ले किस तरह ख़बर
ये किस का इम्तेहां है मेरा इम्तेहां नहीं
१३
अब उस निगाह-ए नाज़ से रब्त-ए लतीफ़ है
मुझ को दिमाग़-ए सोहबत-ए रूहानियां नहीं
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. asGhar husain asGhar gonDvi (1884-1936) from a family of limited means in gorakhpur, he learnt urdu, arabi, faarsi and English through personal effort. He writes with a heavy sufiyaana/mystical touch.
1
sah’n1-e haram2 nahiN hai, ye koo3-e butaaN4 nahiN
ab kuchh na poochhiye keh kahaaN huN kahaaN nahiN 1.yard 2.kaa’ba 3.street 4.idol, beloved
One possible interpretation … the poet/lover is in a frenzy of love and has lost his senses. He does not even know where he is … this is neither the yard/field around the kaa’ba nor the street of the beloved. Don’t ask me where I am, where I am not. Another possibility … the orthodoxy has kicked him out of the yard of the kaa’ba and the doorman has kicked him of the beloved’s street. He is wandering around like a madman and does not know where he is. He goes into a trance of love of the divine without the ritualistic kaa’ba or through the idol/beloved.
2
mujh meN navaa1-e aish2 ki raNgiiniyaaN3 nahiN
soz4-e Khamosh-e ishq huN saaz5-e bayaaN6 nahiN 1.sound 2.luxury, joy 3.colourfulness 4.elegy, sorrowful composition 5.musical instrument, means, ability to make 6.narration
I do not have the colourful style of the sound of joy. I am a silent dirge/elegy of love, I don’t have the ability to narrate (the story of my unrequited love).
3
muddat1 hui keh chashm2-e tahayyur3 ko hai sukoot4
ab jumbish5-e nazar6 meN koi daastaaN7 nahiN 1.long time, ages 2.eyes 3.amazement 4.silence 5.movement 6.eyes 7.story
There was a time when the poet/seeker could look around in amazement (at the creation of god); it would speak to him/inspire him and he would be able to write/compose verse. But it has been ages now that the eye of amazement has lost its charm. Now in casting my eyes around, I do not find any stories.
4
voh behtareen1 daur2-e mohabbat guzar3 gaya
ab mubtelaa4-e kashmakash5-e imtehaaN6 nahiN 1.best 2.time, duration, age 3.passed 4.afflicted, distressed 5.struggle 6.test
The beloved does not put him through tests of fidelity in love. He is no longer involved in struggling in such tests. He misses that … that was the best part of the time of his love and now it has passed. The poet does not say why the beloved has stopped doing this.
5
ab ho to saNg1 o Khisht2 se sar ko sukoon3 ho
voh aastaaN4 nahiN to koi aastaaN nahiN 1.stone, rocks 2.brick, brickbats 3.solace
‘voh aastaaN’ is the beloved’s threshold. If he does not have access to that aastaaN then there is no other aastaaN for him. The only way that he can get solace for his head is if street urchins throw rocks and bricks at him … like in the legend of majnuN, the ideal lover, who suffered while wandering the streets.
6
kya mashq1-e aarzu2 ki haiN ye sahar-kaariyaaN3
kya gosha4-e qafas5 meN mera aashiyaaN6 nahiN 1.practicing, performing 2.intense desire 3.working miracles 4.corner 5.cage 6.nest
In urdu poetic tradition, the poet is depicted as a bird, sometimes in a cage. A caged bird has an intense desire to be in its nest. Such is the case here. But he is proud of the practice of his intense desire. It is such that it works miracles making his nest appear in a corner of his cage. The poet hints at his own rich imagination.
7
kasb-e-hayaat1-e nau2 teri har har ada3 se hai
marna pasand4 Khaatir5-e arbaab-e-jaaN6 nahiN 1.earning/acquiring life 2.new 3.gesture, charm 4.likeable, desirable 5.heart, soul 6.owners of life-it is used here to mean lovers
From every charming gesture/style of the beloved, her lovers get a new life. In their heart and soul her lovers do not wish to die. Perhaps the implication is that ordinary mortals have to die in order to get a new life in heaven (let us leave hell out of this), but true lovers acquire a new heavenly life with every gesture of the beloved, so they don’t need death.
8
saara1 usool2 ishq ki nakaamiyoN3 meN hai
jo umr4 raa’egaaN5 hai vahi raa’egaaN nahiN 1.entire, all 2.fundamental principles 3.failures, disappointments 4.lifetime 5.wasted
All through his life the lover tries to gain the affection of the beloved but does not succeed. You might think that his life is wasted, but it not because the fundamental principle of love lies in failures and disappointments. The word ‘vahi’ is key to a deeper meaning. That life which not spent in the failure (of the pursuit) of love is the only life that is wasted. The thought can be applied to a much broader field … like love of knowledge, trying to understand mysteries of the universe.
