Ghazal 111, Verse 7

{111,7}

in pariizaado;N se le;Nge ;xuld me;N ham intiqaam
qudrat-e ;haq se yihii ;huure;N agar vaa;N ho ga))ii;N

1) in Paradise we will take revenge on these Pari-born ones
2) if through the power of Justice/right/God they become Houris there

Notes:

ho ga))ii;N is in the perfect, but this tense is often used in place of the subjunctive in the if-clauses of if-then constructions, as it is here

 

;haq : 'Justice, rectitude, equity; --right, title, privilege, claim... --the Truth, the true God'. (Platts p.479)

Nazm:

In this verse the verb ho ga))ii;N applies to the Pari-born ones. From this it's clear that by Pari-born ones women are meant. (118)

Bekhud Dihlavi:

These beloveds who, in the world, cause us to burn with jealousy-- in Paradise, we will take our vengeance upon them, if through the Power, they become Houris and are given to us. (168)

Bekhud Mohani:

In brief, only this much needs to be said [about gender references in the ghazal]: that the beloved is the one whom the heart desires, and this is the basic principle. Many verses are such as to present praise of a male [beloved], and many are such as to present praise of a woman; and the largest number of verses are such that both man and woman can be used on appropriate occasions [as the beloved], and both aspects, human [majaazii] and divine [;haqiiqii] [love], can emerge. Thus it is that in Persian and Urdu poetry the beloved has been kept indeterminate [mub'ham], and ought indeed to be kept just so. (221)

Arshi:

Compare {100,6}. (229)

FWP:

SETS == HUMOR
[SNIDE REMARKS ABOUT PARADISE: {35,9}]

As Arshi notes, an ideal counterpart verse for comparison is {100,6}. Here (though less amusingly because we miss the hauteur in the beloved's voice) we find the same basic notion: that it would be a comedown for the beloved to become a 'mere' Houri, or celestial damsel of Paradise. Her present status, obviously, is much more lofty.

Thus the lover invokes the power of the protean term ;haq against these arrogant beloveds. This excellently chosen word gives at least three possible grounds for his claim:

=as justice in the sense of requital for injury: since the beloveds have so tormented and wronged the lover in this world, they owe him a recompense in the next

=as the lover's right, fate, share: his bond with the beloveds is so strong, so indissoluble, and so legitimated by his sufferings for their sake, that he is entitled to be united with them in Paradise

=through a direct appeal to God, who oversees all destinies and all requitals: since God controls Paradise, who but God could arrange for the beloveds this entirely appropriate fate?

The suggestion that it can be a punishment, an occasion for revenge, for the beloved to become a mere Houri, is one of a string of what might be called 'snide remarks about Paradise'; see {35,9} for others.