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

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/mKhm-kafan-ki-fikr-meN-audio.mp3

Recitation

کفن  کی  فکر  میں  ۔  مومن  خاں  مومنؔ

۱

غنچہ  ساں  خاموش  بیٹھے  ہیں  سخن  کی  فکر  میں

قافیہ  کیا  تنگ  ہے  وصفِ  دہن  کی  فکر  میں

۲

دامنِ  قاتل  کو  وقتِ  قتل  کیوں  کر  چھوڑتی

بے  کسی  سے  جان  تھی  اپنی  کفن  کی  فکر  میں

۳

شوق  مُردن  کو  بھی  سامانِ  سفر  درکار  تھا

سو  ہے  از  خود  رفتگی  ترکِ  وطن  کی  فکر  میں

۴

تلخیِ  خسرو  ہو  شیریں  کام  شادی  مرگ  کیا

جاں  کنی  ہے  انتقام  کوہکن  کی  فکر  میں

۵

وہمِ  عشقِ  لالہ  رُو  سے  داغِ  دل  کیا  کیا  کِھلے

جان  کر  گُلچیں  کو  تاراجِ  چمن  کی  فکر  میں

۶

سر  سے  شعلے  اُٹھتے  ہیں  کس  طرح  روکوں  کیا  کروں

جل  گیا  جی  ضبطِ  آہِ  شعلہ  زن  کی  فکر  میں

۷

ہے  گریباں  گیر  واں  نازِ  تغافل  اب  تلک

جی  جلا  یاں  باعثِ  دیر  آمدن  کی  فکر  میں

۸

دردِ  بے  درماں  مرا  مِنّت  کش  مرہم  نہیں

داغِ  نو  ہے  چارۂ  داغِ  کہن  کی  فکر  میں

۹

گر  یقینی  واں  دعا  ہوتی  ہے  اے  مومنؔ  قبول

جائیں  گے  کعبہ  بھی  طفلِ  برہمن  کی  فکر  میں

कफ़न की फ़िक्र में – मोमिन ख़ाँ मोमिन

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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.like/similar to an unblossomed bud 2.verse, words 3.worry, thought 4.rhyming phrase 5.restricted, limited 6.praise 7.mouth

The poet sits, silently, with his lips pursed like an unblossomed bud; lost in thought, trying to think of appropriate rhyming phrases.  He wonders why the rhyme feels so restrictive when he tries to describe the beauty of the beloved’s lips.  It is noteworthy that tight lips are juxtaposed with an unblossomed bud, which will bloom and what will out is the fragrance of the poet’s verse.

1.hem of the garment 2.killer 3.killing, slaughter 4.how 5.helplessness 6.life 7.burial shroud 8.thought, worry

The beloved is the killer, slaughtering the poet/lover.  How could his life have let go of the killers robe.  Because of its helplessness, it held tight the hem of the robe, worrying/thinking about his burial shroud.  Culturally, making arrangements for their own funeral, well before death, is an important responsibility of everyone.  His be-kasi helplessness was such that this is all he could think of as an arrangement for his shroud.

1.desire 2.death 3.provisions 4.journey 5.needed, necessary 6.hence there is 7.literally running away from self, unself-consciousness, erasing ego 8.departing 9.homeland, earth

Even the desire for death requires provisions for the journey.  The poet/seeker has made arrangements for his journey.  What are these arrangements/provisions – the act of unself-consciousnes, the act of forgetting self-identity, erasing the ego, detachment from the material world and getting ready to merge with the universal spirit in preparation of tark-e vatan.

1.bitterness 2.ancient Persian monarch 3.of shiiriiN-farhaad legend, also means sweet 4.throat 5.celebration 6.death 7.agony of death 8.revenge 9.stone-mason, farhaad

This has reference to the legend of shiiriiN-farhaad.  In addition, the word shiiriiN-kaam – sweet throat is used to mean good taste, pleasure, comfort.  farhaad, a stone-mason was hired to work on the palace of Khusro.  He falls deeply and sincerely in love with shiiriin and Khusro, just to get rid of his pestilence sets him an impossible task as a condition of winning the hand of shiiriin.  He almost succeeds in digging a channel through the mountain as a part of the conditions set.  An alarmed Khusro causes a rumour to spread that shiiriin has died.  Distraught, farhaad kills himself with his own pickaxe.  Says the poet – how can the celebration of death (of farhaad) ‘sweeten the throat’ of the bitterness of Khusro.  The agony of death is bent upon taking revenge for the death of kohkan-farhaad.  Thus, Khusro will never be able to derive any pleasure from the rival’s death.

1.suspicion, illusion 2.tulip-faced, beautiful 3.wounds 4.blossomed 5.knowing 6.flower-picker 7.plundering

In urdu poetic tradition the gulchiiN the flower-picker, picks off the rose, leaving its lover the bulbul to sing mournful songs.  Here the gulchiiN is the rival.  The rival suspects that the tulip-faced beloved favours the poet/lover.  In a fit of jealousy/anger, he is getting ready to plunder the garden.  Learing about this, knowing this the poet’s heart-wounds are refreshed … they begin to bleed, blossom into red colour like flowers – daaGh-e dil ke phool khile.

1.flames 2.way, method 3.stop 4.heart 5.restraint, self-control 6.sigh 7.flame creating

The poet/lover has restrained his fiery sighs for fear that they will set fires all around.  But the result was that they set his heart on fire and now flames are shooting higher than his head and he feels helpless not knowing what to do, how to stop them.

1.holding the collar, fighting 2.over there 3.pride 4.indifference 5.heart, soul 6.over here 7.basis, reason 8.late arrival 9.worry

The beloved is proud of her indifference towards her lovers.  Although she has promised to come, she is garebaaN-giir – struggling/fighting her pride of indifference.  While this is going on, the poet’s heart/life/soul burns worrying about what the cause of her delay might be.

1.pain, sickness 2.incurable 3.under the obligation of 4.ointment, remedy 5.wound 6.new 7.remedy, cure, healing 8.old

The poet laments (or perhaps he is proud) that his incurable pain does not bear the obligation of any remedy i.e., no ointment works on it.   If he thinks/worries about the old wound, then a new wound appears.  Thus, he should simply give up and accept pain as a part of his life.

1.if 2.certainty 3.over there 4.pen-name 5.accepted, granted 6.child

It was common in urdu poetry of the era to depict the beloved as a pre-adolescent child – sometimes as the child of a brahmin priest.  Thus, if it is certain (as they say) that your prayers are granted at the k’aaba, then I will go there and pray for the love of the beloved (portrayed here as a pre-adolescent brahmin child).  In a roundabout way this simply makes fun of the conventional belief that prayers are granted at the k’aaba.  In addition, it tries to break ritualistic prohibitions.  This should not be interpreted as child molestation in real life.

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