For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
Recitation
اگر اِلہام نہیں ۔ سادھو رام آرزو سہارنپوری
۱
اللہ جسے چاہے بخشے یہ جِنس متاعِ عام نہیں
اِک درد سے بڑھ کر دنیا میں فِطرت کا کوئی اِنعام نہیں
۲
پرواز اگر محدود نہیں اور سعیِ طلب بھی خام نہیں
وہ کون سا جلوہ ہے اے دل جو تیرے لئے پیغام نہیں
۳
مانا کہ وہ کیف و نور نہیں وہ صبح نہیں وہ شام نہیں
خود حُسن پہ بھی اِلزام ہے یہ کچھ عشق ہی پر الزام نہیں
۴
مستی ہے مگر بے رنگ نہیں صہبا ہے مگر بے نام نہیں
اِس دور کے پینے والوں کو اب تک بھی شعورِ جام نہیں
۵
کہہ دو یہ ہوس کے بندوں سے کیوں عشق کو رسوا کرتے ہو
ہر چہرے کا پرتو صبح نہیں ہر زلف کا سایہ شام نہیں
۶
جب سے یہ ہوا ہے دل کو یقیں تو اور نہیں میں اور نہیں
اے عشق کی قسمت کے مالک کچھ مجھ کو غمِ انجام نہیں
۷
محرومِی عشق کی منزل کو اے بے خبرو تم کیا جانو
اِس راہ کے چلنے والے اگر ناکام بھی ہیں ناکام نہیں
۸
ہر لفظ ہے اک سِرّ معنی ہر شعر ہے اک کنز معنی
اے آرزو تیری فکرِ سخن پھر کیا ہے اگر اِلہام نہیں
अगर इल्हाम नहीं – साधू राम आर्ज़ू सहारनपुरी
१
अल्लाह जिसे चाहे बख़्शे, ये जिंस मता-ए आम नहीं
एक दर्द से बढ़ कर दुनिया में, फ़ितरत का कोई इन’आम नहीं
२
परवाज़ अगर महदूद नहीं, और सई-ए तलब भी ख़ाम नहीं
वो कौन सा जल्वा है अए दिल, जो तेरे लिये पैग़ाम नहीं
३
माना के वो कैफ़-ओ-नूर नहीं, वो सुबह नहीं वो शाम नहीं
ख़ुद हुस्न पे भी इल्ज़ाम है ये, कुछ इश्क़ ही पर इल्ज़ाम नहीं
४
मस्ती है मगर बे-रंग नहीं, सहबा है मगर बे-नाम नहीं
इस दौर के पीने वालों को, अब तक भी श’ऊर-ए जाम नहीं
५
कह दो ये हवस के बंदों से, क्यूं इश्क़ को रुस्वा करते हो
हर चेहरे का परतौ सुबह, नहीं हर ज़ुल्फ़ का साया शाम नहीं
६
जब से ये हुआ है दिल को यक़ीं, तू और नहीं मैं और नहीं
अए इश्क़ की क़िस्मत के मालिक, कुछ मुझ को ग़म-ए अंजाम नहीं
७
महरूमी-ए इश्क़ की मंज़िल को, अए बे-ख़बरो तुम क्या जानो
इस राह के चलने वाले अगर, नाकाम भी हैं नाकाम नहीं
८
हर लफ़्ज़ है एक सिर्र-ए म’आनी, हर शेर है एक कंज़-ए म’आनी
अए आर्ज़ू तेरी फ़िक्र-ए सुख़न फिर क्या है अगर इल्हाम नहीं
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. saadhu ram aarzu saharanpuri (1901-1983) saharanpur and kolkata. He was a shaagird of faani badayuni. There are at least two collections of Ghazal and nazm. There is precious little by way of biographical information but it seems that he was associated with teaching (perhaps urdu) in some college in kolkata.
1
allaah jis’e chaahe baKhsh’e1 ye jins2 mataa3-e aam4 nahiN
ek dard5 se baRh kar duniya meN fitrat6 ka koi in’aam7 nahiN 1.grant, bestow 2.commodity 3.possession, wealth 4.common 5.pain 6.nature, god 7.reward, gift
A straightforward translation of the first misra would read – this commodity is not a common possession; god grants it to whoever he wants. What ‘this commodity’ is, is not defined and it is implied that god grants it to a selected few. Similarly, the second misra reads – there is no gift of nature/god that is greater than this pain. What ‘this pain’ is not defined. It could be the same as ‘this commodity’. In sh’er 8, the poet talks about ilhaam – inspiration (of poetry). If we carry that idea forward, then ‘this commodity’ could be the inspiration/ability to write and ‘this pain’ could be the pain/urge to compose poetry. Alternatively, in a sufiyaana interpretation ‘this pain’ could be the pain of universal love. Not everyone has it; it is bestowed on a select few; there is no greater gift than this, that nature can give.
