tamiiz-e zishtii-o-nekii me;N laakh baate;N hai;N
bah ((aks-e aa))inah yak fard-e saadah rakhte hai;N
1) in the distinction/discrimination between evil and goodness, there are a hundred-thousand aspects/matters/things
2) with/through/like the reflection of a mirror, we keep a single blank account-book
tamiiz : 'Discernment, judgment, discrimination, distinction, discretion, sense'. (Platts p.337)
zishtii : 'Ugliness; deformity;—evil, ill; wickedness; trouble, sorrow, woe'. (Platts p.616)
nekii : 'Goodness; good; piety, virtue; probity; —beauty, elegance'. (Platts p.1167)
((aks : 'The reverse (of), the converse, or the contrary (of); counterpart; inversion; reflection... a shadow, a reflected image (as in a mirror, or water, &c.)'. (Platts p.763)
fard : 'A single person, an individual; a single thing or article;... a single sheet or strip (of paper); a piece, fragment; the outer fold (of a quilt, &c.); a draft (of an account); a register, record, statement, account-sheet; a list, roll, catalogue;'. (Platts p.778)
SETS == BAH
BUREAUCRATIC: {38,7}
GOOD/BAD: {22,4}
MIRROR: {8,3}
Raza p. 155. S. R. Faruqi's choices. Ghalib originally composed a ghazal of eight verses, from which he chose one for publication in his divan. In the original eight-verse ghazal, this verse was the second one.
Gyan Chand provides an invaluable bit of information: that a fard-e saadah is a technical term for an account or register [naamah-e a((maal]. According to Platts, an a((maal-naamah is a 'Register of one's doings or conduct; the register in which the deeds of men are supposed to be recorded' (Platts p.61).
At once this reading validates itself by establishing an excellent connection with the first line. The idea of a record or register of human behavior, kept by the recording angels Munkir and Nakir, is well-established; for a protest against it, see {36,10}.
However, in the present verse the speaker claims to maintain something unique: not an account-book full of complexly distinguished good and bad behavior, but a 'blank register' of deeds. How does he do this? Why, 'with/through/like the reflection of a mirror', of course. And how much help does that give us? Needless to say, not much-- it's piquant but absurdly multivalent. Thanks to the complexities of bah , ere are some possibilities:
=we keep a morally neutral, unjudgmental account-book the way a mirror undiscriminatingly reflects whatever it sees
=we keep an account-book that is blank the way a mirror is blank (both offer a mere bright surface)
=we keep a blank account-book 'on the contrary' (the way a mirror's reflection is a 'reversal' of what it reflects; see the definition above)
=with the aid of a mirror, we keep a blank account-book (we use the mirror to look at ourselves and the world at one remove, rather than viewing them directly and judgmentally)
Brilliantly unresolvable, isn't it? And then, the literal meaning of fard-e saadah , as evoking both 'simplicity' and a 'unified individuality', also provides an enjoyable counterpoint to the judgmental multifariousness of the first line. (As does the contrast between the laakh and the yak .)
Finally-- what is the tone? Are we chuckling about how we sneakily get away with something, avoiding moral censure? Are we neutrally reporting our record-keeping practices? Are we proudly announcing our defiance of the Recording Angels? Are we impatiently noting our detachment from this transitory and insignificant world? As usual, the tone is left to be decided afresh by every reader, and in every recitation.
Gyan Chand:
Whether something is good or bad, its recognition is based on opposition. The mirror is apparently a discriminator between vice and virtue, but this task is not so easy. Before the mirror, all people appear clear and clean, as simple individuals. But this doesn't mean that they are inwardly such. The mirror shows only the outside; the connection of vice and virtue is inward. They call an official paper [daftarii ka;Ga;z] a fard . A fard-e saadah is an account-record [naamah-e a((maal] on which nothing would be written. (274)