ay aarzuu shahiid-e vafaa ;xuu;N-bahaa nah maa;Ng
juz bahr-e dast-o-baazuu-e qaatil du((aa nah maa;Ng
1) oh longing martyr of faithfulness, don't ask for a blood-price
2) except for the sake of the murder's hand and arm, don't ask [for anything else] in prayer
Raza p. 147. S. R. Faruqi's choices. Ghalib originally composed a ghazal of nine verses, from which he chose two for publication in his divan. In the original nine-verse ghazal, this verse was the first one.
Gyan Chand poses the obvious question: which of two clumsy grammatical constructions shall we choose? He himself favors a single compound 'Longing-martyr of faithfulness', a vocative epithet addressed to the lover; but he reports that Asi favors an address to the semi-personified 'Longing', characterized then as a 'martyr of faithfulness'. In this particular highly abstract context, it's hard to get excited about the question. Does it really make much difference to the verse?
Whoever exactly the addressee may be, the verse gives us seemingly contradictory information about his situation. For he (or a personified 'it') is addressed as a 'martyr', which clearly implies that his murder has already occurred or will imminently occur. Yet he's also enjoined not to ask for a 'blood-price', and the blood-price is something to be dealt with not by a murder victim, but by his heirs. For other 'blood-price' verses, see {21,9}.
Far from seeking a 'blood-price', the addressee is enjoined to ask, in prayer, only 'for the sake, on account' of the murderer's 'hand and arm'. What kind of prayer is this to be? Perhaps an expression of gratitude for the favor rendered (or soon to be rendered) by the hand and arm in liberating the speaker from his transient and wretched existence. Perhaps a plea for them to consent to render this favor, and to render it quickly. Or perhaps a general prayer to the Lord to make them strong and powerful, to look out for their welfare. But in any case, it's something that seems to require a living presence-- a survivor rather than a murder victim.
So perhaps the speaker is one lover/martyr, giving advice to a younger comrade about the proper etiquette to be observed on the path of love and death. It's certainly not the most compelling verse he ever composed. But then-- remember that we're rummaging through his wastebasket, or at least his private manuscripts and drafts.
On the possibilities of juz , see {101,1}.
Gyan Chand:
An aarzuu shahiid-e vafaa is that individual who constantly longed for the beloved to keep faith with him; and when finally he saw her faithlessness, he became a martyr. To such an individual he has said, 'don't ask for a blood-price; rather, pray that the murderer's hand and arm may be stronger, so that she would be able to martyr you time after time.
Asi has declared that the addressee of the verse is Longing, and has considered 'martyr of faithfulness' to be his quality. In my view, this isn't correct; aarzuu shahiid is a single construction that has been used for the lover. (240)