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karo kaj jabiiN pe sar-e kafan-kaanti mohan soz
For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kms-karo-kaj-jabiiN-pe-sar-e-kafan-audio.mp3
Recitation
کرو کج جبیں پہ سرِ کفن ۔ کانتی موہن سوزؔ
۱
صفِ سرفروشاں کے واسطے شبِ تار تھی تری انجمن
ترے طالبوں کے ہجوم میں کوئی قیس تھا نہ تو کوہکن
۲
تری خامشی سے اے ہمنفس تیری آبرو تو بچی رہی
تو ذلیل ہوتا جہان میں بڑا معتبر تھا وہ راہزن
۳
وہ جو سارا مال و منال تھا وہ جو سارا لطف و جمال تھا
سبھی ریزہ ریزہ چلا گیا نہ گیا غیور کا بانکپن
۴
پسِ مرگ حاکمِ وقت نے یہ خراج مجھ کو عطا کیا
یہ مُرید لگتا ہے فیض کا کرو کج جبیں پہ سرِ کفن
करो कज जबीं पे सर-ए कफ़न – कान्ति मोहन सोज़
१
सफ़-ए सरफ़रोशाँ के वास्ते शब-ए तार थी तेरी अंजुमन
तेरे तालेबौं के हुजूम में कोई क़ैस था न तो कोहकन
२
तेरी ख़ामुशी से अए हमनफ़स, तेरी आब्रू तो बची रही
तू ज़लील होता जहान में, बढा मो’तबर था वो राहज़न
३
वो जो सारा माल-ओ-मनाल था, वो जो सारा लुत्फ़-ओ-जमाल था
सभी रेज़ा-रेज़ा चला गया, न गाया ग़यूर का बाँकपन
४
पस-ए मर्ग हाकिम-ए वक़्त ने ये ख़िराज मुझ को अता किया
“ये मुरीद लगता है फ़ैज़ का” – करो कज जबीं पे सर-ए कफ़न
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. soz-kanti mohan (1935-xxxx), muraadabad and dehli. His life is illustrative of prevailing bigotry and the pull of urdu. His father went to school only up to 4th grade but read a lot – urdu, faarsi, hindi and sanskrit. His father wanted him to learn faarsi and urdu; was staunchly against communalism but the son joined RSS before 6th grade and was dead set against urdu. Never learnt urdu script. However his diction and pronunciation of urdu was strictly enforced by his urdu loving father. He got a PhD in hindi but his father was unhappy and considered him uneducated. During his PhD, he taught at a college, befriended a couple of urdu teachers, his love of urdu language surfaced, he got disillusioned with RSS and left the saNgh. First memory of poetic composition 1948 with many nazm on gandhi. Read classical shu’araa in naagiri script. BA in muradabad, MA and PhD in dehli. Joined the communist party (marxist) in 1964. Dedicates his book to ranadive, calling him ‘the greatest advocate of the democratic rights of urdu language’. He had published writings, which he classifies as urdu, in hindi magazines where it was largely ignored. Finally, his friends persuaded him to compile his Ghazal which he got published in urdu script, in 1990, even if he himself could not read or write it. Also see faiz ahmed faiz – pas-e marg ham ne bhula diya.
1
saf1-e sarfaroshaaN2 ke vaaste3 shab4-e taar5 thi teri anjuman6
tere taaliboN7 ke hujuum8 meN koi qais9 thaa na tuu kohkan10 1.line/rank 2.those who offer their heads for sacrifice 3.for 4.dark 5.night 6.gathering 7.seeker, lover 8.crowd 9.legendary lover (majnuN) 10.farhaad, the mountain-digger
Both majnuN and farhaad are symbols of ideal lovers who sacrifice themselves for their love. But tonight, in the ranks of those willing to sacrifice their lives for the beloved (the homeland) the gathering was like a dark night (cheerless and hopeless) because among the lovers there was no one willing to step up to sacrifice themselves.
