(Bang-e-Dra-139) Walida Marhooma Ki Yaad Mein

Walida Marhooma Ki Yaad Mein
In Memory Of My Late Mother

Zarra Zarra Dehr Ka Zindaani-e-Taqdeer Hai
Parda-e-Majboor-o-Bechargi Tadbeer Hai

Every atom of creation is a prisoner of fate;
Contrivance is the veil of constraint and helplessness.

Asaman Majboor Hai, Shamas-o-Qamar Majboor Hain
Anjum-e-Seemab Pa Raftar Par Majboor Hai

The sky is compelled; the sun and the moon are compelled;
The fleet‐footed stars are compelled in their course.

Hai Shikast Anjam Ghunche Ka Saboo Gulzar Mein
Sabza-o-Gul Bhi Hain Majboor-e-Namoo Gulzar Mein

The cup of the bud in the garden is destined to be smashed;
Verdure and flowers are also compelled to grow in the garden.

Nagma-e-Bulbul Ho Ya Awaz-e-Khamosh-e-Zameer
Hai Issi Zanjeer-e-Alamgeer Mein Har She Aseer

Be it the song of the nightingale or the silent voice of the innermost spirit,
Everything is a captive of this world encompassing chain.

Ankh Par Hota Hai Jab Ye Sirr-e-Majboori Ayan
Khush Ho Jata Hai Dil Mein Ashak Ka Seel-e-Rawan

When this secret of constraint is clear to the eye,
The flowing stream of tears grows dry in the heart.

Qalb-e-Insani Mein Raqs-e-Aysh-o-Gham Rehta Nahin
Naghma Reh Jata Hai, Lutf-e-Zair-o-Bam Rehta Nahin

The dance of pleasure and grief no longer remains in the human heart;
The song remains, but the joy of high and low does not.

Ilm-o-Hikmat Rahzan-e-Saman-e-Ashak-o-Aah Hai
Yani Ek Almas Ka Tukra Dil Agah Hai

Knowledge and wisdom are the highway-robbers of the goods of tears and sighs;
The aware heart is a fragment of a diamond.

Garche Mere Bagh Mein Shabnam Ki Shadabi Nahin
Ankh Meri Mayadaar-e-Ashak-e-Unnabi Nahin

Although in my garden, there is not the freshness of the dew
And my eye is not the possessor of the dark red tear,

Janta Hun Aah, Main Aalaam Insane Ka Raaz
Hai Nawaye Shikwah Se Khali Meri Fitrat Ka Saaz

I know, alas! the secret of human tribulations;
The instrument of my nature is empty of the melody of complaint.

Mere Lab Par Qissa-e-Nairangi-e-Douran Nahin
Dil Mera Heeran Nahin, Khandan Nahin, Giryan Nahin

The tale of the changing colours of time is not on my lips;
My heart is not amazed, not laughing, not weeping;

Par Teri Tasveer Qasid Girya-e-Peham Ki Hai
Aah! Ye Tardeed Meri Hikmat-e-Muhkam Ki Hai

But your picture is the messenger of eternal grieving—
Alas! it cancels out my powerful wisdom.

Girya-e-Sarshaar Se Bunyad-e-Jaan Paeenda Hai
Dard Ke Irfan Se Aqal-e-Sangdil Sharminda Hai

By drunken lamentation, the foundation of life is made firm;
By the knowledge of pain, stony hearted intelligence is put to shame.

Mouj-e-Dood-e-Aah Se Aaeena Hai Roshan Mera
Gunj-e-Aab Award Se Maamoor Hai Daman Mera

By the wave of the smoke of the sigh, my mirror is bright;
My breast is filled from the watery treasury.

Hairati Hun Mein Teri Tasveer Ke Ijaz Ka
Rukh Badal Dala Hai Jis Ne Waqt Ki Parwaz Ka

I am amazed at the spell your portrait casts,
Which has changed the direction of the flight of time.

Rafta-o-Hazir Ko Goya Pa Bapa Iss Ne Kiya
Ehd-e-Tifli Se Mujhe Phir Ashna Iss Ne Kiya

It seems that it has stood past and present side by side;
It has once more made me aware of the time of my childhood,

Jab Tere Daman Mein Palti Thi Woh Jaan-e-Natwan
Baat Se Achi Tarah Mehram Na Thi Jis Ki Zuban

When that helpless life was nurtured in your lap,
Whose tongue was not properly familiar with words.

Aur Ab Charche Hain Jis Ki Shoukhi-e-Guftar Ke
Be-Baha Moti Hain Jis Ki Chashm-e-Gohar Baar Ke

And now he is famous for the charm of his speech;
His eyes, which shed jewels, are priceless pearls.

