Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. faiz’s Ghazal is patterned after maKhdoom’s “aaKhir e shab”. It appears in “mere dil,mere musafir”,and along with “raat bhar” and is entitled,“do GhazleN,maKhdoom ki yaad meN”,Moscow,Oct 1968.This is when faiz received news of the death of his friend. There is a long standing tradition in Urdu poetry that implies that composing in the pattern of someone is to pay tribute to them. This is faiz’s tribute to maKhdoom.
1
yaad ka phir koi darvaza khula aaKhir-e shab
dil meN bikhri koi Khushboo-e hina aaKhir-e shab “aaKhir e shab” is used literally or metaphorically to convey various meanings. Literally – very late hour of the night just before dawn. Metaphorically – end of life,end of a long journey,giving up at the end of a period of trials and tribulations. It may be used in different ways in different asha’ar. Imagine that faiz has just received news of the passing of his friend and it opens wide a door to memories,late into the night. These memories are the fragrance of henna (of the beloved) keeping him up all night.
2
subah phooTi¹ to vo pahloo² se uTha aaKhir-e shab
vo jo ek umr se³ aaya na gaya aaKhir-e shab 1.breaking of dawn 2.side 3.in a lifetime,for a long time
He finally falls asleep in a trance thinking that his friend/beloved is by his side. Dawn wakes him up and he can now see,the pleasant memories of late night turn into reality. His friend/beloved was never there!
3
chaand se maand⁴ sitarauN se kaha aaKhir-e shab
kaun karta hai vafa⁵ ahd-e vafa⁶ aaKhir-e shab 4.dimming 5.fulfils promise 6.promise of faith/love
Stars have been trying to get the attention of the moon all night long. Now,near dawn,they are beginning to dim. They are disappointed and with a sigh they say,“Who is true to any pledge of faith,late into the night?”. There is added pathos in this when put in the backdrop of the realization that his friend will not be back,will not “keep faith” now.
4
lams⁷-e jaanana liye,masti-e paimana⁸ liye
hamd⁹-e baari¹⁰ ko uThe dast-e dua¹¹ aaKhir-e shab 7.touch 8.flask 9.praise/prayer 10.god 11.hands raised or folded in prayer
His hands still carry memories of the beloved’s touch and a lingering sweet intoxication as he raises them in prayer (maybe at the loss of his friend). The parallelism with the 5^th she’r in maKhdoom’s Ghazal is beautiful. In maKhdoom’s she’r,noting that the mosque and the church are closed,prayerful hands reach for the flask. In faiz’s she’r,hands still carry the sense of touch of the beloved and remember handling wine. In this state (of intoxication/elation) they are raised in prayer/praising the almighty. Seeming contradiction,neatly juxtaposed.
5
ghar jo veeraaN¹² tha sar-e shaam¹³ vo kaise kaise
furqat-e yaar¹⁴ ne aabad¹⁵ kiya aaKhir-e shab 12.desolate 13.start of the evening 14.separation from the beloved 15.inhabit,prosper
The home/heart has been desolate/empty from early evening because there is no sign of the beloved. The thing that populates/fills the emptiness is the “absence of the beloved” – as if this absence has a palpable personality and arrives to fill the emptiness.
6
jis ada¹⁶ se koi aata tha kabhi avval-e shab¹⁷
usi andaaz¹⁸ se chal baad-e saba¹⁹ aaKhir-e shab 16.style 17.beginning of night 18.style 19.morning breeze
Realizing that the only thing that fills the heart is “emptiness” the poet expresses a plaintive wish,“the rare flair with which she used to arrive,early of an evening,O breeze of morning blow in that same manner late into the night.