dost

dost (Hindi: दोस्त, Urdu: دوسْت) "Friend", or more properly in this context "Beloved", is a song interpreted by the Pakistani singer Abida Parveen in 2014 at season 7 of the Pakistani musical TV show Coke Studio.

The lyrics of the song were written by the poet and Sufi scholar Zaheen Shah Taji.

As is the case with many Sufi compositions, it can be interpreted either as a plain romantic song, or as a description of mystical rapture.

Many romantic words such as ishvaa, Gamzaa, jalvaa have special meaning when used in such compositions. And even the "friend" or "lover" might refer to God himself, inhabiting Man's heart.

In these lyrics, the simple romantic interpretation is preferred.

Abida Parveen's interpretation leaves out 2 extra stanzas near the end of the original ghazal.

For an easier reading, this page shows the ghazal as it was written, ignoring the singer's numerous repetitions (but still showing accurately when each stanza starts in the song).

I tend to prefer more literal translations, but in the Wordreference language forum there is a beautiful translation offered by one of its invaluable contributors, @Qureshpoor.