For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.

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Recitation

آواز  تو  دیکھو  ۔  مومن  خاں  مومنؔ

۱

آنکھوں  سے  حیا  ٹپکے  ہے  انداز  تو  دیکھو

ہے  بوالہوسوں  پر  بھی  سِتم  ناز  تو  دیکھو

۲

اُس  بت  کے  لیے  میں  ہوسِ  حور  سے  گزرا

اس  عشقِ  خوش  انجام  کا  آغاز  تو  دیکھو

۳

چشمک  مری  وحشت  پہ  ہے  کیا  حضرتِ  ناصح

طرزِ  نگہِ  چشمِ  فسوں  ساز  تو  دیکھو

۴

اربابِ  ہوس  ہار  کے  بھی  جان  پہ  کھیلے

کم  طالعیِ  عاشقِ  جاں  باز  تو  دیکھو

۵

مجلس  میں  مرے  ذکر  کے  آتے  ہی  اُٹھے  وہ

بدنامیِ  عشاق  کا  اعزاز  تو  دیکھو

۶

محفل  میں  تم  اغیار  کو  دُزدیدہ  نظر  سے

منظور  ہے  پنہاں  نہ  رہے  راز  تو  دیکھو

۷

اُس  غیرتِ  ناہید  کی  ہر  تان  ہے  دیپک

شعلہ  سا  لپک  جائے  ہے  آواز  تو  دیکھو

۸

دیں  پاکیِ  دامن  کی  گواہی  مرے  آنسو

اُس  یوسفِ  بے  درد  کا  اعجاز  تو  دیکھو

۹

جنّت  میں  بھی  مومنؔ  نہ  ملا  ہائے  بتوں  سے

جَورِ  اَجلِ  تفرقہ  پرداز  تو  دیکھو

आवाज़ तो देखो – मोमिन ख़ां मोमिन

१

आँखों से हया टपके है अंदाज़ तो देखो

है बुल-हवसौं पर भी सितम नाज़ तो देखो

२

उस बुत के लिये मैं हवस-ए हूर से गुज़रा

इस इश्क़-ए ख़ुश-अंजाम का आग़ाज़ तो देखो

३

चश्मक मेरी वहशत पे है क्या हज़रत-ए नासेह

तर्ज़-ए निगह-ए चश्म-ए फ़ुसूँ-साज़ तो देखो

४

अरबाब-ए हवस हार के भी जान पे खेले

कम-ताल’ई-ए आशेक़-ए जाँ-बाज़ तो देखो

५

मज्लिस में मेरे ज़िक्र के आते ही उठे वो

बदनामी-ए उश्शाक़ का एज़ाज़ तो देखो

६

महफ़िल में तुम अग़्यार को दुज़-दीदा नज़र से

मंज़ूर है पिन्हाँ न रहे राज़ तो देखो

७

उस ग़ैरत-ए नाहीद की हर तान है दीपक

शो’ला सा लपक जाए है आवाज़ तो देखो

८

दें पाकी-ए दामन की गवाही मेरे आँसू

उस यूसुफ़-ए बेदर्द का ए’जाज़ तो देखो

९

जन्नत में भी मोमिन न मिला हाए बुतों से

जौर-ए अजल-ए तफ़रक़ा-पर्दाज़ तो देखो

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. momin KhaaN momin (1800-1852), was a hakim following the profession of his father and grandfather. momin received education in arabi, faarsi, urdu and in medicine, mathematics, and astrology – which must have involved some study of astronomy, which he uses in his compositions. momin composed unabashedly about romantic themes with much witticism on his taKhallus.

momin KhaaN momin (1800-1852), was a hakim following the profession of his father and grandfather.  momin received education in arabi, faarsi, urdu and in medicine, mathematics, and astrology – which must have involved some study of astronomy, which he uses in his compositions.  momin composed unabashedly about romantic themes with much witticism on his taKhallus.

1.shyness, playfully coy 2.mannerism 3.greedy, lustful 4.torture 5.pride, confidence, coquetry

The beloved’s sidelong glances cause the lover to pine for her.  In addition to that, because her eyes drip with shyness/coyness, even on lustful admirers her shy/coy look is like torture because they like a direct look, direct access; they have no appreciation of subtlety.  Thus, her looks cause torture both to sincere lovers like the poet and to lustful admirers like the rival.  The word ‘bhi‘ in the second misra is key to this interpretation.

