woh su'ey laalah zaar phirtey haiN

abu Hasan

abu Hasan

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woh su’ey laalah zaar phirtey haiN
tere din ay bahaar phirtey haiN

jo terey dar se yaar phirtey haiN
dar ba dar yuN hi khaar phirtey haiN

aah kal `aysh to kiye hum ne
aaj woh be qaraar phirtey haiN

un ke eemaa sey donoN baagoN par
khayl e layl o nahaar phirtey haiN

har charaaghe mazaar par qudsee
kaysa parwaanah waar phirtey haiN

us gali kaa gadaa huN maiN jis meiN
maangtey taajdaar phirtey haiN

jaan haiN jaan kyaa nazar aaye
kyuN `adu gird e ghaar phirtey haiN

phuul kyaa dekhuN meri aankhoN meiN
dasht e taybah ke khaar phirtey haiN

laakhoN qudsi haiN kaam e khidmat par
laakhoN gird e mazaar phirtey haiN

wardiyaN boltey haiN har kaarey
pahra detey sawaar phirtey haiN

rakhiye jaise haiN khaana zaad haiN hum
mol ke `ayb daar phirtey haiN

haay ghaafil woh kyaa jagaah hai jahaaN
paanch jaatey haiN chaar phirtey haiN

bayeN rastey na jaa musaafir sun
maal ke raah maar phirtey haiN

jaag sun saan ban hai raat aayee
gurg bahr e shikaar phirtey haiN

nafs ye koyi chaal hai zaalim
jayse khaaSey bijaar phirtey haiN

koyi kyuN puuche teri baat razaa
tujh se shaydaa hazaar phirtey haiN
 
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Assalamu 'Alaikum



Is this the na'at which Imam Rida (rahimahullah) wrote when he wished to see the dear Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) whilst the Imam was in Madinah Shareef? And then, the next day, his wish was fulfilled?



Wassalam
 
Translation of "Woh su'ey laalah zaar phirtey haiN" (for Haroon)

woh su’ey laalah zaar phirtey haiN

tere din ay bahaar phirtey haiN

He is coming towards the tulip-fields
Your fortune, O' Spring, is about to shine!




jo terey dar se yaar phirtey haiN

dar ba dar yuN hi khaar phirtey haiN


Those who turn away from your gate, Beloved
Wander aimlessly, disgraced, from door to door

aah kal `aysh to kiye hum ne

aaj woh be qaraar phirtey haiN

Alas! We spent our yesterdays seeking pleasure
And today he is anxious on our behalf!

[note: this is a description of Judgement Day. The Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم
is concerned about the welfare of His Ummah!]


har charaaghe mazaar par qudsee

kaysa parwaanah waar phirtey haiN

At every lamp around his tomb
Angels do throng like moths!

us gali kaa gadaa huN maiN jis meiN

maangtey taajdaar phirtey haiN

I'm a beggar of that alley in which
Even kings wander like beggars!


jaan haiN jaan kyaa nazar aaye

kyuN `adu gird e ghaar phirtey haiN

They are as the soul; why should they be visible?
The enemies wander pointlessly around the cave!

[Note: an allusion to the incident when during the Hegira, the Prophet and Sayyidina Abu Bakr hid in the cave and the pagan Arabs searched for them fruitlessly outside]

phuul kyaa dekhuN meri aankhoN meiN

dasht e taybah ke khaar phirtey haiN

How can I notice the flowers? In my eyes
Are swimming the thorns of Madina's dust.


laakhoN qudsi haiN kaam e khidmat par

laakhoN gird e mazaar phirtey haiN

Countless angels are there as servants
Countless angels circumambulate the Tomb



rakhiye jaise haiN khaana zaad haiN hum

mol ke `ayb daar phirtey haiN

Accept us however we are, for we are of thy nation
Many such worthy sinners do wander here!



haay ghaafil woh kyaa jagaah hai jahaaN

paanch jaatey haiN chaar phirtey haiN

Ah! What place is that O' forgetful one?
Where five go, four circumambulate! [3]

[Note: The Imam addresses himself as forgetful [ghafil]. The 5 I think could be the Five Pure Ones -i.e. Ali, Hassan, Husayn, Fatima, Rasul e Paak and the 4 could be the 4 righteous caliphs -- Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali. Allah knows best. Or it could mean the 4 archangels--Gabriel, Michael, Seraphel, Azrael. Allah knows best]


jaag sun saan ban hai raat aayee

gurg bahr e shikaar phirtey haiN


Awaken! Tis quiet and dangerous, night approaches
Wolves are circling here on a hunt!



nafs ye koyi chaal hai zaalim

jayse khaaSey bijaar phirtey haiN

Is this a trick of yours O' Ego?
As if such profligates wander around here!
koyi kyuN puuche teri baat razaa

tujh se kuttay hazaar phirtey haiN

Why should anyone ask about you O' Raza?
Many dogs like you wander here in this place!