Ilm Ki Sanjeeda Guftari, Barhape Ka Shaur
Dunyavi Izaz Ki Shoukat, Jawani Ka Gharoor

The serious discourse of wisdom, the awareness of old‐age,
The grandeur of worldly honours, the pride of youth—

Zindagi Ki Auj-Gahon Se Uter Ate Hain Hum
Sohbat-e-Madir Mein Tifl-e-Sada Reh Jate Hain Hum

We come down from the pinnacles of life’s towers
And in the company of our mother remain a simple child.

Be Takaluf  Khandazan Hain, Fikr Se Azad Hain
Phir Ussi Khoye Huwe Firdous Mein Abad Hain

We observe no formality, we laugh, we are free from care:
Once more we abide in this paradise which we had lost.

Kis Ko Ab Ho Ga Watan Mein Aah! Mera Intizar
Kon Mera Khat Na Ane Se Rahe Ga Be-Qarar

Now, who will wait for me, alas!, in my homeland?
Who will be anxious when my letter does not arrive?

Khak-e-Marqad Par Teri Le Kar Ye Faryad Aun Ga
Ab Duaye Neem Shab Mein Kis Ko Main Yaad Aun Ga!

I shall come to the dust of your grave, bringing this lament:
Now who will remember me in midnight prayers?

Tarbiat Se Teri Main Anjum Ka Hum-Qismat Huwa
Ghar Mere Ajdad Ka Sarmaya-e-Izzat Huwa

Because you brought me up, I shared the fate of the stars;
The house of my forefathers was accorded honour.

Daftar-e-Hasti Mein Thi Zareen Waraq Teri Hayat
Thi Sarapa Deen-o-Dunya Ka Sabaq Teri Hayat

In the scroll of existence your life was a golden page.
Your life was from beginning to end a lesson in faith and the world.

Umer Bhar Teri Mohabbat Meri Khidmat Rahi
Main Teri Khidmat Ke Qabil Jab Huwa Tu Chal Basi

Throughout my life, your love was my servant,
And when I was able to serve you, you departed this world.

Woh Jawan, Qamat Mein Hai Jo Soorat-e-Sarv-e-Buland
Teri Khidmat Se Huwa Jo Mujh Se Barh Kar Behramand

That young man who in stature is like the lofty cypress
and who was more blessed by your service than I,

Karobar-e-Zindagaani Mein Woh Hum Pehlu Mera
Woh Mohabbat Mein Teri Tasveer, Woh Bazoo Mera

He stood shoulder to shoulder with me in the business of life;
He, a portrait of your love; he, my right arm.

Tujh Ko  Misl-e-Tiflak-e-Be Dast-o-Paa Rota Hai Woh
Sabr Se Na Ashna Subah-o-Masa Rota Hai Woh

Now he mourns you like a helpless baby,
And weeps for you morning and evening, knowing no self‐control.

Tukhm Jis Ka Tu Humari Kisht-e-Jaan Mein Bo Gyi
Shirkat-e-Gham Se Woh Ulfat Aur Mohkam Ho Gyi

The seed, which you sowed in the field of our life,
As we share our grief—that love has become even stronger.

Aah! Ye Dunya, Ye Matam Khana-e-Barna-o-Peer
Admi Hai Kis Tilism-e-Dosh-o-Farda Mein Aseer!

Ah, this world, this house of mourning for young and old;
To what spell of yesterday and tomorrow is mankind captive!

Kitni Mushkil Zindagi Hai, Kis Qadar Asan Hai Mout
Gulshan-e-Hasti Mein Manind-e-Naseem Arzan Hai Mout

How hard life is! How easy is death!
In the garden of existence, death is as cheap as the morning breeze.

Zalzale Hain, Bijlian Hain, Qeht Hain, Aalaam Hain
Kaisi Kaisi Dukhtaran-e-Madar-e-Ayyam Hain!

There are earthquakes, lightning, famines, tribulations—
All daughters of the mother of the days!

Kulba-e-Aflaas Mein, Doulat Ke Kashane Mein Mout
Dasht-o-Dar Mein, Shehar Mein, Gulshan Mein, Weerane Mein Mout

Death comes to the poor man’s hovel; death comes to the rich man’s palace.
Death is present in deserts and towns, in cities, in garden, in the wilderness.

Mout Hai Hangama Aara Qulzum-e-Khamosh Mein
Doob Jate Hain Safeene Mouj Ki Aghosh Mein

Death even creates its tumults in the silent sea,
And boats sink in the embrace of the wave.

