कोई उम्मीद बर नहीं आती

koii ummiid bar nahiiN aatii

Touch on each word to display its meaning

कोई उम्मीद बर नहीं आती

No Hope Comes to Fruition

कोई उम्मीद बर नहीं आती

कोई सूरत नज़र नहीं आती

No hope comes to fruition

no sign comes in sight

मौत का एक दिन मुअय्यन है

नींद क्यूँ रात भर नहीं आती

(Since) a day for our death is ordained

Why sleep doesn't come the whole night?

आगे आती थी हाल-ए-दिल पे हँसी

अब किसी बात पर नहीं आती

Earlier, this heart's condition (would have) elicited a smile

But now, no matter of it elicits anything

जानता हूँ सवाब-ए-ताअत-ओ-ज़ोहद

पर तबीअत इधर नहीं आती

I know the blessings of piety and devotion

but (such) disposition doesn't come this way

हम वहाँ हैं जहाँ से हम को भी

कुछ हमारी ख़बर नहीं आती

I am at that place from which, not even to me

news come (can't know myself)

काबा किस मुँह से जाओगे ग़ालिब

शर्म तुम को मगर नहीं आती

With what face will you go to the Kaaba, Ghalib,

unless, you experience no shame?

About this song

Singers: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Fariha Pervez, Farida Khanum
Lyrics: Ghalib

koii ummiid bar nahiiN aatii (Hindi: कोई उम्मीद बर नहीं आती, Urdu: کوئی اُمِّید بَر نہیں آتی) - "No hope comes to fruition" - is a profound ghazal by the great poet Mirza Ghalib (19th century) that explores existential despair with the linguistic mastery typical of Urdu poetry. Its structure revolves around the repetition of nahiiN aatii (does not come/arrive), a grammatical construction emphasizing absence: of hope (umeed), solace/sleep (neend), laughter/joy (hansi), and even (self-)awareness (khabar).

Musical renditions: Artists like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (in qawwali style), Farida Khanum (classical ghazal), and Fariha Pervez have interpreted it, notably:

Nusrat: Extended the "nahī̃ ātī" with Sufi melismas, transforming negation into spiritual ecstasy Farida: Gave verses an intimate, painful quality, especially in "Maut ka ek din..." (about death)

Poetic key: The final verse —"With what face will you go to the Kaaba, Ghalib?"— is an ironic self-reproach: the poet questions his own faith while confessing his rebellious nature.

The untranslatable nahiiN aatii makes this ghazal memorable - that negation which becomes hypnotic when sung. In renditions by female vocalists, some words are often modified to suit a feminine perspective.