9
tasliim1 mujh ko Khaana2-e kaa’ba ki manzilat3
sab kuchh sahi magar voh tera aastaaN4 nahiN 1.acceptable 2.house 3.status 4.threshold
I accept that conventions of the reverential status of the house of kaa’ba. It may be everything, but is not your threshold. If ‘your’ is interpreted as god, then the she’r becomes much more meaningful. It implies that the presence of god is not in rituals.
10
hota hai raaz1-e ishq o mohabbat unhiiN se faash2
aaNKheN zabaaN3 nahiN haiN magar be-zabaaN4 nahiN 1.secret, mystery 2.revealed 3.tongue 4.tongueless, speechless
Eyes can speak volumes. The secret of love is revealed only throught them, eyes may not tongue but they are not speechless. This could be applied to the beloved, who does not speak out her love, but her eyes reveal it.
11
fitrat1 suna rahi hai azal2 se isi tarah3
laikin hanooz4 Khatm5 meri daastaaN6 nahiN 1.nature 2.beginning 3.like, similar to 4.still, even now 5.finished 6.story
Here ‘daastaaN-story’ is the story of love. Nature has been narrating the story just like I have been doing from the beginning, but even now the story is not finished. Thus, the story of love is an endless story from the beginning of creation to doomsday i.e., love is the basis of existence of the universe.
12
deKhuN hujoom1-e Gham meN voh le kis tarah Khabar2
ye kis ka imtehaaN3 hai mera imtehaaN nahiN 1.crowding 2.inquire about, care for, give attention to 3.test
In the first misra, ‘voh’ is an undefined pronoun. It can be taken to mean god. It is good who has sent a crowd/onslaught of sorrows upon humanity. It is his task to be careful/mindful of everyone. Who is being tested here … is it humans for their ability to bear this onslaught of sorrows, or is it god who is being tested for his ability to be mindful of everyone.
13
ab uss nigaah1-e naaz2 se rabt3-e lateef4 hai
mujh ko dimaaGh5-e sohbat6-e roohaaniyaaN7 nahiN 1.glance 2.coquetry 3.relationship, connection 4.refined, delicate, gentle 5.mind, inclination, interest 6.company 7.spiritual beings
Now I have a gentle relationship with that coquettish/teasing glance. I do not have any interest in the company of spiritual beings. ‘uss nigaah-e naaz’ – whose teasing glance? Who is the ‘uss’. Could it be the divine glance. The poet/sufi has a gentle relationship with the divine glance. And can ‘spiritual beings’ be interpreted to mean ‘people who engage in ritual teaching of spirituality’. If so, we get a profound sufiaana interpretation. The poet/sufi has a direction relationship with the divine. It is a gentle, playful relationship. He does not need any intervention of ‘spiritual beings’.
asGhar husain asGhar gonDvi (1884-1936) from a family of limited means in gorakhpur, he learnt urdu, arabi, faarsi and English through personal effort. He writes with a heavy sufiyaana/mystical touch.
1
sah’n1-e haram2 nahiN hai, ye koo3-e butaaN4 nahiN
ab kuchh na poochhiye keh kahaaN huN kahaaN nahiN
1.yard 2.kaa’ba 3.street 4.idol, beloved
One possible interpretation … the poet/lover is in a frenzy of love and has lost his senses. He does not even know where he is … this is neither the yard/field around the kaa’ba nor the street of the beloved. Don’t ask me where I am, where I am not. Another possibility … the orthodoxy has kicked him out of the yard of the kaa’ba and the doorman has kicked him of the beloved’s street. He is wandering around like a madman and does not know where he is. He goes into a trance of love of the divine without the ritualistic kaa’ba or through the idol/beloved.
2
mujh meN navaa1-e aish2 ki raNgiiniyaaN3 nahiN
soz4-e Khamosh-e ishq huN saaz5-e bayaaN6 nahiN
1.sound 2.luxury, joy 3.colourfulness 4.elegy, sorrowful composition 5.musical instrument, means, ability to make 6.narration
I do not have the colourful style of the sound of joy. I am a silent dirge/elegy of love, I don’t have the ability to narrate (the story of my unrequited love).
3
muddat1 hui keh chashm2-e tahayyur3 ko hai sukoot4
ab jumbish5-e nazar6 meN koi daastaaN7 nahiN
1.long time, ages 2.eyes 3.amazement 4.silence 5.movement 6.eyes 7.story
There was a time when the poet/seeker could look around in amazement (at the creation of god); it would speak to him/inspire him and he would be able to write/compose verse. But it has been ages now that the eye of amazement has lost its charm. Now in casting my eyes around, I do not find any stories.
4
voh behtareen1 daur2-e mohabbat guzar3 gaya
ab mubtelaa4-e kashmakash5-e imtehaaN6 nahiN
1.best 2.time, duration, age 3.passed 4.afflicted, distressed 5.struggle 6.test
The beloved does not put him through tests of fidelity in love. He is no longer involved in struggling in such tests. He misses that … that was the best part of the time of his love and now it has passed. The poet does not say why the beloved has stopped doing this.