[Note: Many blockheaded Wahabis use this last verse in which
the peerless Imam, our Shaykh, Imam Ah.mad Rid.a Khan, to accuse the Imam of disrespect since he uses a metaphor and compares himself to a dog. Their idiotic argument is that, 'how can a pious person stoop so low that he compares himself to a dog?' These mentally challenged people do not understand allusion, simile or metaphor. It is actually a sign of the Imam's extreme humility in front of the Noble Rawdah that he is saying, in effect, Ya Rasul Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم , I know that I am worthless compared to the many holy people who come to visit you all the time, but please hear my plea too! So it actually shows the Imam's humility.

The icing on the cake is that the Imam's plea was answered and he was honoured with a vision of His Habib صلى الله عليه وسلم after he had recited this naat.Subhan Allah! After that favour he wrote, 'Tujhe hamd hai Khudaya'...


--Asif
[/b]
Click to expand...
:s1:

The above transliteration was by Sidi Abu Hasan. I have attempted a translation (in red)as requested--not a literal one but one which, I hope, gets the meaning across insha Allah.
 
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wonderful, dear asif. barakAllah.

few queries:

(1) jaan haiN jaan kyaa nazar aaye

kyuN `adu gird e ghaar phirtey haiN

They are as the soul; why should they be visible?
The enemies wander pointlessly around the cave!

haiN could mean plural as you translated as They but I think it is singular referring to Rasulullah sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam alone. but it says haiN due to respect, not to show plurality. as the Qur'an says We for Allah but this is to show His majesty and obviously not his being more than one.

(2) haay ghaafil woh kyaa jagaah hai jahaaN

paanch jaatey haiN chaar phirtey haiN

Ah! What place is that O' forgetful one?
Where five go, four circumambulate! [3]

[Note: The Imam addresses himself as forgetful [ghafil]. The 5 I think could be the Five Pure Ones -i.e. Ali, Hassan, Husayn, Fatima, Rasul e Paak and the 4 could be the 4 righteous caliphs -- Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali. Allah knows best. Or it could mean the 4 archangels--Gabriel, Michael, Seraphel, Azrael. Allah knows best]

I think it means 5 go to Madina but only 4 return. One stays there never to return.

(3) koyi kyuN puuche teri baat razaa

tujh se kuttay hazaar phirtey haiN

Why should anyone ask about you O' Raza?
Many dogs like you wander here in this place!


alaHazrat said kuttay and our master 'Umar said I am like a camel, I go where my master wishes sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam.

would the wahabiya say about 'Umar and the camel what they say about Rida and the dog?

jahaN wahabi wahaN 'aql nahiN
jahaN 'aql wahaN wahabi nahiN








 
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Good points Sidi Aqdas! But I think when Ala Hazrat wrote 'five' and 'four' he had someone specific in mind.

I used the plural 'hain' for the verse about the Cave as I think that the episode
of the Cave is one in which Sayyidina Abu Bakr :ra: and Huzoor Paak صلى الله عليه وسلم are
always mentioned together. But your interpretation is also possible. That's poetry's greatness.

Yes, Wahabis are braindead!
 
salam,

Ah! What place is that O' forgetful one?
Where five go, four circumambulate!
Click to expand...
If I'm not mistaken then a'ala 'hazrat is speaking of 5 senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste), that a pilgrim goes there with his five senses, but returns with four only which are hearing, touch, smell and tast. pilgrim never forgets that view, as if his eyes are still looking at the blessed golden fence. actually it is heart which does not come back, but ala-hazrat used the sense of sight for his heart, and the relation of eyes with heart is very obvious.

here a'ala hazrat used 'phirtay hain' to mean 'returns from there' because he used 'jatay hain' in first line of the couplet.
 
(1) jaan haiN jaan kyaa nazar aaye

kyuN `adu gird e ghaar phirtey haiN

jaan means life. the life in us, one cannot see. it is invisible. same way, Rasulullah sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam is the jaan of this universe. hence, how can the 'adu see him in the ghaar? because the jaan is invisible.
 