Ne Majal-e-Shikwah Hai, Ne Taqat-e-Guftar Hai
Zindagaani Kya Hai, Ek Tauk-e-Guloo Afshar Hai!

There is no room for complaint, nor power of speech;
What is life? A noose that squeezes the throat.

Qafle Mein Ghair-e-Faryad-e-Dra Kuch Bhi Nahin
Ek Mataa-e-Deeda-e-Tar Ke Siwa Kuch Bhi Nahin

In the caravan, there is nothing but the lament of the bell;
Nothing but the capital of a tearful eye.

Khatam Ho Jaye Ga Lekin Imtihaan Ka Dour Bhi
Hain Pas-e-Nuh Parda-e-Gardoon Abhi Dour Aur Bhi

But the age of testing will also end;
Behind the nine veils of the firmament even now there are other ages.

Seena Chaak Iss Gulistan Mein Lala-o-Gul Hain To Kya
Nala-o-Faryad Par Majboor Bulbul Hain To Kya

If in this garden the breasts of the tulip and the rose are torn, so what?
If nightingales are forced to cry and lament, so what?

Jhariyan, Jin Ke Qafas Mein Qaid Hai Aah-e-Khazan
Sabz Kar De Gi Unhain Baad-e-Bahar-e-Javidan

The bushes, which keep the sigh of the autumn imprisoned in their cage—
The wind of eternal spring will make them green.

Khufta Khak-e-Pay Sipr Mein Hai Sharar Apna To Kya
Aarzi Mehmil Hai Ye Musht-e-Ghubar Apna To Kya

If our vital spark sleeps in the trampled earth, so what?
If our pinch of dust travels in this transitory litter, so what?

Zindagi Ki Aag Ka Anjaam Khakstar Nahin
Tootna Jis Ka Muqaddar Ho Ye Woh Gohar Nahin

The finality of the fire of life is not a bed of ashes.
It is not the pearl whose destiny is to be broken.

Zindagi Mehboob Aesi Dida-e-Qudrat Mein Hai
Zauq-e-Hifz-e-Zindagi Har Cheez Ki Fitrat Mein Hai

In the eye of existence, life is so beloved:
In the nature of everything there is the desire to preserve life.

Mout Ke Hathon Se Mit Sakta Agar Naqsh-e-Hayat
Aam Yun Iss Ko Na Kar Deta Nazam-e-Kainat

If the trace of life could have been erased by the hands of death,
The order of the universe would not have made it so common.

Hai Agar Arzan To Samjho Ajal Kuch Bhi Nahin
Jis Tarah Sone Se Jeene Mein Khalal Kuch Bhi Nahin

If it is so cheap, then think that death is worthless,
In the same way as sleeping does not stop one living.

Ah Ghafil! Mout Ka Raaz-e-Nihan Kuch Aur Hai
Naqsh Ki Na-Paedari Se Ayan Kuch Aur Hai

Alas, my ignorant one! The hidden secret of death is quite different.
From the instability of its impression, something else is visible.

Jannat Nazzar Hai Naqsh-e-Hawa Balaye Aab
Mouj-e-Muztar Torh Kar Tameer Kari Hai Habab

The impression of the wind on the water is a vision of paradise;
Breaking the agitated wave, it creates bubbles.

Mouj Ke Daman Mein Phir Uss Ko Chupa Deti Hai Ye
Kitni Baidardi Se Naqsh Apna Mita Deti Hai Ye

And then it hides them in the bosom of the wave.
How cruelly it rubs out its own trace.

Phir Na Kar Sakti Habab Apna Agar Paida Huwa
Torne Mein Uss Ke Yun Hoti Na Be-Parwa Huwa

But if the wind could not create anew the bubbles it hade made,
The wind would not be so careless as to smash them.

Iss Rawish Ka Kya Asar Hai Heeyat-e-Tameer Par
Ye To Hujjat Hai Hawa Ki Quwwat-e-Tameeer Par

But what effect does this behavior have upon the actual form of creation?
It is proof that the wind has the power to create.

Fitrat-e-Hasti Shaheed-e-Arzu Rehti Na Ho
Khoob Tar Paikar Ki Iss Ko Justujoo Rehti Na Ho

Could it be that the nature of existence will not ever be a martyr to desire?
Could it be that it will not seek to make a better form?

Ah Seemab-e-Preshan, Anjum-e-Gardoon Faroz
Shoukh Ye Chingariyan, Mamnoon-e-Shab Hai Jin Ka Souz

Ah! Restless quicksilver, stars that light in the heavens!
These lively sparks, whose shining is indebted to the darkness of the night.