2
teri Khaamushi1 se aye ham-nafas2 teri aabruu3 to bachii4 rahi
tuu zaliil5 hotaa jahaan6 meN, baRaa mo’tabar7 thaa vo raahzan8 1.silence 2.companion, friend 3.honor 4.saved, protected 5.humiliated 6.world 7.respected, powerful 8.bandit, looter
O friend, your silence protected your reputation. If you had spoken up, if you had protested then you would have lost your reputation because the one who plundered us walked the world in high esteem. This couplet criticizes the silence of the good and the honor enjoyed by the corrupt. In a twisted world, the looter is respected, while the decent person stays silent to save face. The poet mourns this moral inversion.
3
voh jo saara maal-o-manaal1 tha, voh jo saara lutf-o-jamaal2 tha
sab hi reza-reza3 chalaa gaya, na gaaya Ghayuur4 kaa baaNkpan5 1.wealth and possessions 2.charm and beauty 3.shattered, fragmented 4.one with dignity, self-respect 5.elegance, swagger, proud bearing
All the beauty, the charm, the treasures; we lost them all shattered in pieces and scattered. What was not lost, what endured, was the proud and defiant bearing of those with dignity and self-respect.
4
pas-e-marg1 haakim2-e vaqt3 ne ye Khiraaj4 mujh ko ataa5 kiyaa
‘ye muriid6 lagtaa hai faiz7 kaa’ – karo kaj8 jabiiN9 pe sar-e-kafan10 1.after death 2.ruler 3.the time 4.tribute 5.granted 6.follower, disciple 7.faiz ahmed faiz 8.slanted, cocked, tilted 9.forehead, brow 10.crown piece/head piece of the shroud
A slanted/cocled cap on the brow is a sign of defiance. faiz ahmed faiz wanted to remain and look defiant even after death. He said …
karo kaj jabiiN pe sar-e kafan mere qaatiloN ko gumaaN na ho
keh Ghuruur-e ishq ka baaNkpan pas-e marg ham ne bhulaa diya
Here the ruler of the time pays a tribute to the dead poet soz (who is able to write even after his death). He instructs those around to cock the head-piece of his burial shroud because he seemed to have been a follower of faiz during his lifetime.
soz-kanti mohan (1935-xxxx), muraadabad and dehli. His life is illustrative of prevailing bigotry and the pull of urdu. His father went to school only up to 4th grade but read a lot – urdu, faarsi, hindi and sanskrit. His father wanted him to learn faarsi and urdu; was staunchly against communalism but the son joined RSS before 6th grade and was dead set against urdu. Never learnt urdu script. However his diction and pronunciation of urdu was strictly enforced by his urdu loving father. He got a PhD in hindi but his father was unhappy and considered him uneducated. During his PhD, he taught at a college, befriended a couple of urdu teachers, his love of urdu language surfaced, he got disillusioned with RSS and left the saNgh. First memory of poetic composition 1948 with many nazm on gandhi. Read classical shu’araa in naagiri script. BA in muradabad, MA and PhD in dehli. Joined the communist party (marxist) in 1964. Dedicates his book to ranadive, calling him ‘the greatest advocate of the democratic rights of urdu language’. He had published writings, which he classifies as urdu, in hindi magazines where it was largely ignored. Finally, his friends persuaded him to compile his Ghazal which he got published in urdu script, in 1990, even if he himself could not read or write it. Also see faiz ahmed faiz – pas-e marg ham ne bhula diya.
1
saf1-e sarfaroshaaN2 ke vaaste3 shab4-e taar5 thi teri anjuman6
tere taaliboN7 ke hujuum8 meN koi qais9 thaa na tuu kohkan10
1.line/rank 2.those who offer their heads for sacrifice 3.for 4.dark 5.night 6.gathering 7.seeker, lover 8.crowd 9.legendary lover (majnuN) 10.farhaad, the mountain-digger
Both majnuN and farhaad are symbols of ideal lovers who sacrifice themselves for their love. But tonight, in the ranks of those willing to sacrifice their lives for the beloved (the homeland) the gathering was like a dark night (cheerless and hopeless) because among the lovers there was no one willing to step up to sacrifice themselves.
