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).

जो दिल तेरे ग़म का निशाना (Jo Dil Tere Gam ka Nishana) -- Asrar ul Haq Majaz

[Urdu Couplet #30]

जो दिल तेरे ग़म का निशाना भी है 

क़तीले-जफ़ाएं-ज़माना भी है 

Jo dil tere gam ka nishana bhi hai

Qatiil-e-jafaa-e-zamana bhi hai

Asrar ul Haq Majaz

(1911-1955)

ग़म (gam) = sorrow; निशाना (nishana) = target; क़तील (qatiil) = killed; ज़माना (zamana) = world; क़तीले-जफ़ाएं-ज़माना (  ) = troubled by the atrocities of the world

[English Meaning]

The heart that is your target for sorrow

Is also troubled by the atrocities of the world

It can also mean:

The heart that gets pain from you

Is tortured even by the cruel world

About the Poet
असरारुलहक़ मजाज़ Asrar ul Haq Majaz popularly known as Majaz was a revolutionary romantic poet of his time. The central theme in many of his poems is pain and pathos of a lover. Read More

हम जानते तो इश्क़ न करते (Hum Jaante To Ishq Na Karte) -- Mir Taqi Mir

[Urdu Couplet #27]

हम जानते तो इश्क़ न करते किसू के साथ 

ले जाते दिल को ख़ाक में इस आरज़ू के साथ 

Hum jaante to ishq na karte kisu ke saath

Le jaate dil ko khak me iss arzoo ke saath 

Mir Taqi Mir
(1723 - 1810)

इश्क़ (ishq) = love; किसू (kisu) = here it means 'anyone' (kisu is the ancient way of writing किसी kisi); ख़ाक (khak) = dust; ख़ाक में (khak me) = in the dust (it is used in relation to death. The usual usage is 'khak me milna'.); आरज़ू (arzoo) = desire

[English Meaning]

Had I known before, I would have not fallen in love with anyone

I would have taken my heart in the dust (died) with this desire (the desire to fall in love)

Note: Here the poet is repenting to have fallen in love because of the pain and longing it must have brought to him. He feels it is better to have the desires unfulfilled rather than making life miserable by falling in love.

About the Poet

मीर तक़ी मीर  Mir Taqi Mir was one of the most prominent Urdu poets of the 18th century. He was one of the pioneers in  building the Urdu language form and style. He was also a mentor of other prominent poets, one of them was the well-known poet Sauda. Read More 

देखते ही तुझे हाज़िर हुए (Dekhte Hi Tujhe Hazir Huye) -- Mir Shabir Ali 'Afsos'

[Urdu Couplet #20]

देखते ही तुझे हाज़िर हुए मर जानेको

वही अशखास जो वाँ आये थे समझानेको 

Dekhte hi tujhe haazir huye mar jaane ko

Wohi Ashkhaas jo vaan aaye the samjhane ko

हाज़िर (haazir) = present, ready (in hand), अशखास (Ashkhaas) = people, men, वाँ (vaan) = there (it is more commonly written as वहाँ vahaan)

[English Meaning]

On seeing you they were ready to die

Those people who had come to make me understand

About the Poet
Mir Shabir Ali 'Afsos' was 18th century poet, who primarily hailed from Delhi but in his later days moved to Luckhnow in the service of Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula. The central theme in most of his poems is Love, heartbreak and Separation from a beloved just like the trend in his era. His mentors were the poets हैदर अली 'हैरां' Hyder Ali 'Heyran' and मीर 'सोज' Mir 'Soz'.

काफ़िर हूँ गर (Kaafir Hun Gar) -- Bayan Ahsanulla Khan

[Urdu Couplet #19]

काफ़िर हूँ गर ज़ियादा कुछ इससे आरजू हो 

इक बेखलल मकाँ हो, बस मैं हूँ और तू हो

Kaafir hun gar jiyada kuch isse arzoo ho

Ik bekhalal makan ho, bas mein hun aur tu ho

काफ़िर (kaafir) = infidel, impious; बेखलल (bekhalal) = no disturbance or no interference (Here, बे 'be' preceding the word खलल 'khalal' forms the word's antonym. खलल (khalal) = disturbance, interference)

[English Meaning]

I am an infidel if I wish for more than this

A house with no disturbance, in there just you and me

Note: Poet Bayan's style of writing was slightly complex than the regular simplicity in a ghazal. In this couplet, the poet presents a very simple thought but the composition and his choice of words are heavy.

About the Poet
ख्वाजा अहसानुल्ला  खान 'बयाँ' Khwaja Ahsanulla Khan 'Bayan' was poet Mirza Mazhar's disciple and a  leading classical poet of his time. He was a contemporary of Mir Taqi Mir. His style of writing was not lucid and simple as expected in a ghazal, thus his style was unique in his era.

सरीरेसल्तनतसे (Sarir-e-Sultanat Se) -- Inamullah Khan 'Yaqeen'

[Urdu Couplet #17]

सरीरेसल्तनतसे आस्तानेयार बहतर था 

हमें जिल्लेहुमासे साययेदीवार बहतर था  

Sarir-e-sultanat se aastaan-e-yaar behtar tha

Hume zill-e-humaa se saaya-e-diiwaar behtar tha 

सरीर (sarir) = throne, सल्तनत (sultanat) = empire, kingdom, सरीरेसल्तनत (sarir-e-sultanat) = throne of the kingdom (kingship), आस्तान (aastaan) = door, threshold, यार (yaar) = beloved, आस्तानेयार (aastaan-e-yaar) = threshold of a beloved, बहतर (behtar ) = better, हुमा (humaa) = phoenix, जिल्लेहुमा (zill-e-humaa) = shadow of phoenix, साययेदीवार (saaya-e-diiwaar) = shadow of a wall

[English Meaning]

Rather than the throne of a kingdom, the threshold of a beloved is better

For me rather than the shadow of a phoenix, the shadow of a wall is better

or

The threshold of a beloved is better than the throne of a kingdom

For me, the shadow of a wall is better than the shadow of a phoenix

Note: The poet uses the analogy of a phoenix because there is a saying that when a phoenix (bird) sits on anyone's head, he becomes a king.

About the Poet:

Inamullah Khan ‘Yaqeen’ was the son of Nawab Zaheerudin and disciple of Mazhar. He was a poet who challenged the ambiguous embellishment in the poetry of his time and brought his own lucid style focusing on emotional profundity. His simplicity and poetic excellence would have taken him to great heights had he lived longer. Sadly, he died very early aged around 28 years. It is said his father killed him for reasons unknown. He was known as rival of Mir Taqi Mir in poetic prowess.

मेहरबानी को मुहब्बत नहीं कहते (Meherbani Ko Muhabbat Nahi Kehte) -- Firaq Gorakhpuri

[Urdu Couplet #14]

मेहरबानी को मुहब्बत नहीं कहते ऐ दोस्त 

आह मुझसे तेरी रंजिश-ए-बेजा भी नहीं 

Meherbani ko muhabbat nahi kehte ye dost

Aah mujhse teri ranjish-e-beza bhi nahi

Firaq Gorakhpuri
(1896-1982)

मेहरबानी (meherbani) = favour, मुहब्बत (muhabbat) = love, रंजिश (ranjish) = hatred, बेजा (beza) = wrong

[English Meaning]

Favour is not called love my friend

Ah! Your hatred for me is not wrong either

About the Poet
Firaq Gorakhpuri (real name Raghupati Sahay) was one of the noted contemporary Urdu poets. Read more