Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. momin KhaaN momin (1800-1852), was a hakim following the profession of his father and grandfather. momin received education in arabi, faarsi, urdu and in medicine, mathematics, and astrology – which must have involved some study of astronomy, which he uses in his compositions. momin composed unabashedly about romantic themes with much witticism on his taKhallus.
1
dil-bastagi¹ si hai kisi zulf²-e do-taa³ ke saath
paala paRa⁴ hai hum ko Khuda kis balaa⁵ ke saath 1.heart capture, emotional attachment 2.hair 3.double strand 4.entangled with 5.calamity, trouble
The poet’s heart is captivated by the beloved’s double stranded hair. He wonders what divine calamity descended and got him entangled. The juxtaposition of dil-bastagi the tying up of the heart and zulf-e do-taa the two strands (ties) is noteworthy.
2
kab tak nibhaaiye¹ but²-e na-aashna³ ke saath
kiije vafa⁴ kahaaN talak⁵ us bevafa⁶ ke saath 1.adapt, accommodate, endure 2.idol 3.unfamiliar, distant, aloof 4.remain faithful 5.how long 6.unfaithful
How long can I adopt to the aloofness/indifference of that idol/beloved. How long can I remain faithful to that unfaithful one.
3
yaad-e havaa¹-e yaar² ne kya kya na gul-khilaa’e³
aa’ii chaman se nik’hat⁴-e gul jab sabaa⁵ ke saath 1.air – also means intense desire 2.beloved 3.literally-make roses bloom, figuratively-play tricks, work mischief 4.fragrance 5.morning breeze
There is nice word play with havaa and sabaa and gul-khilaana and nik’hat-e gul. Memories of the intense desire for the beloved played games with him when the morning breeze blew and brought the fragrance of roses. That fragrance reminds him of the beloved and plays mischief with his emotions. havaa means air/breeze and in that sense sits well with sabaa, but also conveys the double meaning of intense desire. In much the same way gul-khilaana sits well nik’hat-e gul and at the same time conveys double meaning of playing mischief.
4
maaNga kareNge ab se dua hijr¹-e yaar² ki
aaKhir³ to dushmani⁴ hai asar⁵ ko dua⁶ ke saath    1.separation 2.beloved 3.after all, finally, in summary 4.enmity, hatred 5.effect 6.prayer
The lover has been praying for union with the beloved. His prayer has never been answered. So he concludes that ‘effect/fufillment’ hates prayer. So, he will pray for separation from the beloved, then maybe he will be able to get the opposite effect. Ghalib has the same thought …

Khoob thaa, pahl’e se hot’e jo ham apn’e bad-Khwaah

keh bhalaa chaaht’e haiN aur buraa hota hai
5
hai kis ka intezaar¹ keh Khwaab²-e adam³ se bhi
har baar⁴ chauNk⁵ paRt’e haiN aavaaz⁶-e paa⁷ ke saath 1.waiting, anticipation 2.sleep 3.non-being, non-existence, death 4.every time 5.startled 6.sound 7.feet
The lover is dead and buried; in ‘death-sleep’ in his grave. But who is he waiting for, he is startled every time there are sounds of footsteps. It is traditional for the beloved to visit the lover’s grave. This has reference to the lover’s anticipation of this visit.
6
yaarab¹ visaal²-e yaar³ meN kyuNkar⁴ ho zindagi
niklii hi jaan jaati hai har har ada⁵ ke saath 1.my lord 2.union 3.beloved 4.how 5.gesture
O my lord, how can there be any life, how can I live through/survive union with the beloved. Every titillating gesture of hers draws life out of the body; is deadly.
7
allah re soz¹-e aatish²-e Gham³ baad⁴-e marg⁵ bhi
uTht’e haiN meri Khaak⁶ se sho’le⁷ hava ke saath 1.burning, pain, passion 2.fire 3.sorrow, love 4.after 5.death 6.ashes 7.flame
By god, the intensity of passion of my love! Even after death, flames of grief rise from his ashes with the passing breeze.
