dil hī to hai na sañg-o-ḳhisht dard se bhar na aa.e kyuuñ
ro.eñge ham hazār baar koī hameñ satā.e kyuuñ
it’s just a heart, no stony shard; why shouldn’t it fill with pain
i will cry a thousand times,why should someone complain?
dair nahīñ haram nahīñ dar nahīñ āstāñ nahīñ
baiThe haiñ rahguzar pe ham ġhair hameñ uThā.e kyuuñ
neither door nor threshold ’tis, no temple ’tis nor mosque
why should rivals bid me leave? the street’s public domain
jab vo jamāl-e-dil-faroz sūrat-e-mehr-e-nīm-roz
aap hī ho nazzāra-soz parde meñ muñh chhupā.e kyuuñ
when she has a lustrous face, as bright as the sun at noon
a burning spectacle is she, why veiled does she remain?
dashna-e-ġhamza jāñ-sitāñ nāvak-e-nāz be-panāh
terā hī aks-e-ruḳh sahī sāmne tere aa.e kyuuñ
dagger-like glances, arrow-like airs, fatal well could be
thus even from facing you, your image should refrain
qaid-e-hayāt o band-e-ġham asl meñ donoñ ek haiñ
maut se pahle aadmī ġham se najāt paa.e kyuuñ
prison of life and sorrow’s chains in truth are just the same
then relief from pain, ere death,why should man obtain
husn aur us pe husn-e-zan rah ga.ī bul-havas kī sharm
apne pe e’timād hai ġhair ko āzmā.e kyuuñ
beauty and its self-esteem did spare my rival shame
when she is self-confident, in testing him what gain?
vaañ vo ġhurūr-e-izz-o-nāz yaañ ye hijāb-e-pās-e-vaza.a
raah meñ ham mileñ kahāñ bazm meñ vo bulā.e kyuuñ
she won’t call me to her house, by the wayside I can’t meet
she is proud of name and grace, and I by form refrain
haañ vo nahīñ ḳhudā-parast jaao vo bevafā sahī
jis ko ho diin o dil aziiz us kī galī meñ jaa.e kyuuñ
let her a non-believer be, unfaithful too, and therefore
if you value faith and heart, then from her street abstain
‘ġhālib’-e-ḳhasta ke baġhair kaun se kaam band haiñ
roiye zaar zaar kyā kījiye haa.e haa.e kyuuñ
In poor Ghalib’s absence say, what tasks are stopped today
then why shed such copious tears, why lament in vain?
