Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. faiz wrote this in the style of a Ghazal of sauda and gave it a title – nazr-e sauda. He wrote this from prison, expressing his frustration with censorship and with the false testimony that some of his associates/comrades were persuaded/forced to give in order to convict him. It is wonderful to see how faiz takes a romantic Ghazal of sauda and turns it into a subtle but unmistakable political statement.
1
fikr¹-e dildaari²-e gulzaar karuN ya na karuN
zikr³-e murGhaan⁴-e giraftaar⁵ karuN ya na karuN  1.worry 2.kindness, solace 3.mention, relate story 4.birds 5.captured
The friends of the poet/revolutionary (birds) are captured and imprisoned in a cage. Should I worry about whether the gulzar (the homeland) will be kind. Should I let people know about the condition of the captured/caged birds (fellow poets/revolutionaries).
2
qissa¹-e saazish²-e aGhyaar³ kahuN ya na kahuN
shikwa⁴-e yaar-e-tarahdaar⁵ karuN ya na karuN 1.story 2.conspiracy 3.others/enemies 4.complaint 5.elegant friend
Both misra refer to false testimony. Should I speak about the conspiracy of the ‘other’. Should I complain about that elegant (sarcastic) friend (who bore false testimony).
3
jaane kya vaz’a¹ hai ab rasm-e-vafa² ki ae dil
vaz’a-e dereena³ pe israar⁴ karuN ya na karuN 1.style, way 2.tradition of faith 3.old, earlier 4.insist
I don’t know what the way of the tradition of faith is these days. Should I insist on past ways or not. The past traditions of faith, conviviality have been lost. Friends have given false testimony. Should I insist on speaking of the old ways or give up.
4
jaane kis raNg meN tafseer¹ kareN ahl-e-havas²
madah³ zulf-o-lab-o-ruKhsaar⁴ karuN ya na karuN 1.explanation, interpretation 2.people of lust, lecherous 3.praise 4.hair-lips-cheeks/face i.e. beauty
I don’t know how the lecherous will interpret what I have to say. Should I write about the beauty of the beloved or not. This has reference to faiz’s inimitable style of writing about the homeland as the beloved. The ‘ahl-e havas’ could well be censors, military authorities who have imprisoned him. The beloved is the homeland and social justice. Should he talk about these in spite of the censors? What will they think of what he writes?
5
yuN bahaar aaii hai imsaal¹ ke gulshan meN saba²
poochhti hai guzar is baar karuN ya na karuN  1.this year 2.morning breeze
This year spring has arrived in the garden in such fashion that even the morning breeze asks whether it should blow this way or not. The conditions in the country are so bad that even the breeze wants to bypass the garden.
6
goya¹ is soch meN hai dil meN lahu² bhar ke gulaab
daaman-o-jeb³ ko gulnaar⁴ karuN ya na karuN 1.as if 2.blood 3.hem and collar 4.rose coloured, red
It looks as if the heart of the rose is filled with blood and it wonders whether to spill the blood and colour its collar and hem (to declare its distress/frenzy/pain). The ‘rose’ is the poet himself and his heart is filled with distress. Should be let his distress show with torn collar and soiled hem? Or should he be discreet?
7
hai faqat¹ murGh-e-Ghazal-KhwaaN² ke jise fikr³ nahiN
mo’tadil⁴ garmi-e-guftaar⁵ karuN ya na karuN  1.only 2.song-bird, poet/revolutionary 3.worry 4.balanced 5.heat of passion of conversation/verse
Here, “murGh-e Ghazal-KhwaaN” is the poet himself. He is the only one who is not afraid of the consequences (to himself) of speaking out. But there is a fear that others will be affected too. So he wonders if he should temper/subdue the passion of his guftaar/suKhan.