Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. shaikh zahuuruddin haatim (1699-1783) dehli. haatim was his pen name. mirza sauda, was his shaagird who probably outdid his ustaad. He graciously quotes Khwaaja miir dard (1721-1785), a junior contemporary. This is one of two Ghazal in the same radeef-qaafiya that hatim composed. Ghalib’s Ghazal ‘zikr us parivash ka aur phir bayaaN apna’ is in the same style and all such Ghazal of Ghalib’s predecessors and contemporaries are linked to ‘Ghalib peshrau o ham-asar’.
1
kiya jo faaKhta¹ ne sarv² oopar aashiyaaN³ apna
magar sooli4 oopar chaRh kar diya chaahe hai jaaN⁵ apna  1.mourning dove 2.cypress 3.nest 4.cross, hanging scaffold 5.life
In urdu poetry, traditional pairs of lovers are gul-bulbul (nightingale-rose), faaKhta-sarv (dove-cypress), chanda-chakor. The dove is passionately in love with the cypress and wants to achieve ‘fana-annihilation’ in fulfilment of its love. It builds its nest on the cypress but that is only the appearance. The real reason behind this is that it wants to get the cross/scaffold and give up its life.
2
baGhal¹ se chhoR mus’haf² kis ravish³ nikle vo gulshan se
keh bulbul jaanti hai baaGhbaan-e gul ko qur’aaN apna  1.armpit, under the arm/wing 2.book, qur’aan 3.path
‘gul-bulbul’ is another pair of traditional lovers in urdu poetry. The bulbul lives and flies in the garden where the rose grows. Thus, it has the garden ‘under its wing’. Thus, how can it a path (any path) to leave the garden which is under its wing. It considers the rose garden to be its qur’aan – the object of its love and reverence.
3
falatuuN¹ ki tarah² maiN Kham-nashiiN³ huN aye kamaaN⁴ abru⁵
keh tere chashm⁶ ke goshe⁷ meN paaya hai makaaN apna    1.Plato 2.like, similar to 3.resident of curve, bend 4.arch 5.eyebrows 6.eyes 7.corner
The poet/lover has found a home in the corner of the beloved’s eye i.e., she might cast a sidelong glance at him. That is enough to make him feel at home. How this relates to Plato, I am not sure about. He is addressing the arch of the eybrow, where it meets the corner of the eye. He claims to be a ‘resident of the curve’ i.e., he has found a home there. But how is this being like Plato. The only thing I can speculate that he considers his love to be like Plato’s i.e., Platonic.
4
qayaamat¹ aur adam² ke haiN vo munkir³, jaa ke gulshan meN
dikha sarv⁴ kuuN qad⁵ aur Ghunche⁶ ko dahaaN⁷ apna   1.doomsday 2.non-existence, end of existence, annihilation 3.denier 4.cypress 5.stature 6.unopened bud 7.mouth
The gently swaying and tall thin cypress is often used as an analogy for the supple gait and tall slender stature of the beloved. Also, a vanishingly small mouth is considered to the epitome of beauty. A bud, which is yet to bloom might be considered to have a slim mouth. They both deny that there is a doomsday and that there will be an end to the world. The beloved’s beauty is enough to cause ‘qayaamat’ – a tumult similar to that on doomsday. Thus, the poet/lover invites the beloved to go the garden and show her stature to the cypress and her mouth to the unopened bud.
5
vo abtar¹, shooKh², na-farmaan³ jis dam⁴ paan khaata hai
kare hai phool laala⁵ ke chaman se piikdaaN⁶ apna  1.poor habits, careless 2.mischievous 3.disobedient, ignoring rules of decorum 4.time 5.tulip 6.spittoon
The beloved is mischievous, disregards rules of decorum and has poor habits. A freshly blossoming tulip with its bulbous bottom, slender middle and petals curving out at the top are considered similar in shape to the spittoon. The redness of the tulip also matches the colour of betel spit. Thus, the beloved apparently uses the tulip as a spittoon.
6
vohi hota hai haatim¹ sub meN naami² baad marne ke
jo jiite-jii³ miTa⁴ de aap-siiN⁵ naam-o-nishaaN⁶ apna  1.pen-name of the poet 2.reputable 3.while living 4.erase 5.of own volition 6.ego and identity
O haatim the one who is humble during and overcomes/erases his ego and identity is the one who achieves high reputation after death.