dil ki kitaab-nazeer akbarabadi

For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the “English” or “Notes” tab.

دِل کی کتاب ۔ نظیر اکبرآبادی

 

۱

بحر ہستی میں صحبت احباب

یوں ہے جیسے بہ روئے آب حباب

۲

گردشِ آسماں میں ہم کیا ہیں

پرِ کاہ ہے میانۂ گرداب

۳

بادۂ ناب کیا ہے خونِ جگر

زردئ رنگ ہے شبِ مہتاب

۴

جس کو رقص و سرود کہتے ہیں

وہ بھی ہے اک ہوائے خانہ خراب

۵

عمر کہتے ہیں جس کو وہ کیا ہے

مثلِ تحریرِ موجِ نقش بر آب

۶

جسم کیا روح کی ہے جولا نگاہ

روح کیا اک سوار پا بہ رکاب

۷

حسن اور عشق کیا ہیں یہ بھی ہیں

خطفہ برق و قطرۂ سیماب

۸

زندگانی و مرگ بھی کیا ہیں

ایک مثل خیال و دیگر خواب

۹

فرصت عمر قطرۂ شبنم

وصل محبوب گوہر نایاب

۱۰

کیوں نہ عشرت دو چند ہو جو ہے

یار مہ چہرہ اور شب مہتاب

۱۱

سب کتابوں کے کھل گئے معنی

جب سے دیکھی نظیرؔ دل کی کتاب

दिल कि किताब – नज़ीर अक्बराबादी

 

बहर-ए-हस्ती में सोहबत-ए-अहबाब

यूँ है जैसे ब-रु-ए आब हबाब

गर्दिश-ए-आसमाँ में हम क्या हैं

पर-ए काह है मियाना-ए-गर्दाब

बादा-ए-नाब क्या है ख़ून-ए-जिगर

ज़र्दी-ए-रंग है शब-ए-महताब

जिस को रक़्स-ओ-सुरूद कहते हैं

वो भी है एक हवा-ए-ख़ाना-ख़राब

उम्र कहते हैं जिस को वो क्या है

मिस्ल-ए-तहरीर मौज-ए-नक़्श-बर-आब

जिस्म क्या रूह की है जौला-निगाह

रूह क्या एक सवार-ए-पा-ब-रिकाब

हुस्न और इश्क़ क्या हैं ये भी हैं

ख़तफ़ा-ए-बर्क़-ओ-क़तरा-ए-सीमाब

ज़िंदगानी-ओ-मर्ग भी क्या हैं

एक मिस्ल-ए-ख़याल-ओ-दीगर-ए-ख़्वाब

फ़ुर्सत-ए-उम्र क़तरा-ए-शबनम

वस्ल-ए-महबूब गौहर-ए-नायाब

१०

क्यूँ न इशरत दो-चंद हो, जो है

यार मह-चेहरा और शब-ए-महताब

११

सब किताबों के खुल गए मा’नी

जब से देखी नज़ीर दिल की किताब

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. nazir akbarabadi (1735-1830) was a contemporary of mir taqi mir (1722-1810) and was a prolific shaa’er over his long life time writing acclaimed Ghazals of high quality in chaste urdu and classical style of the period. But he was also a “people’s poet” writing nazm in everyday conversational language about subjects of daily life – divali, holi, eid, rain, roTi, rupiya as well as paeans to mohammed and to krishn. This is one of his classical sufiyaana Ghazal about the illusion of the material world versus the spiritual world.
1
bahr1-e hasti2 meN sohbat3-e ahbab4
yuN hai jaise ba-roo5-e aab6 habab7  
1.ocean 2.existence 3.company 4.friends 5.on the face/surface of 6.water 7.bubbles
Everything in this world is transient. In the ocean of existence, the company of friends is like bubbles on the surface of water. They are here one moment, and the next the bubble bursts and is gone.

2
gardish1-e asmaaN meN hum kya haiN
par2-e kaah3 hai miyana4-e gardab5   
1.movement, rotation 2.feather/wisp 3.straw 4.middle 5.whirlpool
What are we under the rotating/turning sky – a mere feather/wisp of straw in the middle of a whirlpool.

3
baada1-e naab2 kya hai Khoon-e jigar3
zardi4-e raNg hai shab5-e mahtab6   
1.wine 2.strong, pure 3.liver 4.yellow, glowing 5.evening of 6.full moon
Strong wine is but like the blood of liver. Here it probably means that you enjoy it now and the later consequence is a bleeding liver/heart. The glow on your face is but the glow of the moon – it will fade like the phases of the moon.

4
jis ko raqs-o-surood1 kahte hain
vo bhi hai ek hawa-e Khaana-Kharaab2   
1.dance and music 2.home destroying
That which we call song and dance (celebration) is nothing but a way of destroying the home.

5
umr1 kahte haiN jis ko vo kya hai
misl2-e tahrir3 mauj4-e naqsh-bar-aab5   
1.life (duration of life) 2.like, in the example of 3.writing 4.wave 5.sketch on water
That which we call our life-span, is like writing/making a sketch on waves of water (it will erased in a moment).

6
jism1 kya rooh2 ki hai jaula-nigah3
rooh kya ek sawaar4-e pa-ba-rikab5    
1.body 2.spirit, soul 3.field of military exercises, field of horse training – used here to mean struggle 4.rider 5.feet in stirrups
The body is but a field of struggle of the soul. The soul is the rider (on the horse) with feet in stirrups (on the move).