2
parvaaz1 agar mahdood2 nahiN aur sa’ii3-e talab4 bhi Khaam5 nahiN
voh kaun sa jalva6 hai aye dil, jo tere liye paiGhaam7 nahiN 1.flight, soaring 2.limited, constrained 3.effort 4.desire, seeking 5.incomplete, defective 6.manifestation, sight 7.message
If the flight (of aspiration, imagination, feelings) is not constrained; if the effort of the desire to seek/understand is not defective/weak, then O heart, there is no manifestation/scene in which you cannot read ‘the message’. What is the message that you are supposed to see – universal love, divine glory, one-ness of creation and creator; all celebrated ideas of sufiism and mysticism. This verse speaks to the limitless potential of the human spirit. If your aspirations are boundless and your search for truth is earnest and well-developed, then there is no manifestation of beauty or truth in the world that won’t hold a message for you. It implies that a sincere seeker will find meaning everywhere.
3
maana1 keh vo kaif2-o-noor3 nahiN, vo sub’h nahiN vo shaam nahiN
Khud4 husn5 pe bhi ilzaam6 hai ye, kuchh ishq7 hi par ilzaam6 nahiN 1.agree, accept 2.ecstasy, bliss 3.light (of love/enlightenment) 4.self 5.beauty, beloved 6.accusation, blame 7.love, lover
In urdu poetic tradition husn-o-ishq – beauty and love; beloved and lover are often used to imply the divine and devotee; the worshipped and worshipper. The poet/devotee acknowledges that his devotion is not mature enough to always bring a sense of divine ecstasy or spiritual light. These are not the ‘days and nights’ that used to be. But he suggests that the fault doesn’t lie solely with the lover’s/devotee’s passion/devotion but also with the beauty/beloved/divine itself which does not reveal itself in full glory. The one question that remains to be answered is – what were the days and nights that used to be (we cannot treat that phrase as just a filler). This may be a stretch, but it could be a hint of the time when the devotee was one with the divine before he was separated and given human form. In the former state, when he was united with the divine, he was in complete/perfect ecstacy. Not any more; so, the fault can also lie with the act of separation. Ghalib too says …
na tha kuchh to Khuda tha, kuchh na hota to Khuda hota
Duboya mujh ko hone ne, na hota maiN to kya hota
4
masti1 hai magar be-raNg2 nahiN sahba3 hai magar be-naam4 nahiN
is daur5 ke piin’e vaaloN ko ab tak bhi sha’oor6-e jaam7 nahiN 1.intoxication, ecstasy 2.colourless, without any good qualities 3.wine 4.nameless, ordinary 5.period, times, era 6.consciousness, knowledge, etiquette 7.cup of wine
There are two quite different intrepretations possible depending on what we take sahba and jaam to symbolize. Let us start with the simpler concept. sahba is the poet’s poetry and jaam is his ash’aar. He concedes that they may not give full intoxication, but it is not by any means a nameless/ordinary wine. It is that the people of this era do not fully appreciate his poetry. Alternatively, sahba could symbolize love of the divine. This love is not entirely ordinary, it is not colourless/without qualities, and it does impart some intoxication/ecstasy. It is that the people of this era are not sophisticated enough to fully experience even this level of ecstasy/sufi trance.
5
kah do ye havas1 ke bandoN2 se kyuN ishq ko rusva3 karte ho
har chehre4 ka partau5 sub’h nahiN har zulf6 ka saaya shaam nahiN 1.lust, greed 2.slaves 3.disgraced, dishonored 4.face 5.reflection, glow 6.curls of hair
The poet separates those who engage in lust/greed/materialism from those who are sincere lovers/devotees. The lustful ones can make false declarations of love, exercise hypocritical rituals of worship. This brings disrepute and dishonour to true love and devotion. He cautions everyone to distinguish between hypocrisy and sincerity by suggesting that not every beautiful face reflects the light of true dawn (sincerity, spiritual knowledge) and not every dark/curly hair provides the spiritual solace of evening.
6
jab se ye hua hai dil ko yaqiiN1, tu aur2 nahiN maiN aur2 nahiN
aye ishq3 ki qismat4 ke maalik5, kuchh mujh ko Gham6-e anjaam7 nahiN 1.certainty, conviction 2.different 3.love, lover, devotee 4.fate, destiny 5.owner, decider 6.sorrow, discomfort, fear 7.outcome, end
This couplet expresses a profound state of spiritual unity. The poet has reached a conviction in his heart that there is no separation between himself and the divine or the beloved. He then addresses the divine as the owner/decider of the fate of the devotee and declares that ever since reaching this conviction/realization he is not afraid of his fate in the afterlife. He looks for union with the divine/beloved.