1.idol, beloved 2.desire for hoor (in heaven) 3.went past, gave up 4.good/desirable result 5.beginning

This is a wonderful play on words which creates unexpected twists in meaning.  In the first misra ‘havas‘, meaning lust is not a good thing.  But leaving the lust of hoor may be considered a good thing IF it means offering worship/devotion without expecting reward.  But here it means he left all the desire for heaven, did not stick to the straight code, and went for love of the beloved i.e., gave up a pious life (heavenly rewards) chasing after the beloved.  In the second misra ‘Khush anjaam‘ is used in a sarcastic sense.  In urdu poetic convention, love is usually not Khush anjaam.   Thus, the beginning of this love was not so good (straying from the straight and narrow-moving away from the path to heaven), now see what the anjaam might be.  An alternative interpretation might be that if Khush anjaam is meant to really a good result; the lover may be anticipating a good result, then the bad beginning was worthwhile.

1.wink, or stern look 2.frenzy/madness (of love) 3.purist/moralist 4.style 5.glance 6.eye 7.enchantment creating

chashmak is used both as a titillating wink/glance of the beloved or as the stern reproof of the naaseh.  Since the first misra unambiguously says that the naaseh is looking at the frenzy of the lover, it must be a disapproving look.  Thus, why do you look at me disapprovingly, O naaseh look at the style of those enchanting creating eyes (and then tell me if my frenzy is not justified).

1.keepers, friends 2.lust 3.bad omen, poor luck 4.life risking

In urdu poetic tradition the poet is the ‘true’ lover willing to sacrifice himself for the happiness of the beloved.  The rival, on the other hand, is driven by lust.  Even though the rivals lost out, they still wagered their lives to win back the affections of the beloved.  How unlucky is the poet/lover even though he was always willing to lay down his life.

1.gathering 2.mention 3.disrepute 4.lovers 5.respect, consideration

In the gathering, when someone brought up the poet/lover’s name, the beloved got up and left.  The poet/lover attributes this to her respect/consideration of her lovers.  She does not want to hear anything disreputable about her lover(s).

1.gathering 2.others, rivals 3.stolen, sidelong glances 4.acceptable 5.hidden 6.secret

Warning the beloved that her secret will be out.  If it is acceptable to you that your secret be revealed, then do look at rivals with side-long glances.  It appears that he wants to use any excuse to dissuade the beloved from looking at rivals.

1.envy of Venus 2.note 3.deepak raag 4.flame 5.flare up

The beloved is so beautiful that she is the envy of Venus.  On top of that her voice is musical … the juxtaposition of sound and light is beautiful here … every note of hers is like deepak raag which is reputed to start fires.  It seems like the flame flares up every time she speaks.  Also, in iranian mythology nahiid’s mother is godess of fire.

1.cleanliness of the hem (of the robe) 2.witness 3.cruel beauty 4.miracle

paak-daamani is an expression, literally meaning clean hem of the robe, but an expression used to mean above reproach, blameless.  yousuf/Joseph was reputedly very beautiful and is often used as a symbol of beauty and here yousuf-e bedard is used to mean the cruel beloved.  Biblical/qur’aanic legend has it that once when yousuf was accused of something, an innocent child attested to his innocence.  In urdu poetic tradition, tears have the same status as childlike innocence.  Thus the tears of lover bear witness to the blamelessness of the cruel beloved.  Just look at her miraculous act … on the one hand she makes the lover shed tears, and on the other hand gets the advantage of those tears in proving her own purity.

1.heaven 2.pen-name of the poet 3.idols, beloved 4.cruelty 5.death 6.difference creating, discriminating, favouritism

During life momin (the poet) never got to meet the beloved because she always shunned him (that is what the beloved does).  Even in heaven he did not get to meet her.  Does this mean he is putting down hoors as inferior to his beloved?  All this was because of the cruelty of the (biased) favouritism of Death.  Now consider the alternative meaning of momin … the pious man.  He stayed away from the beloved in this world, and missed out.  Inspite of that he did not get to heaven and no hoories in his fate.

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