5
ab ho to saNg1 o Khisht2 se sar ko sukoon3 ho
voh aastaaN4 nahiN to koi aastaaN nahiN
1.stone, rocks 2.brick, brickbats 3.solace
‘voh aastaaN’ is the beloved’s threshold. If he does not have access to that aastaaN then there is no other aastaaN for him. The only way that he can get solace for his head is if street urchins throw rocks and bricks at him … like in the legend of majnuN, the ideal lover, who suffered while wandering the streets.
6
kya mashq1-e aarzu2 ki haiN ye sahar-kaariyaaN3
kya gosha4-e qafas5 meN mera aashiyaaN6 nahiN
1.practicing, performing 2.intense desire 3.working miracles 4.corner 5.cage 6.nest
In urdu poetic tradition, the poet is depicted as a bird, sometimes in a cage. A caged bird has an intense desire to be in its nest. Such is the case here. But he is proud of the practice of his intense desire. It is such that it works miracles making his nest appear in a corner of his cage. The poet hints at his own rich imagination.
7
kasb-e-hayaat1-e nau2 teri har har ada3 se hai
marna pasand4 Khaatir5-e arbaab-e-jaaN6 nahiN
1.earning/acquiring life 2.new 3.gesture, charm 4.likeable, desirable 5.heart, soul 6.owners of life-it is used here to mean lovers
From every charming gesture/style of the beloved, her lovers get a new life. In their heart and soul her lovers do not wish to die. Perhaps the implication is that ordinary mortals have to die in order to get a new life in heaven (let us leave hell out of this), but true lovers acquire a new heavenly life with every gesture of the beloved, so they don’t need death.
8
saara1 usool2 ishq ki nakaamiyoN3 meN hai
jo umr4 raa’egaaN5 hai vahi raa’egaaN nahiN
1.entire, all 2.fundamental principles 3.failures, disappointments 4.lifetime 5.wasted
All through his life the lover tries to gain the affection of the beloved but does not succeed. You might think that his life is wasted, but it not because the fundamental principle of love lies in failures and disappointments. The word ‘vahi’ is key to a deeper meaning. That life which not spent in the failure (of the pursuit) of love is the only life that is wasted. The thought can be applied to a much broader field … like love of knowledge, trying to understand mysteries of the universe.
9
tasliim1 mujh ko Khaana2-e kaa’ba ki manzilat3
sab kuchh sahi magar voh tera aastaaN4 nahiN
1.acceptable 2.house 3.status 4.threshold
I accept that conventions of the reverential status of the house of kaa’ba. It may be everything, but is not your threshold. If ‘your’ is interpreted as god, then the she’r becomes much more meaningful. It implies that the presence of god is not in rituals.
10
hota hai raaz1-e ishq o mohabbat unhiiN se faash2
aaNKheN zabaaN3 nahiN haiN magar be-zabaaN4 nahiN
1.secret, mystery 2.revealed 3.tongue 4.tongueless, speechless
Eyes can speak volumes. The secret of love is revealed only throught them, eyes may not tongue but they are not speechless. This could be applied to the beloved, who does not speak out her love, but her eyes reveal it.
11
fitrat1 suna rahi hai azal2 se isi tarah3
laikin hanooz4 Khatm5 meri daastaaN6 nahiN
1.nature 2.beginning 3.like, similar to 4.still, even now 5.finished 6.story
Here ‘daastaaN-story’ is the story of love. Nature has been narrating the story just like I have been doing from the beginning, but even now the story is not finished. Thus, the story of love is an endless story from the beginning of creation to doomsday i.e., love is the basis of existence of the universe.
12
deKhuN hujoom1-e Gham meN voh le kis tarah Khabar2
ye kis ka imtehaaN3 hai mera imtehaaN nahiN
1.crowding 2.inquire about, care for, give attention to 3.test
In the first misra, ‘voh’ is an undefined pronoun. It can be taken to mean god. It is good who has sent a crowd/onslaught of sorrows upon humanity. It is his task to be careful/mindful of everyone. Who is being tested here … is it humans for their ability to bear this onslaught of sorrows, or is it god who is being tested for his ability to be mindful of everyone.
13
ab uss nigaah1-e naaz2 se rabt3-e lateef4 hai
mujh ko dimaaGh5-e sohbat6-e roohaaniyaaN7 nahiN
1.glance 2.coquetry 3.relationship, connection 4.refined, delicate, gentle 5.mind, inclination, interest 6.company 7.spiritual beings
Now I have a gentle relationship with that coquettish/teasing glance. I do not have any interest in the company of spiritual beings. ‘uss nigaah-e naaz’ – whose teasing glance? Who is the ‘uss’. Could it be the divine glance. The poet/sufi has a gentle relationship with the divine glance. And can ‘spiritual beings’ be interpreted to mean ‘people who engage in ritual teaching of spirituality’. If so, we get a profound sufiaana interpretation. The poet/sufi has a direction relationship with the divine. It is a gentle, playful relationship. He does not need any intervention of ‘spiritual beings’.