7
mahroomi1-e ishq2 ki manzil3 ko aye be-Khabaro4 tum kya jaano
is raah5 ke chalne vaale agar nakaam6 bhi haiN nakaam nahiN 1.deprivation 2.love – implied defective/incomplete devotion 3.destination 4.unaware, ignorant 5.path 6.unsuccessful
The poet/seeker challenges those who consider lovers/devotees to have failed in their spirituality. He says that deprivation of union with the beloved because of inadequate or less that the most sincere love is not to be disdained. O ignorant ones, how can you realize the pleasure of treading this path. The implication is that even if the seekers/devotees are unsuccessful, they are not really unsuccessful because their reward is their effort.
8
har lafz1 hai ek sirr2-e mu’aani3, har sh’er hai ek kanz4-e mu’aani3
aye aarzuu5 teri fikr6-e suKhan7 phir kya hai agar8 ilhaam9 nahiN 1.every word 2.secret, hidden 3.meaning 4.treasure 5.pen-name, taKhallus 6.thought, process 7.poetry 8.if 9.divine inspiration
The poet claims that every word he writes contains hidden meanings/metaphors, and every verse is a treasure of meaning. O aarzuu what is your thought process of creating poetry if it isn’t divine inspiration. He suggests that the depth and richness of his work are evidence of its divine origin. Said Ghalib …
aate haiN Ghaib se ye mazamiiN Khayaal meN
Ghalib sariir-e Khaama navaa-e sarosh hai
and in faarsi he said …
she’r-e Ghalib na-buvad vahii va na-guuyam val’e
tuu va yazdaaN natavaan-guft keh ilhaami hast
which I recomposed in urdu as …
maana ke nahiN hai ye vahi par tu aur Khuda bhi shahed
Ghalib ke suKhan meN hai vahi tabaani-e ilhaam ab tak
saadhu ram aarzu saharanpuri (1901-1983) saharanpur and kolkata. He was a shaagird of faani badayuni. There are at least two collections of Ghazal and nazm. There is precious little by way of biographical information but it seems that he was associated with teaching (perhaps urdu) in some college in kolkata.
1
allaah jis’e chaahe baKhsh’e1 ye jins2 mataa3-e aam4 nahiN
ek dard5 se baRh kar duniya meN fitrat6 ka koi in’aam7 nahiN
1.grant, bestow 2.commodity 3.possession, wealth 4.common 5.pain 6.nature, god 7.reward, gift
A straightforward translation of the first misra would read – this commodity is not a common possession; god grants it to whoever he wants. What ‘this commodity’ is, is not defined and it is implied that god grants it to a selected few. Similarly, the second misra reads – there is no gift of nature/god that is greater than this pain. What ‘this pain’ is not defined. It could be the same as ‘this commodity’. In sh’er 8, the poet talks about ilhaam – inspiration (of poetry). If we carry that idea forward, then ‘this commodity’ could be the inspiration/ability to write and ‘this pain’ could be the pain/urge to compose poetry. Alternatively, in a sufiyaana interpretation ‘this pain’ could be the pain of universal love. Not everyone has it; it is bestowed on a select few; there is no greater gift than this, that nature can give.
2
parvaaz1 agar mahdood2 nahiN aur sa’ii3-e talab4 bhi Khaam5 nahiN
voh kaun sa jalva6 hai aye dil, jo tere liye paiGhaam7 nahiN
1.flight, soaring 2.limited, constrained 3.effort 4.desire, seeking 5.incomplete, defective 6.manifestation, sight 7.message
If the flight (of aspiration, imagination, feelings) is not constrained; if the effort of the desire to seek/understand is not defective/weak, then O heart, there is no manifestation/scene in which you cannot read ‘the message’. What is the message that you are supposed to see – universal love, divine glory, one-ness of creation and creator; all celebrated ideas of sufiism and mysticism. This verse speaks to the limitless potential of the human spirit. If your aspirations are boundless and your search for truth is earnest and well-developed, then there is no manifestation of beauty or truth in the world that won’t hold a message for you. It implies that a sincere seeker will find meaning everywhere.