2
teri Khaamushi1 se aye ham-nafas2 teri aabruu3 to bachii4 rahi
tuu zaliil5 hotaa jahaan6 meN, baRaa mo’tabar7 thaa vo raahzan8
1.silence 2.companion, friend 3.honor 4.saved, protected 5.humiliated 6.world 7.respected, powerful 8.bandit, looter
O friend, your silence protected your reputation. If you had spoken up, if you had protested then you would have lost your reputation because the one who plundered us walked the world in high esteem. This couplet criticizes the silence of the good and the honor enjoyed by the corrupt. In a twisted world, the looter is respected, while the decent person stays silent to save face. The poet mourns this moral inversion.
3
voh jo saara maal-o-manaal1 tha, voh jo saara lutf-o-jamaal2 tha
sab hi reza-reza3 chalaa gaya, na gaaya Ghayuur4 kaa baaNkpan5
1.wealth and possessions 2.charm and beauty 3.shattered, fragmented 4.one with dignity, self-respect 5.elegance, swagger, proud bearing
All the beauty, the charm, the treasures; we lost them all shattered in pieces and scattered. What was not lost, what endured, was the proud and defiant bearing of those with dignity and self-respect.
4
pas-e-marg1 haakim2-e vaqt3 ne ye Khiraaj4 mujh ko ataa5 kiyaa
‘ye muriid6 lagtaa hai faiz7 kaa’ – karo kaj8 jabiiN9 pe sar-e-kafan10
1.after death 2.ruler 3.the time 4.tribute 5.granted 6.follower, disciple 7.faiz ahmed faiz 8.slanted, cocked, tilted 9.forehead, brow 10.crown piece/head piece of the shroud
A slanted/cocled cap on the brow is a sign of defiance. faiz ahmed faiz wanted to remain and look defiant even after death. He said …
karo kaj jabiiN pe sar-e kafan mere qaatiloN ko gumaaN na ho
keh Ghuruur-e ishq ka baaNkpan pas-e marg ham ne bhulaa diya
Here the ruler of the time pays a tribute to the dead poet soz (who is able to write even after his death). He instructs those around to cock the head-piece of his burial shroud because he seemed to have been a follower of faiz during his lifetime.
The post karo kaj jabiiN pe sar-e kafan-kaanti mohan soz appeared first on UrduShahkar.
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For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kms-karo-kaj-jabiiN-pe-sar-e-kafan-audio.mp3
Recitation
کرو کج جبیں پہ سرِ کفن ۔ کانتی موہن سوزؔ
۱
صفِ سرفروشاں کے واسطے شبِ تار تھی تری انجمن
ترے طالبوں کے ہجوم میں کوئی قیس تھا نہ تو کوہکن
۲
تری خامشی سے اے ہمنفس تیری آبرو تو بچی رہی
تو ذلیل ہوتا جہان میں بڑا معتبر تھا وہ راہزن
۳
وہ جو سارا مال و منال تھا وہ جو سارا لطف و جمال تھا
سبھی ریزہ ریزہ چلا گیا نہ گیا غیور کا بانکپن
۴
پسِ مرگ حاکمِ وقت نے یہ خراج مجھ کو عطا کیا
یہ مُرید لگتا ہے فیض کا کرو کج جبیں پہ سرِ کفن
करो कज जबीं पे सर-ए कफ़न – कान्ति मोहन सोज़
१
सफ़-ए सरफ़रोशाँ के वास्ते शब-ए तार थी तेरी अंजुमन
तेरे तालेबौं के हुजूम में कोई क़ैस था न तो कोहकन
२
तेरी ख़ामुशी से अए हमनफ़स, तेरी आब्रू तो बची रही
तू ज़लील होता जहान में, बढा मो’तबर था वो राहज़न
३
वो जो सारा माल-ओ-मनाल था, वो जो सारा लुत्फ़-ओ-जमाल था
सभी रेज़ा-रेज़ा चला गया, न गाया ग़यूर का बाँकपन
४
पस-ए मर्ग हाकिम-ए वक़्त ने ये ख़िराज मुझ को अता किया
“ये मुरीद लगता है फ़ैज़ का” – करो कज जबीं पे सर-ए कफ़न
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. soz-kanti mohan (1935-xxxx), muraadabad and dehli. His life is illustrative of prevailing bigotry and the pull of urdu. His father went to school only up to 4th grade but read a lot – urdu, faarsi, hindi and sanskrit. His father wanted him to learn faarsi and urdu; was staunchly against communalism but the son joined RSS before 6th grade and was dead set against urdu. Never learnt urdu script. However his diction and pronunciation of urdu was strictly enforced by his urdu loving father. He got a PhD in hindi but his father was unhappy and considered him uneducated. During his PhD, he taught at a college, befriended a couple of urdu teachers, his love of urdu language surfaced, he got disillusioned with RSS and left the saNgh. First memory of poetic composition 1948 with many nazm on gandhi. Read classical shu’araa in naagiri script. BA in muradabad, MA and PhD in dehli. Joined the communist party (marxist) in 1964. Dedicates his book to ranadive, calling him ‘the greatest advocate of the democratic rights of urdu language’. He had published writings, which he classifies as urdu, in hindi magazines where it was largely ignored. Finally, his friends persuaded him to compile his Ghazal which he got published in urdu script, in 1990, even if he himself could not read or write it. Also see faiz ahmed faiz – pas-e marg ham ne bhula diya.
