===
0897,
4
===

 

{897,4}

thaa sab ko da((v;aa ((ishq kaa lekin nah ;Thahraa ko))ii bhii
daanistah apnii jaan se dil ko u;Thaayaa ek mai;N

1) everyone made a claim of passion, but no one at all endured/lasted
2) I alone knowingly/deliberately lifted/removed my heart away from my life

 

Notes:

S. R. Faruqi:

This verse alludes to the last verse of the Surah-e Ahzab [33:72-73] in the Qur'an, in which God presented the burden of His Wisdom to the earth and the sky, but they didn't have the courage. Mankind, who were less wise, accepted this trust. But there's also a reference to the true lover: I deliberately didn't attach my heart to my life, I removed my heart's affection for my life.

There's also the point that when he removed the heart from the life, then he attached it to the beloved. Knowingly, in the sense that I knew that when I have no more affection for my life, then I'll have to wash my hands of my life. This verse is the distinguishing mark of all true lovers. The loftiness of the harmony is worthy of praise. In the third divan [{1194,5}]:

baazaar-e vafaa me;N sar-e saudaa thaa sabho;N ko
par bech ke jii ek ;xariidaar hu))aa mai;N

[in the bazaar of faithfulness, everyone had a mind for merchandising
but having sold my inner-self, I became the only buyer]

In the first divan, Mir took this theme and composed it like this [{85,4}]:

sab pah jis baar ne giraanii kii
us ko yih naa-tavaa;N u;Thaa laayaa

[the burden that oppressed everyone,
this weak one lifted/supported it]

Compared to this, if we look at Qa'im's verse, then we'll realize how powerful even a commonplace phrase like yih naa-tavaa;N can be:

nah u;T;Thaa aasmaa;N se ((ishq kaa bojh
hamii;N hai;N jo yih magdar bhaante hai;N

[the burden of passion was not lifted/supported by the sky
it is only/emphatically we who fancy this barbell]

On both these verses, see the detailed discussion in shi((r ;Gair-shi((r aur na;sr .

None of the above verses attains the level of the present verse. First of all, the present verse has an unlimited theme. Second, it has a scene of opposition and challenge-seeking: a whole world made the claim of passion. Third, in it an absolutely new idea has been expressed: that passion is equal to death, and I was the one who knowingly didn't attach my heart to my life; otherwise, the ordinary rule is that what a person's heart loves most is his life, and all living creatures naturally attach their hearts to their life. The speaker/lover deliberately compelled his heart not to love his life. In the whole verse, the 'dramatic' mood is very great.

FWP:

SETS
MOTIFS
NAMES
TERMS

On the meter and general structure of this ghazal, see {897,1}.