Aqal Jis Se Sar Ba Zanu Hai Woh Muddat Un Ki Hai
Sargazisht-e-Nu-e-Insan Aik Saa’at In Ki Hai

Knowledge bows in humility to the length of their life.
One hour of theirs is the life‐story of mankind.

Phir Ye Insan, Aan Sooye Aflaak Hai Jis Ki Nazar
Qudsiyon Se Bhi Maqasid Mein Hai Jo Pakeeza Tar

But then a man it is who casts his sight to the heavens,
And in his purpose he is purer than even the angels.

Jo Misal-e-Shama Roshan Mehfil-e-Qudrat Mein Hai
Saman Ek Nukta Jis Ki Wusaat-e-Fitrat Mein Hai

Like a shining candle, he stands in the assembly of nature,
And in the vastness of his nature the sky is just a point.

Jis Ki Nadani Sadaqat Ke Liye Betaab Hai
Jis Ka Nakhun Saaz-e-Hasti Ke Liye Mizraab Hai

His lack of knowledge is anxious for truth.
His finger‐nail is the plectrum of the instrument of existence.

Shaola Ye Kamtar Hai Gadroon Ke Shararon Se Bhi Kya
Kama Baha Hai Aftab Apna Sitaron Se Bhi Kya

Is this flame then less bright than the sparks of the firmament?
Is this sun cheaper than the stars?

Tukhm-e-Gul Ki Ankh Zair-e-Khak Bhi Be-Khawab Hai
Kis Qadar Nashonama Ke Waste Be-Taab Hai

The eye of the seed of the flower is awake even under the soil.
How anxious it is to grow to maturity!

Zindagi Ka Shaola Iss Dane Mein Jo Mastoor Hai
Khudnumayi, Khudfazai Ke Liye Majboor Hai

The flame of life which is hidden in this seed
is compelled to show itself, to increase itself in growth.

Sardi-e-Marqad Se Bhi Afsurda Ho Sakta Nahin
Khak Mein Dab Kar Bhi Apna Souz Kho Sakta Nahin

It cannot be dispirited even in the coldness of the grave.
Even pressed into the soil, it cannot lose its passion.

Phool Ban Kar Apni Turbat Se Nikl Ata Hai Ye
Mout Se Goya Qabaye Zindagi Pata Hai Ye

It becomes a flower and rises from its coffin,
As if it acquires the clothes of life from death.

Hai Lehad Uss Quwwat-e-Aashufta Ki Sheeraza Band
Dalti Hai Gardan-e-Gardoon Mein Jo Apne Kumand

It is the grave that binds together this distracted power,
And casts its noose around the neck of the firmament.

Mout, Tajdeed-e-Mazaq-e-Zindagi Ka Naam Hai
Khawab Ke Parde Mein Baidari Ka Ek Paigham Hai

Death is the name of the renewal of the taste for life.
In the veil of sleep, it is a message of awakening.

Khugar-e-Parwaz Ko Parwaz Mein Dar Kuch Nahin
Mout Iss Gulshan Mein Juz Sanjeedan-e-Par Kuch Nahin

Those who are accustomed to flying have no fear of flying.
In this garden, death means nothing more than the poising of wings.

Kehte Hain Ahl-e-Jahan Dard-e-Ajal Hai La Dawa
Zakham-e-Furqat Waqt Ke Marham Se Pata Hai Shafa

People of the world say that the pain of death is incurable;
The wound of separation is healed by the balm of time.

Dil Magar, Ghum Merne Walon Ka Jahan Abad Hai
Halqa-e-Zanjeer-e-Subah-o-Shaam Se Azad Hai

But the heart which is filled by grief for the death
Is freed from the links of the chain of morning and evening.

Waqt Ke Afsoon Se Thamta Nala-e-Matam Nahin
Waqt Zakhm-e-Taigh-e-Furqat Ka Koi Marham Nahin

The lamentation of mourning is not stopped by the spell of time;
Time is no balm for the wound of the sword of separation.

Sar Pe Aa Jati Hai Jab Koi Musibat Nagahan
Ashak-e-Peham Dida-e-Insan Se Hote Hain Rawan

When a disaster suddenly befalls a man,
Tears continually flow from his eyes.

Rabt Ho Jata Hai Dil Ko Nala-o-Faryad Se
Khoon-e-Dil Behta Hai Ankhon Ki Sarshak Abad Se

There comes about a connection between the heart and lament and complaint;
The blood of the heart flows in the tears which fill the eyes.