1
saf1-e sarfaroshaaN2 ke vaaste3 shab4-e taar5 thi teri anjuman6
tere taaliboN7 ke hujuum8 meN koi qais9 thaa na tuu kohkan10 1.line/rank 2.those who offer their heads for sacrifice 3.for 4.dark 5.night 6.gathering 7.seeker, lover 8.crowd 9.legendary lover (majnuN) 10.farhaad, the mountain-digger
Both majnuN and farhaad are symbols of ideal lovers who sacrifice themselves for their love. But tonight, in the ranks of those willing to sacrifice their lives for the beloved (the homeland) the gathering was like a dark night (cheerless and hopeless) because among the lovers there was no one willing to step up to sacrifice themselves.
2
teri Khaamushi1 se aye ham-nafas2 teri aabruu3 to bachii4 rahi
tuu zaliil5 hotaa jahaan6 meN, baRaa mo’tabar7 thaa vo raahzan8 1.silence 2.companion, friend 3.honor 4.saved, protected 5.humiliated 6.world 7.respected, powerful 8.bandit, looter
O friend, your silence protected your reputation. If you had spoken up, if you had protested then you would have lost your reputation because the one who plundered us walked the world in high esteem. This couplet criticizes the silence of the good and the honor enjoyed by the corrupt. In a twisted world, the looter is respected, while the decent person stays silent to save face. The poet mourns this moral inversion.
3
voh jo saara maal-o-manaal1 tha, voh jo saara lutf-o-jamaal2 tha
sab hi reza-reza3 chalaa gaya, na gaaya Ghayuur4 kaa baaNkpan5 1.wealth and possessions 2.charm and beauty 3.shattered, fragmented 4.one with dignity, self-respect 5.elegance, swagger, proud bearing
All the beauty, the charm, the treasures; we lost them all shattered in pieces and scattered. What was not lost, what endured, was the proud and defiant bearing of those with dignity and self-respect.
4
pas-e-marg1 haakim2-e vaqt3 ne ye Khiraaj4 mujh ko ataa5 kiyaa
‘ye muriid6 lagtaa hai faiz7 kaa’ – karo kaj8 jabiiN9 pe sar-e-kafan10 1.after death 2.ruler 3.the time 4.tribute 5.granted 6.follower, disciple 7.faiz ahmed faiz 8.slanted, cocked, tilted 9.forehead, brow 10.crown piece/head piece of the shroud
A slanted/cocled cap on the brow is a sign of defiance. faiz ahmed faiz wanted to remain and look defiant even after death. He said …
karo kaj jabiiN pe sar-e kafan mere qaatiloN ko gumaaN na ho
keh Ghuruur-e ishq ka baaNkpan pas-e marg ham ne bhulaa diya
Here the ruler of the time pays a tribute to the dead poet soz (who is able to write even after his death). He instructs those around to cock the head-piece of his burial shroud because he seemed to have been a follower of faiz during his lifetime.