8
sau zindagi nisaar¹ karuN aisi maut² par
yuN ro’e zaar-zaar³ tu ahl-e-aza⁴ ke saath 1.sacrifice 2.death 3.profusely, uncontrollaby 4.mourners
The poet/lover imagines his own death and funeral. There are mourners showing ritual grief but the beloved is crying uncontrollably. The scene is so pleasing to him (because it proves her love for him or because it makes the rival jealous) that he would gladly sacrifice a hundred lives for one such death.
9
har dam¹ araq-araq² nigah³-e be-hijaab⁴ hai
kis ne nigaah³-e garm⁵ se dekha hayaa⁶ ke saath 1.every moment 2.perspiration 3.gaze 4.unveiled, bold, impertinent 5.hot, angry 6.modesty, shyness
The poet/lover gazed/stared directly at the beloved with an unveiled/impertinent glance and instantly broke out into a sweat because she, in her violated modesty looked back angrily at him. An alternate interpretation that his eyes get tearful when she looks angrily at him. Such an interpretation is more appropriate if nigah-e be-hijaab hai is read. But if nigah be-hijaab hai is read, then the araq cannot be associated with the eyes – it is more appropriately thought of as perspiration.
10
marne ke baad bhi vahi aavaaragi¹ rahii
afsos² jaaN³ ga’ii nafas⁴-e na-rasa⁵ ke saath 1.aimless wandering 2.alas 3.life, soul 4.breath, sigh 4.unable to reach, ineffective
During his life the poet/lover’s nafas-sigh was ineffectiveness; it could never reach its goal. Just like that his soul has gone the same way after his death-restless, ineffective and wandering aimlessly.
11
dast¹-e junooN² ne mera garebaaN³ samajh liya
uljha⁴ hai unn se⁵ shooKh⁶ ke band⁷-e qaba⁸ ke saath 1.hand 2.passion, madness 3.collar 4.entangled 5.short for jaise like, similar to 6.playful, mischievous 7.ties, fasteners 8.robe, garment
The conventional picture of the mad/passionate lover is that he grabs his own collar and rips his shirt front apart in passionate distress. Here the hand of passion has gone so mad that it mistakes the ties of the beloved’s robe to be his own collar and gets entangled with them.
12
aate hii tere chal diye sab varna¹ yaas² ka
kaisa hujoom³ tha dil-e hasrat-fazaa⁴ ke saath 1.otherwise 2.longing, despair 3.crowd, onslaught 4.full of longing
The lover’s heart was crowded with feelings of despair and longing. All departed as soon as the beloved arrived, otherwise he was under an onslaught of despair.
13
maiN kiin’e¹ se bhi Khush huN keh sab ye to kaht’e haiN
uss fitna-gar² ko laag³ hai is mubtala⁴ ke saath 1.grudge, displeasure 2.troublemaker (beloved) 3.affection 4.afflicted (lover)
The admirers/rivals gathered around the beloved hold a grudge against the poet/lover, but he rejoices in that, for at least all of them say that the mischief-maker/beloved shows some attachment/pays some attention to the distraught/afflicted lover.
14
momin¹, vahi Ghazal paRho shab² jis se bazm³ meN
aati thi lab-pe-jaan⁴, zah-o-habbaza⁵ ke saath 1.pen-name 2.(previous) night 3.gathering 4.overwhelming/life-sapping emotions 4.exclamations of praise – bravo, wow
Normally lab pe jaan aana is an expression used to mean ‘to be near death’, but here momin uses it to mean that emotions are raised to an overwhelming level and induce a death-like trance in the audience. Thus, O momin read the same Ghazal that you had read last night when life-threatening emotions were raised because of the intensity of exclamations of praise – ‘bravo’ and ‘well done’.