Admi Taab-e-Shikeebai Se Go Mehroom Hai
Iss Ki Fitrat Mein Ye Ek Ehsas-e-Namaloom Hai

Although man is bereft of the strength of patience,
In his nature there is an undefinable sense.

Jouhar-e-Insan Adam Se Ashna Hota Nahin
Ankh Se Ghaeeb To Hota Hai Fana Hota Nahin

Man’s spirit does not know annihilation;
It may disappear from sight, but is not obliterated.

Rakht-e-Hasti Khak, Gham Ki Shaola Afshani Se Hai
Sard Ye Aag Iss Lateef Ehsas Ke Pani Se Hai

The apparel of existence is turned to ashes by the flames of grief;
This fire is put out by the water of that pleasant feeling.

Ah, Ye Zabt-e-Faghan Ghaflat Ki Khamoshi Nahin
Aa Gahi Hai Ye Dil Aasayi, Faramoshi Nahin

Ah! The suppression of lamentation is not the silence of indifference.
It is awareness that brings consolation, not forgetfulness.

Parda-e-Mashriq Se Jis Dam Jalwagar Hoti Hai Subah
Dagh Shab Ka Daman-e-Afaq Se Dhoti Hai Subah

As soon as the morning appears in its brightness from the veil of the east,
The morning washes the strain of the night from the garment of the skies.

Lala-e-Afsurda Ko Atish Qaba Karti Hai Ye
Be-Zuban Taeer Ko Sarmast-e-Nawa Karti Hai Ye

It clothes the fading tulip in a fiery cloak,
And it stirs the silent birds to ecstatic song.

Seena-e-Bulbul Ke Zindan Se Surood Azad Hai
Saikhron Naghmon Se Baad-e-Subahdam Abad Hai

The melody is freed from the prison of the nightingale’s breast.
The early morning breeze is full of a hundred tunes.

Khuftagan-e-Lala Zaar -o-Kuhsar-o-Roodbar
Hote Hain Akhir Uroos-e-Zindagi Se Humkinar

The sleepers of the garden of tulips, the flank
of the mountain and the rivers are at last by the side of life’s bride.

Ye Agar Aaeen-e-Hasti Hai Ke Ho Har Shaam Subah
Marqad-e-Insaan Ki Shab Ka Kyun Na Ho Anjaam Subah

If this is the law of existence that every evening turns into morning,
Why should not the end of the night of man’s tomb not be morning?

Daam-e-Seemeen-e-Takhiyul Hai Mera Afaqgeer
Kar Liya Hai Jis Se Teri Yaad Ko Main Ne Aseer

The net of my swift imagination captures the heavens;
By it I have captured your memory.

Yaad Se Teri Dil Dard Ashna Mamoor Hai
Kaise Kaabe Mein Duaon Se Faza Maamoor Hai

My heart which knows pain is full of your memory,
As in the Kaʹba, the air if filled with prayers.

Woh Faraeez Ka Taslsul Naam Hai Jis Ka Hayat
Jalwah Gahain Uss Ki Hai Lakhon Jahan-e-Be-Sabat

That chain of duties, whose name is life—
Its places of manifestation are thousands of unstable worlds.

Mukhtalif Har Manzil-e-Hasti Ki Rasm-o-Rah Hai
Akhrat Bhi Zindagi Ki Aik Joulangah Hai

Every stage of existence has different ways and customs;
The world to come is also a coursing‐field.

Hai Wahan Be-Hasili Kisht-e-Ajal Ke Waste
Saazgar Aab-o-Hawa Tukhm-e-Amal Ke Waste

There the tilled field of death produces no crop;
The climate is appropriate for the seed of action.

Noor-e-Fitrat Zulmat-e-Pekar Ka Zindaani Nahin
Tang Aesa Halqa-e-Afkaar-e-Insaani Nahin

The light of nature is not the prisoner of the darkness of the body;
The scope of human thought is not so narrow.

Zindagaani Thi Teri Mehtaab Se Tabinda Tar
Khoob Tar Tha Subah Ke Tare Se Bhi Tera Safar

Life was made brighter by your moonlight.
Your journey was also made better by the morning star.

Misl-e-Aewan-e-Sehar Marqad Furozan Ho Tera
Noor Se Maamoor Ye Khaki Shabisan Ho Tera

Like the halls of the dawn, may your grave be radiant!
May your dusty sleeping chamber be filled with light!

Asman Teri Lehad Par Shabnam Afshani Kare
Sabza-e-Nourasta Iss Ghar Ki Nighebani Kare

May the sky shed its dew upon your grave!
May the freshly grown verdure watch over your home!