soz-kanti mohan (1935-xxxx), muraadabad and dehli. His life is illustrative of prevailing bigotry and the pull of urdu. His father went to school only up to 4th grade but read a lot – urdu, faarsi, hindi and sanskrit. His father wanted him to learn faarsi and urdu; was staunchly against communalism but the son joined RSS before 6th grade and was dead set against urdu. Never learnt urdu script. However his diction and pronunciation of urdu was strictly enforced by his urdu loving father. He got a PhD in hindi but his father was unhappy and considered him uneducated. During his PhD, he taught at a college, befriended a couple of urdu teachers, his love of urdu language surfaced, he got disillusioned with RSS and left the saNgh. First memory of poetic composition 1948 with many nazm on gandhi. Read classical shu’araa in naagiri script. BA in muradabad, MA and PhD in dehli. Joined the communist party (marxist) in 1964. Dedicates his book to ranadive, calling him ‘the greatest advocate of the democratic rights of urdu language’. He had published writings, which he classifies as urdu, in hindi magazines where it was largely ignored. Finally, his friends persuaded him to compile his Ghazal which he got published in urdu script, in 1990, even if he himself could not read or write it. Also see faiz ahmed faiz – pas-e marg ham ne bhula diya.
1
saf1-e sarfaroshaaN2 ke vaaste3 shab4-e taar5 thi teri anjuman6
tere taaliboN7 ke hujuum8 meN koi qais9 thaa na tuu kohkan10
1.line/rank 2.those who offer their heads for sacrifice 3.for 4.dark 5.night 6.gathering 7.seeker, lover 8.crowd 9.legendary lover (majnuN) 10.farhaad, the mountain-digger
Both majnuN and farhaad are symbols of ideal lovers who sacrifice themselves for their love. But tonight, in the ranks of those willing to sacrifice their lives for the beloved (the homeland) the gathering was like a dark night (cheerless and hopeless) because among the lovers there was no one willing to step up to sacrifice themselves.
2
teri Khaamushi1 se aye ham-nafas2 teri aabruu3 to bachii4 rahi
tuu zaliil5 hotaa jahaan6 meN, baRaa mo’tabar7 thaa vo raahzan8
1.silence 2.companion, friend 3.honor 4.saved, protected 5.humiliated 6.world 7.respected, powerful 8.bandit, looter
O friend, your silence protected your reputation. If you had spoken up, if you had protested then you would have lost your reputation because the one who plundered us walked the world in high esteem. This couplet criticizes the silence of the good and the honor enjoyed by the corrupt. In a twisted world, the looter is respected, while the decent person stays silent to save face. The poet mourns this moral inversion.
3
voh jo saara maal-o-manaal1 tha, voh jo saara lutf-o-jamaal2 tha
sab hi reza-reza3 chalaa gaya, na gaaya Ghayuur4 kaa baaNkpan5
1.wealth and possessions 2.charm and beauty 3.shattered, fragmented 4.one with dignity, self-respect 5.elegance, swagger, proud bearing
All the beauty, the charm, the treasures; we lost them all shattered in pieces and scattered. What was not lost, what endured, was the proud and defiant bearing of those with dignity and self-respect.
4
pas-e-marg1 haakim2-e vaqt3 ne ye Khiraaj4 mujh ko ataa5 kiyaa
‘ye muriid6 lagtaa hai faiz7 kaa’ – karo kaj8 jabiiN9 pe sar-e-kafan10
1.after death 2.ruler 3.the time 4.tribute 5.granted 6.follower, disciple 7.faiz ahmed faiz 8.slanted, cocked, tilted 9.forehead, brow 10.crown piece/head piece of the shroud
A slanted/cocled cap on the brow is a sign of defiance. faiz ahmed faiz wanted to remain and look defiant even after death. He said …
karo kaj jabiiN pe sar-e kafan mere qaatiloN ko gumaaN na ho
keh Ghuruur-e ishq ka baaNkpan pas-e marg ham ne bhulaa diya
Here the ruler of the time pays a tribute to the dead poet soz (who is able to write even after his death). He instructs those around to cock the head-piece of his burial shroud because he seemed to have been a follower of faiz during his lifetime.
The post karo kaj jabiiN pe sar-e kafan-kaanti mohan soz appeared first on UrduShahkar.