Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. syed mohammed shahed (1944-living) came to urdu late in life, but early to skepticism, inquiry and unbelief. Irreverent and rebellious, he enjoys retirement in sunny southern California, learning urdu and growing exotic fruit.
1
Ghalib, ke bahr¹-e maa’ni lapeTe hijaab² meN
shahed, ke sirf³ satah⁴ pe, vo bhi habaab⁵ meN    1.ocean 2.veil 3.only 4.surface 5.bubble
Ghalib, folding oceans of meaning in a veil. shahed, scratching the surface, that too in a bubble.
2
bharte haiN dam¹ imaan² ka jannat ke Khwaab meN
ginti³ faqat⁴ hai hooroN ki un ke hisaab⁵ meN    1.dam bharna means to give breath/life/strength to 2.faith 3.counting, giving importance to 4.only 5.reckoning
They keep ‘pumping up’ (the virtues of) faith, dreaming of heaven. The only importance in their reckoning is the number of hoor/angels that they will get.
3
ne¹ jur’at²-e savaal³ na tahqiiq⁴ ki lagan⁵
kya Khaak⁶ mil sakega savaal³ o javaab⁷ meN    1.neither 2.courage, daring 3.questioning 4.inquiry, search 5.desire, love 6.literally ‘dust’, it means nothing will come of it 7.answers, responses
They don’t have the courage to question anything (belief) nor do they have the desire to search and learn. Nothing will come out of the back and forth of their question and answer.
4
laazim¹ hai zindagi ke liye soch aur vichaar²
gar³ ye nahiN to aql⁴ hai phir kis hisaab⁵ meN     1.necessary 2.thinking, reflecting 3.if 4.intellect 5.reckoning, consequence
Thinking and reflecting is necessary for life. If you don’t have that, of what consequence is intellect!
5
namrood¹ ki jo aag meN kooda bila-Khatar²
naadaan³ raakh ho gaya us iltehaab⁴ meN    1.Nimrod 2.fearlessly 3.simpleton 4.fiery flames
This has reference to Biblical and qur’aanic legends about Nimrod/namrood and Abraham/ibrahim. It also has reference to a she’r of iqbal …
be-Khatar kood paRa aatish-e namrood meN ishq
aql hai mahv-e tamaasha-e lab-e baam abhi
Legend is that Nimrod built a huge fire and challenged Abraham to jump into it if he had faith that his god was going to save him. iqbal says that love/faith fearlessly jumped into the fire, while intellect is still engrossed in looking/thinking. My take is exatly opposite. Whoever jumps (fearlessly) into fire, will be burnt to ashes in the fiery flames.
6
beTe ko zibah¹ karne ko tayyaar² ho gaye
dhundla³ sa ek vahm⁴ jo dekha tha Khwaab meN    1.slaughter, slit the throat 2.ready 3.faint, foggy 4.illusion
This is also a Biblical/qur’aanic story. ibrahim dreamt that god commanded him to slit his young son’s throat. He did not stop to question or ask why but was ready to slaughter him based on a foggy illusion in a dream. This reinforces the lack of courage in questioning from she’r number two.
7
kya ye hi aaj apne hai aa’maal¹ ki misaal²
maa’soom³ ka ho qatl⁴ aur vo bhi shabaab⁵ meN    1.actions 2.example, model 3.innocent 4.killing 5.youth
Should this now be the model of our actions, that an innocent be killed and even that in his youth.
8
apni samajh¹ ki had² ko Khuda yuN³ bana diya
aasaan tha ye d’aava⁴ ke hai vo hijaab⁵ meN    1.understanding, knowledge 2.limits 3.used here to mean the reason why 4.claim 5.hidden, veiled
When they came to the limit of their understanding, they called it god (i.e. our lack of knowledge is labeled god) because it is easy to claim that god is hidden/veiled. The implication is that it is more difficult to say, “I don’t know”.
9
virse¹ meN jo mila use tasleem² kar liya
mushkil³ tha zindagi ka guzar⁴ izteraab⁵ meN     1.inheritence 2.accept 3.difficult 4.passing 5.restlessness, discomfort
Whatever (belief system) they received in inheritence, they accepted. It was difficult to pass life in the discomfort of ‘not knowing’/uncertainty.
10
hai nashsha¹ Khud-farebi² ka, laalach³ behisht⁴ ki
zaahid⁵ ne biim⁶-e Ghaib⁷ milaaya sharaab meN   1.intoxication 2.self-deception 3.greed, lust 4.heaven 5.preacher 6.fear, terror 7.unknown
The intoxication of self-deception and lust for heaven, the preacher has stirred fear of the unknown into the wine.
11
aage nikal yaqiN¹ se, rahe justaju² qavi³
dar⁴ aaye zauf⁵ na kabhi is ke shabaab⁶ meN    1.certainty, blind faith 2.effort, search 3.vigorous, strong 4.intrude 5.weakness 6.youth
Get past certainty and blind faith, may your effort stay strong. May weakness never intrude upon the youth/freshness of your effort/mind.
12
jaari¹ talaash²-e haq³ rahe, ye jaan⁴ le magar⁵
dasht⁶-e junooN⁷ ki raah⁸ hai manzil⁹ saraab¹⁰ meN    1.continue 2.search 3.truth 4.know, be aware 5.but 6.wilderness, desert 7.passion 8.path 9.destiny, goal 10.mirage
Let the search for truth continue but be aware that the path goes through the desert of passion (to search) and goal is beyond the mirage i.e. unreachable.
13
shahed tu ye na bhool ke is zindagi ka lutf¹
milta faqat² hai zauq³-e tajassus⁴ ke baab⁵ meN    1.pleasure 2.only 3.taste, desire 4.searching, trying 5.theme, door, domain
shahed, do not forget that the pleasure of this life is only in the taste/desire for the domain of striving/searching.