7
husn1 aur ishq2 kya haiN ye bhi haiN
Khatfa3-e barq4 o qatra5-e seemaab6   
1.beauty (of the beloved) 2.love (of the poet/lover) 3.flash 4.lightning 5.drop 6.mercury
Beauty fades quickly. It is but a flash of lightning … displaying its glory and then suddenly gone. Love is like a drop of mercury … not constant, moving around.

8
zindagaani1 o marg2 bhi kya haiN
ek misl3-e Khayaal4 o diigar5-e Khwaab6   
1.life 2.death 3.liker, in the example of 4.thought, imagination, illusion 5.second, repeat 6.sleep
What is life but like an illusion and death like a repeating/continuous sleep.

9
fursat1-e umr2 qatra3-e shabnam4
vasl5-e mahbub6 gauhar7-e nayaab8   
1.leisure, permission 2.life 3.drop 4.dew 5.union 6.beloved 8.unobtainable
Permission to live is like a dew drop, it evaporates rapidly. Union with the beloved (happiness) is like an unobtainable pearl.

10
kyuN na ishrat1 do-chand2 ho, jo hai
yaar3 mah-chehra4 aur shab5-e mahtab6   
1.joy, happiness 2.double 3.friend, beloved 4.moon-faced 5.evening/night 6.full moon
There is sudden change in mood in this she’r. Why should not my happiness be doubled. My beloved is beautiful like the moon and night is moonlit.

11

sab kitaabauN ke khul gae maa’ni1
jab se dekhi nazir dil ki kitaab  
1.meaning
The meaning of all books became clear, when nazir looked into the book of his heart.

 

 

 

 

nazir akbarabadi (1735-1830) was a contemporary of mir taqi mir (1722-1810) and was a prolific shaa’er over his long life time writing acclaimed Ghazals of high quality in chaste urdu and classical style of the period.  But he was also a “people’s poet” writing nazm in everyday conversational language about subjects of daily life – divali, holi, eid, rain, roTi, rupiya as well as paeans to mohammed and to krishn.  This is one of his classical sufiyaana Ghazal about the illusion of the material world versus the spiritual world.

1
bahr1-e hasti2 meN sohbat3-e ahbab4
yuN hai jaise ba-roo5-e aab6 habab7

1.ocean 2.existence 3.company 4.friends 5.on the face/surface of 6.water 7.bubbles

Everything in this world is transient.  In the ocean of existence, the company of friends is like bubbles on the surface of water.  They are here one moment, and the next the bubble bursts and is gone.
2
gardish1-e asmaaN meN hum kya haiN
par2-e kaah3 hai miyana4-e gardab5

1.movement, rotation 2.feather/wisp 3.straw 4.middle 5.whirlpool

What are we under the rotating/turning sky – a mere feather/wisp of straw in the middle of a whirlpool.
3
baada1-e naab2 kya hai Khoon-e jigar3
zardi4-e raNg hai shab5-e mahtab6

1.wine 2.strong, pure 3.liver 4.yellow, glowing 5.evening of 6.full moon

Strong wine is but like the blood of liver.  Here it probably means that you enjoy it now and the later consequence is a bleeding liver/heart.  The glow on your face is but the glow of the moon – it will fade like the phases of the moon.
4
jis ko raqs-o-surood1 kahte hain
vo bhi hai ek hawa-e Khaana-Kharaab2

1.dance and music 2.home destroying

That which we call song and dance (celebration) is nothing but a way of destroying the home.
5
umr1 kahte haiN jis ko vo kya hai
misl2-e tahrir3 mauj4-e naqsh-bar-aab5

1.life (duration of life) 2.like, in the example of 3.writing 4.wave 5.sketch on water

That which we call our life-span, is like writing/making a sketch on waves of water (it will erased in a moment).
6
jism1 kya rooh2 ki hai jaula-nigah3
rooh kya ek sawaar4-e pa-ba-rikab5

1.body 2.spirit, soul 3.field of military exercises, field of horse training – used here to mean struggle 4.rider 5.feet in stirrups

The body is but a field of struggle of the soul.  The soul is the rider (on the horse) with feet in stirrups (on the move).
7
husn1 aur ishq2 kya haiN ye bhi haiN
Khatfa3-e barq4 o qatra5-e seemaab6

1.beauty (of the beloved) 2.love (of the poet/lover) 3.flash 4.lightning 5.drop 6.mercury

Beauty fades quickly.  It is but a flash of lightning … displaying its glory and then suddenly gone.  Love is like a drop of mercury … not constant, moving around.
8
zindagaani1 o marg2 bhi kya haiN
ek misl3-e Khayaal4 o diigar5-e Khwaab6

1.life 2.death 3.liker, in the example of 4.thought, imagination, illusion 5.second, repeat 6.sleep

What is life but like an illusion and death like a repeating/continuous sleep.
9
fursat1-e umr2 qatra3-e shabnam4
vasl5-e mahbub6 gauhar7-e nayaab8

1.leisure, permission 2.life 3.drop 4.dew 5.union 6.beloved 8.unobtainable

Permission to live is like a dew drop, it evaporates rapidly.  Union with the beloved (happiness) is like an unobtainable pearl.
10
kyuN na ishrat1 do-chand2 ho, jo hai
yaar3 mah-chehra4 aur shab5-e mahtab6

1.joy, happiness 2.double 3.friend, beloved 4.moon-faced 5.evening/night 6.full moon

There is sudden change in mood in this she’r.  Why should not my happiness be doubled.  My beloved is beautiful like the moon and night is moonlit.
11
sab kitaabauN ke khul gae maa’ni1
jab se dekhi nazir dil ki kitaab

1.meaning

The meaning of all books became clear, when nazir looked into the book of his heart.

Key Search Words: sufiyaana, sufi