Ghazal 148, Verse 9

{148,9}

ham bhii tasliim kii ;xuu ;Daale;Nge
be-niyaazii tirii ((aadat hii sahii

1) even/also we will adopt a temperament/custom of acceptance
2) indifference/independence-- your habit, {indeed / so be it}

Notes:

tasliim : 'Surrender, resignation; conceding, acknowledging, granting; assenting to, accepting'. (Platts p.324)

 

;xuu : 'Nature, disposition, temper; habit, custom; way, manner'. (Platts p.494)

 

niyaaz : 'Petition, supplication, prayer; --inclination, wish, eager desire, longing; need, necessity; indigence, poverty; --a gift, present; --an offering, a thing dedicated'. (Platts p.1164)

 

be-niyaazii : 'Freedom from want, ability to dispense (with), independence'. (Platts p.204)

 

((aadat : 'Custom, habit, manner, wont, usage, practice'. (Platts p.756)

Nazm:

He uses this introductory phrase [ham bhii] so that ;xuu ;Daale;Nge proves by implication that now our temperament [:tabii((at] cannot endure the indifference, and her habit is irascible. Nor is there any hope of a quick change in our temperament-- gradually we will take up indifference. Here he has created an introductory phrase, and the author has in mind the conclusion too, and from this the meaning becomes increased. (157)

== Nazm page 157

Bekhud Dihlavi:

He says, 'Gradually we too will adopt a habit [((aadat] of acceptance and contentment-- when we understand that indifference has become a part of your habit.' (215)

Bekhud Mohani:

Now we don't have acceptance and contentment-- we make complaints about your indifference. We'll adopt the habit [((aadat].

[Or:] You say, 'I am not careless of you alone'-- or, even better, 'I don't practice carelessness, rather it's just my habit'. So we too will adopt the temperament [;xuu] of acceptance. (287)

FWP:

SETS == BHI; IDIOMS

For discussion of the versatile idiomatic expression hii sahii , see {148,1}.

Here is an enjoyable exploitation of the multivalence of bhii -- one that points up the fact that we have to decide for ourselves whether the two modes of behavior named in the two lines are similar, or mesh together symbiotically, or are opposite.

If bhii is taken to mean 'too, also', then the meaning becomes: we too will adopt a habit that is in conformity with the one you have adopted: if you are indifferent and independent, we will be content and accepting. (Both tasliim and be-niyaazii can be seen as implying the acceptance of one's present lot, which can be taken as a sign of submission to God's will. But the latter term of course carries much more of a sense of pride and self-will.)

If bhii is taken to mean 'even', then the meaning becomes: even we, who are so determined and intransigent, will eventually have to adopt a temperament of acceptance, in response to your habit of constant indifference.

If bhii is taken to be merely a colloquial emphatic particle with no strong meaning (as in yih bhii ko))ii baat hai !), then the meaning becomes merely: 'we do X, your habit is Y indeed', and the possible interpretive range becomes even wider-- especially in view of the versatility of hii sahii .

Then of course the word ;xuu can mean 'habit, custom, way, manner', which is very close to the core meaning of ((aadat (see the definitions above); or else it can mean 'nature, disposition, temper', which is much more like 'temperament' [:tabii((at]. If the beloved has a 'habit' and the lover responds to it by developing a ;xuu , is that fighting fire with fire, or is it fighting fire with water? The choice matters, because a 'habit' may be relatively easy to develop, while developing a 'temperament' may be a long-term, uncertain task; the commentators recognize its difficulties. As usual, we're left with all these choices, and allowed-- or required-- to put together our own reading.

For an example of the versatility of tasliim , see {101,5}; for an example of be-niyaazii , see {19,2}.