3
maana1 keh vo kaif2-o-noor3 nahiN, vo sub’h nahiN vo shaam nahiN
Khud4 husn5 pe bhi ilzaam6 hai ye, kuchh ishq7 hi par ilzaam6 nahiN
1.agree, accept 2.ecstasy, bliss 3.light (of love/enlightenment) 4.self 5.beauty, beloved 6.accusation, blame 7.love, lover
In urdu poetic tradition husn-o-ishq – beauty and love; beloved and lover are often used to imply the divine and devotee; the worshipped and worshipper. The poet/devotee acknowledges that his devotion is not mature enough to always bring a sense of divine ecstasy or spiritual light. These are not the ‘days and nights’ that used to be. But he suggests that the fault doesn’t lie solely with the lover’s/devotee’s passion/devotion but also with the beauty/beloved/divine itself which does not reveal itself in full glory. The one question that remains to be answered is – what were the days and nights that used to be (we cannot treat that phrase as just a filler). This may be a stretch, but it could be a hint of the time when the devotee was one with the divine before he was separated and given human form. In the former state, when he was united with the divine, he was in complete/perfect ecstacy. Not any more; so, the fault can also lie with the act of separation. Ghalib too says …
na tha kuchh to Khuda tha, kuchh na hota to Khuda hota
Duboya mujh ko hone ne, na hota maiN to kya hota
4
masti1 hai magar be-raNg2 nahiN sahba3 hai magar be-naam4 nahiN
is daur5 ke piin’e vaaloN ko ab tak bhi sha’oor6-e jaam7 nahiN
1.intoxication, ecstasy 2.colourless, without any good qualities 3.wine 4.nameless, ordinary 5.period, times, era 6.consciousness, knowledge, etiquette 7.cup of wine
There are two quite different intrepretations possible depending on what we take sahba and jaam to symbolize. Let us start with the simpler concept. sahba is the poet’s poetry and jaam is his ash’aar. He concedes that they may not give full intoxication, but it is not by any means a nameless/ordinary wine. It is that the people of this era do not fully appreciate his poetry. Alternatively, sahba could symbolize love of the divine. This love is not entirely ordinary, it is not colourless/without qualities, and it does impart some intoxication/ecstasy. It is that the people of this era are not sophisticated enough to fully experience even this level of ecstasy/sufi trance.
5
kah do ye havas1 ke bandoN2 se kyuN ishq ko rusva3 karte ho
har chehre4 ka partau5 sub’h nahiN har zulf6 ka saaya shaam nahiN
1.lust, greed 2.slaves 3.disgraced, dishonored 4.face 5.reflection, glow 6.curls of hair
The poet separates those who engage in lust/greed/materialism from those who are sincere lovers/devotees. The lustful ones can make false declarations of love, exercise hypocritical rituals of worship. This brings disrepute and dishonour to true love and devotion. He cautions everyone to distinguish between hypocrisy and sincerity by suggesting that not every beautiful face reflects the light of true dawn (sincerity, spiritual knowledge) and not every dark/curly hair provides the spiritual solace of evening.
6
jab se ye hua hai dil ko yaqiiN1, tu aur2 nahiN maiN aur2 nahiN
aye ishq3 ki qismat4 ke maalik5, kuchh mujh ko Gham6-e anjaam7 nahiN
1.certainty, conviction 2.different 3.love, lover, devotee 4.fate, destiny 5.owner, decider 6.sorrow, discomfort, fear 7.outcome, end
This couplet expresses a profound state of spiritual unity. The poet has reached a conviction in his heart that there is no separation between himself and the divine or the beloved. He then addresses the divine as the owner/decider of the fate of the devotee and declares that ever since reaching this conviction/realization he is not afraid of his fate in the afterlife. He looks for union with the divine/beloved.
7
mahroomi1-e ishq2 ki manzil3 ko aye be-Khabaro4 tum kya jaano
is raah5 ke chalne vaale agar nakaam6 bhi haiN nakaam nahiN
1.deprivation 2.love – implied defective/incomplete devotion 3.destination 4.unaware, ignorant 5.path 6.unsuccessful
The poet/seeker challenges those who consider lovers/devotees to have failed in their spirituality. He says that deprivation of union with the beloved because of inadequate or less that the most sincere love is not to be disdained. O ignorant ones, how can you realize the pleasure of treading this path. The implication is that even if the seekers/devotees are unsuccessful, they are not really unsuccessful because their reward is their effort.
8
har lafz1 hai ek sirr2-e mu’aani3, har sh’er hai ek kanz4-e mu’aani3
aye aarzuu5 teri fikr6-e suKhan7 phir kya hai agar8 ilhaam9 nahiN
1.every word 2.secret, hidden 3.meaning 4.treasure 5.pen-name, taKhallus 6.thought, process 7.poetry 8.if 9.divine inspiration
The poet claims that every word he writes contains hidden meanings/metaphors, and every verse is a treasure of meaning. O aarzuu what is your thought process of creating poetry if it isn’t divine inspiration. He suggests that the depth and richness of his work are evidence of its divine origin. Said Ghalib …
aate haiN Ghaib se ye mazamiiN Khayaal meN
Ghalib sariir-e Khaama navaa-e sarosh hai
and in faarsi he said …
she’r-e Ghalib na-buvad vahii va na-guuyam val’e
tuu va yazdaaN natavaan-guft keh ilhaami hast
which I recomposed in urdu as …
maana ke nahiN hai ye vahi par tu aur Khuda bhi shahed
Ghalib ke suKhan meN hai vahi tabaani-e ilhaam ab tak
