दिल में अब यूं तेरे भूले हुए (Dilme Ab Yuun Tere Bhoole Huye) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #41]

दिल में अब यूं तेरे भूले हुए ग़म आते हैं 

जैसे बिछड़े हुए काबे में सनम आते हैं 

Dilme ab yuun tere bhoole huye gam aate hain

Jaise bichade huye kaabe me sanam aate hain

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

ग़म (gam) = sorrow; काबा (kaabaa) = sacred Muslim pilgrim shrine; सनम (sanam) = beloved, idol (reference from 'the idol in old mecca')

[English Meaning]

In my heart now, your forgotten sorrows return

As a beloved (God) returns to the separated shrine

Notes:
The couplet is derived from a poem published in Faiz Ahmed Faiz's book "Nuskha Hai Wafa". The poet uses metaphorical analogy in the couplet by giving "the beloved" the place of God in a shrine. Metaphorically, the shrine can also be equated to poet's heart. This first couplet sets the tone of the theme covered in the entire poem, that is love, longing, sorrow and spiritual reflection of lost love. The poet builds an imagination so that the readers can understand the depth of the longing by describing the continuous return of the "forgotten sorrows" as if "God" returns in the most sacred shrine (Kaaba). Further, the poet also explains the piousness of his love and emotions by giving his beloved the place equivalent to God, while symbolically mentioning his own heart as shrine. Thus, the poet elevates his personal experience of loss and pain to a profoundly sacred spiritual experience.

तुम आये हो न शबे-इंतज़ार (Tum aaye ho na shab-e-intezaar) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #40]

तुम आये हो न शबे-इंतज़ार गुज़री है 

तलाश में है सहर, बार-बार गुज़री है

Tum aaye ho na shab-e-intezaar guzri hai 

Talash me hai sahar, baar-baar guzri hai

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

शब (shab) = night; शबे-इंतज़ार (shab-e-intezaar) = the night of awaiting; तलाश (talash) = search; सहर (sahar) = morning

[English Meaning]
Neither you came nor did this night of awaiting has passed
In search (of you), the dawn has passed by again and again

Notes:
In this couplet, the poet narrates pathos of the lover who is waiting indefinitely for his beloved. The lover spends his night longing for his beloved and spends his day searching for her. He keeps waiting but neither the night seems to end nor does his beloved comes back. In the first line, the poet appears to talk of one night but in the second line, his reference "baar baar guzri hai" reveals that the poet (the lover) has been pining for his beloved for several days. It also accentuates his longing and distress.

दोनों जहान तेरी मोहब्बत (Dono Jahaan Teri Mohabbat) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #39]

दोनों जहान तेरी मोहब्बत में हार के 

वो जा रहा है कोई शबे-ग़म गुज़ार के 

Dono jahaan teri mohabbat me haar ke

Wo ja raha hai koi shab-e-gam guzaar ke

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

जहान (jahaan) = world; दोनों जहान (dono jahaan) = both the worlds, i.e. the earth and the heaven; मोहब्बत (mohabbat) = love; हारना (haarna) = lose; शब (shab) = night; शबे-ग़म  (shab-e-gam) = sorrowful night; गुज़ारना (guzaarna) = spend

[English Meaning]
After losing both the worlds in your love
Look someone's going after spending a sorrowful night

Notes:

The couplet has the opening lines of the poem "Dono jahaan teri mohabbat me haar ke" from the book "Nuskha Hai Wafa" by Faiz Ahmed Faiz. In the poem, the poet laments the separation from his beloved and describes the state of his grief-stricken heart. In this couplet, the poet highlights that inspite of sacrificing everything for love, he had to suffer the pain of separation. 

The poet uses analogical terms to emphasize his expressions. The first analogical term is "dono jahaan" (both the worlds), which means both the earth and the heaven. The term "earth and heaven" includes everything a person can think of before and after life. Thus, the poet uses hyperbolic expression to explain the extent of sacrifice he did for love. 

In the second phrase, the word "shab-e-gam" can be considered as an analogy for sorrow due to hopelessness. Here, night can have two meanings - literal and symbolic. In the literal sense, the phrase means "someone is sadly passing by after the night when he separated from his beloved". In a symbolic way, it points to the night (i.e. darkness, sadness, hopelessness) that follows after separation. 

By the third person usage in the second phrase, the poet adds a generalization to the state of any lover who suffers heart break. It can also mean that the poet is referring himself as a stranger whose plight has changed him beyond recognition. Hence, the poet says "koi" (someone).

