[ghazals] [found in translation] [info]

04

Mohabbat Karne Wale

मोहब्बत करने वाले कम न होंगे

Poet
Hafeez Hoshiarpuri 1912–1973
Form
Ghazal nine couplets
Popularised by
Mehdi Hassan

This ghazal by Hafeez Hoshiarpuri explores themes of unfulfilled love, longing, and separation. The poet reflects on the idea that while there may be many admirers of the beloved, he himself will not be among them. He contrasts the weight of personal sorrow against the world’s collective grief, suggesting that the pain of loving and losing the beloved surpasses all other troubles. Despite the possibility of reunion, the scars of separation remain, making love a bittersweet experience. The poem captures heartbreak, quiet acceptance, and the melancholic fate of the unrequited lover.

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Poem and translation

  1. मोहब्बत करने वाले कम न होंगेतिरी महफ़िल में लेकिन हम न होंगे

    There will be no shortage of those who love you,But in your gathering, I will not be present.

    महफ़िलmehfil
    gathering

  2. मैं अक्सर सोचता हूँ फूल कब तकशरीक-ए-गिर्या-ए-शबनम न होंगे

    I often wonder, how long will flowersContinue to share the tears of the dewdrop?

    शरीक-ए-गिर्या-ए-शबनमsharīk-e-giryā-e-shabnam
    partners in the weeping of the dew

  3. ज़रा देर-आश्ना चश्म-ए-करम हैसितम ही इश्क़ में पैहम न होंगे

    Your merciful gaze is fleeting,Yet love is not always filled with suffering.

    देर-आश्नाder-āshnā
    slow to warm, late to recognise
    पैहमpaiham
    unceasing

  4. दिलों की उलझनें बढ़ती रहेंगीअगर कुछ मशवरे बाहम न होंगे

    The confusions of hearts will only grow,If lovers do not share their counsel.

    बाहमbāham
    together, mutual

  5. ज़माने भर के ग़म या इक तिरा ग़मये ग़म होगा तो कितने ग़म न होंगे

    The grief of the entire world or just your sorrow:If your pain exists, what other pains could remain?

  6. कहूँ बेदर्द क्यूँ अहल-ए-जहाँ कोवो मेरे हाल से महरम न होंगे

    Why should I call the people of the world heartless?They are simply unaware of my condition.

    अहल-ए-जहाँahl-e-jahāṅ
    the people of the world
    महरमmahram
    intimate with, privy to

  7. हमारे दिल में सैल-ए-गिर्या होगाअगर बा-दीदा-ए-पुर-नम न होंगे

    My heart will be flooded with tears,If my eyes do not carry their usual sorrow.

    सैल-ए-गिर्याsail-e-giryā
    a flood of weeping
    दीदा-ए-पुर-नमdīda-e-pur-nam
    tear-filled eyes

  8. अगर तू इत्तिफ़ाक़न मिल भी जाएतिरी फ़ुर्क़त के सदमे कम न होंगे

    Even if by some chance I meet you,The pain of separation will never diminish.

    इत्तिफ़ाक़नittifāqan
    by chance
    फ़ुर्क़तfurqat
    separation

  9. 'हफ़ीज़' उन से मैं जितना बद-गुमाँ हूँवो मुझ से उस क़दर बरहम न होंगे

    Hafeez, no matter how much I distrust them,They will never be as displeased with me as I am with them.

    'हफ़ीज़'Hafeez
    the poet’s pen name, signed into the last couplet
    बद-गुमाँbad-gumāṅ
    suspicious, mistrustful
    बरहमbarham
    angry, put out

Notes and sources

Text. Hafeez Hoshiarpuri’s nine couplets as published on Rekhta. Texts used here: Devanagari, transcription by Found in Translation.

Reading. The English translation sits beside the couplet it carries, matched by meaning rather than line by line. Glossary notes, shown when you select a couplet, explain single words; they are not translations.

Recordings.
  • Mehdi Hassan, from the audio archives of Lutfullah Khan, listed on Rekhta. Listen on YouTube
  • Iqbal Bano, archival upload listed on Rekhta. Listen on YouTube
  • Arooj Aftab, “Mohabbat”, from Vulture Prince (New Amsterdam, 2021). Official audio on the artist’s Bandcamp. Listen on Bandcamp
References.