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  • haay ghaafil woh kyaa jagaah hai jahaaN

    paanch jaatey haiN chaar phirtey haiN


    Ah! What place is that O' forgetful one?
    Where five go, four circumambulate!
By "place", Imam Ahmad Raza Khan ('alayhi al-rahmah) means the graveyard. He is admonishing himself, you see. By "five" he means the four who carry the bier to the graveyard plus the deceased; four come back after laying the deceased to rest, the deceased remains, of course. [Al-Haqa'iq fi al-Hada'iq, Shaykh Fayz Ahmad Uwaysi]

a brother sent me the above explanation.
 
salam,

that's like more befitting. Only scholars can reach to the correct meanings of their elders. subh'an Allah.
 
By "place", Imam Ahmad Raza Khan ('alayhi al-rahmah) means the graveyard.
Click to expand...
i disagree. this is not about any graveyard - and alaHazrat's poetry is not haphazard. check this with any student of urdu poetic forms; no couplet within the poem/ghazal should stray from subject at hand.

it is only fitting that 'jagah' or place is the rawDah. because the focus on this couplet is on the 'place' - the imam's words clearly show an yearning, an awe for the 'place' with the words haay and woh kya jagah hai.

earlier explanations in this thread are much better; particularly, i liked noori's explanation that relates five to the five senses. but i am a simple minded soul who likes simple explanations: simply put,alaHazrat says, the hallowed rawDah is such a place that if five go there to visit, only four return. one among them dies of joy and happiness - or that one is lost forever even if he is alive. the numbers five and four might be there just for the poetic meter/rhyme or for a specific reason.

phirtey hain is an idiom meaning 'return.'

i have a feeling that it might refer to a particular incident where five people visited the rawDah and one passed away. i will try to look up in 'wafa al-wafa' and other histories of madinah/rawDah inshaAllah. [already checked one by ibn Diya al-makki al-Hanafi, d.854 AH but no luck]

haay ghaafil woh kyaa jagaah hai jahaaN
paanch jaatey haiN chaar phirtey haiN
what a lovely place is it; o, the heedless one!
five come here to visit; but only four return
 
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gard means dust
gird means around as in ard-gird meaning sorroundings.

it is tempting to use gard/dust for the enemies/`adu, but still gird is appropriate. this is used once again in
laakhoN qudsi haiN kaam e khidmat par
laakhoN gird e mazaar phirtey haiN
​
the mistake was in my original transliteration; others had just copied it. i have corrected this mistake in all posts.
 
salam,

subh'an Allah wa jazakAllah khair. definitely, sidi Abu 'Hassan's explanation is very simple and if it refers to an incident then for sure it is a very close explanation, because Ala 'Hazrat's poetry is full of quotes from Quran, 'hadeeth, and hikayyat.
 
no couplet within the poem/ghazal should stray from subject at hand.
Click to expand...

within an english poem, yes, but within a ghazal...? its not the nazm we are talking about here to have tasalsul, so unless it is specified to be a musalsal ghazal by the poet, or is clearly understood to be one ; the latter of which seems true in this particular case every sheyr is an individual poem by itself.

was salam

--an
 
:s1:

Thanks for correcting 'gard' to 'gird' in the transliteration; however, i initially read it as 'gird' anyway and my translation reflected that--hence 'circumambulate'.

Sidi Abu Nibras makes a valid point that in a ghazal (as opposed to a nazm)
there is no need for the theme to be continuous from one verse to another.
Indeed, this is one of the defining characteristics of a ghazal that each couplet within it can be completely self-contained and complete in itself.
That said, I still feel your interpretation of place as the Rawdah Sharif is more correct than graveyard. Wallahu aalam.
 
yes it does not have to stay on the subject. there are other cases of this in Ala Hazrat's poetry. I asked another scholar and he said it refers to the carrying of a deceased to be buried, and completely dismissed the idea of the holy rawdah and said that explaination does not even make sense.
 
when I read explanation of 'hazrat sayyid faiz ah'mad awaisi (May Allah save him), I too was a little skeptical of the explanation, because it will make the couplet completely out of the flow. Therefore I agree with sidi abu hassan in that regard, however the explanation is from a sage, and we should accept it.

Dismissal of other meanings is hard to swallow, because you cannot limit poetry to one meaing decisively, speically when it is not very obvious.
 
does the poem ever move away from the subject of madina? if so, then the graveyard explanation would be more possible.
 
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