गुलों में रंग भरे (Gulonme Rang Bhare) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #38]

गुलों में रंग भरे बादे-नौबहार चले 

चले भी आओ की गुलशन का कारोबार चले 

Gulonme rang bhare baade-naubahaar chale

Chale bhi aao ki gulshan ka karobaar chale

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

गुल (gul) = flower; रंग (rang) = colour; बादे-नौबहार (baade-naubahaar) = The air of a new spring (season); गुलशन (gulshan) = garden; कारोबार (karobaar) = business, affair, trade

[English Meaning]

Filling the colour in flowers, the air of a new spring passes by

You come so that the garden can continue with its business (of blooming)

or

The air of the new spring passes by giving the flowers their colour

(Atleast now) you come so that the garden can keep blooming

Notes:
The couplet is an ardent request of a lover to his beloved to come to meet him. The couplet describes the state of a lover who is waiting for his beloved to enjoy the beautiful spring together. To emphasize the lover's condition, the poet uses the exaggeration by using an example of garden. By saying that "you come so that the garden can continue to bloom", the poet establishes the beloved's importance in his (lover's) life. The lines also convey that without the beloved, spring is not spring and even the blooming garden holds no charm.

Symbolically, the couplet can also mean that the lover's life is at halt without his beloved. Here, the garden means the lover's life, spring means youth which adds colours to the desires (related to the romantic feelings), wherein desires are depicted by flowers.

आए तो यूं कि जैसे (Aaye To Yun Ki Jaise) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #37]

आए तो यूं कि जैसे हमेशा थे मेहरबां 

भूले तो यूं की गोया कभी आशना न थे 

Aaye to yun ki jaise hamesha the mehrbaan

Bhoole to yun ki goyaa kabhi aashnaa na the

Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984)

हमेशा (hamesha) = always; मेहरबां (mehrbaan) = kind (or someone who favours); गोया (goyaa) = as if; आशना (Aashnaa) = acquaintance

[English Meaning]

(You) came as if (you) always favoured (me)

(You) forgot as if there was never an acquaintance (between us)

Notes:

In the couplet, Faiz uses sarcasm to put forth the feeling of a distraught lover, who is deeply hurt by the callousness of his beloved. The poet conveys his message in first person and in a way says, "When you came in my life, you made me feel I am the special one but when you left, you forgot me as if you don't even know me." Here, the context of beloved can also be applied to close friends and relatives.

तेरे दस्ते-सितम का (Tere Dast-e-Sitam Ka) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #36]

तेरे दस्ते-सितम का अज्ज़ नहीं 

दिल ही काफ़िर था जिसने आह न की 

Tere dast-e-sitam ka ajj nahi

Dil hi kaafir tha jisne aah na ki

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

दस्ते-सितम (dast-e-sitam) =  hand of tyranny (or tyrannical hand); अज्ज़ (ajj) = humility, modesty, civility; काफ़िर (kaafir) = unbeliever, non-believer (the word is derived from the reference in Quran for anyone who doesn't believe in Allah or God); आह (aah) = sigh, moan or painful cry

[English Meaning]

Your hand of tyranny (tyrannical hand) knows no humility

(yet my) heart, an ardent lover, didn't let out a sigh

Notes:
In the couplet, the poet highlights that in spite of his lover's immodest tyrannical behaviour towards him, his love-struck heart believed in nothing else but love and bore the torture without letting out a sigh.

Here, the word 'kaafir' is used in a slightly different context where it can mean 'an ardent lover who believes in nothing but the feeling of being in love in spite of the pain'. The regular political or religious usage of the word 'kaafir' is to refer a non-Muslim who doesn't follow Quran or Allah.

हर अजनबी हमें महरम (Har Ajnabi Hame Mahram) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #31]

हर अजनबी हमें महरम दिखाई देता है 

जो अब भी तेरी गली से गुजरने लगते है 

Har ajnabi hame mahram dikhayi deta hai

Jo ab bhi teri gali se gujarne lagte hai

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

अजनबी (ajnabi) = stranger; गली (gali) = lane or alley; गुजरना (gujarna) = to pass; महरम (mahram) = confidant, close relative or friend (who is allowed to escort a woman or visit her house anytime) 

[Notes about the word: Mahram are usually the ones with whom marriage is prohibited. In early days and in orthodox muslim families, women use to live in purdah before outsiders (gayr) especially men. Thus, not everyone was allowed to visit her room or meet her without purdah.]

[English Meaning]

Every stranger appears to me a confidant (of yours)

When I still pass through your lane (means, the lane near your house)

मेरी क़िस्मत से खेलने वाले (Meri Kismat Se Khelne Wale) - Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #26]

मेरी क़िस्मत से खेलने वाले 

मुझको क़िस्मत से बेख़बर कर दे 

Meri kismat se khelne wale

Mujhko kismat se bekhabar kar de

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911 - 1984)

क़िस्मत (kismat) = destiny, fate; खेलना (khelna) = to play; बेख़बर (bekhabar) = ignorant

[English Meaning]

The one who is playing with my destiny

[You] Make me ignorant about my destiny

About the Poet

फ़ैज़ अहमद फ़ैज़ Faiz Ahmed Faiz is one of the most prominent and influential Urdu poet. Read More...