kun fayaakun
Touch on each word to display its meaning
kun fayaakun
Be! and it was
yaa nizaamuddiin auliyaa ,
yaa nizaamuddiin sarkaar
Oh, Nizamuddin Auliya!
Oh, Master Nizamuddin!
qadam baRhaa le !
HadoN ko miTaa le !
aa jaa xaaliipan meN .
pii kaa ghar teraa
tere bin xaalii ,
aa jaa , xaaliipan meN
[ repeats last 2 verses ]
Step forward!
Erase your limitations!
Come into (my) emptiness.
the House of the Beloved
without you (is) empty,
Come into (my) emptiness.
[repeats last 2 verses]
rangrezaa !
[ repeated several times ]
Oh, dyer!
[repeated several times]
kun fayaakun
kun fayaakun fayaakun ,
fayaakun , fayaakun , fayaakun
[ all stanza x 2 ]
Be! and it was.
Be! and it was, and it was,
and it was, and it was, and it was
[all stanza x 2]
jab kahiiN pe
kuchh nahiiN bhii nahiiN thaa
vahii thaa [ x 4 ]
[ all stanza x 2 ]
When there was absolutely nothing
on any place
yourself were [x 4]
[all stanza x 2]
vo jo mujh meN samaayaa ,
vo jo tujh meN samaayaa ,
maulaa , vahii vahii maayaa
[ all stanza x 2 ]
He who is contained in me,
he who is contained in you,
Lord, yourself are wealth itself.
[all stanza x 2]
kun fayaakun , kun fayaakun
saDaq-allaah-alaal
Be! and it was, Be! and it was
Almighty God, the sublime, is the truth
rangrezaa rang meraa tan , meraa man
le le rangaaii chaahe tan , chaahe man
[ all stanza x 2 ]
Oh, dyer, color my body, my mind
Take as payment my body, my mind, whatever
[all stanza x 2]
sajraa saveraa mere tan barse
kajraa andheraa
terii jaltii lau
[ all verses x 2 ]
qatraa milaa jo
tere dar par se .
o maulaa , maulaa
Fresh dawn rains (upon) my body
jet-black darkness
(then) your burning flame
[all verses x 2]
a drop having been attained
from upon your doorstep.
Ho! Lord, Lord
kun fayaakun [ x4 ]
kun fayaakun kun fayaakun , fayaakun
fayaakun , fayaakun , fayaakun
Be! and it was [x4]
Be! and it was, and there was
And it was, and it was, and it was
jab kahiiN pe
kuchh nahiiN bhii nahiiN thaa
vahii thaa [ x 4 ]
kun fayaakun kun fayaakun …
When there was absolutely nothing
on any place
yourself were [x 4]
Be! and there was. Be! and there was.
saDaq-allaah-alaal
saDaq-arrasuul-annabii-alkariim
salla-allaahu-alaihi-wa-sallam [ x2 ]
Almighty, Sublime God, is truth.
The Messenger, noble Prophet, is truth.
May God honor and grant him peace [x2]
o mujh pe karam sarkaar teraa .
arz tujhe , kar de mujhe :
mujh se hii rihaa
ab mujh ko bhii ho , diidaar meraa !
kar de mujhe :
mujh se hii rihaa [ x2 ]
Ho, Lord, your generosity (be) upon me.
(My) request to you, do it for me:
just (make me) free from myself.
Now, let my sight be into me!
Do it for me:
just (make me) free from myself [x2]
man ke mere ye bharam ,
kachche mere ye karam
le ke ,
chale haiN kahaaN
maiN to jaanuuN hii na
These confusions of my mind
These defective deeds of mine
having taken (me),
drove me (to a place)
which I don't even know …
tuu hai mujh meN samaayaa
kahaaN le ke mujhe aayaa .
maiN huuN tujh meN samaayaa
tere piichhe chalaa aayaa
teraa hii maiN ek saayaa
tuune mujh ko banaayaa .
maiN to jag ko na bhaayaa
tuune gale se lagaayaa
Haq tuu hii hai , xudaayaa
sach tuu hii hai , xudaayaa
You have permeated me.
Where did you bring me?
I have permeated you
I have followed behind you
I am indeed one shadow of yours,
you built me.
When the world did not like me,
you embraced me.
You are indeed the right one, Lord,
you are indeed the true one, Lord
kun fayaakun
kun fayaakun fayaakun
fayaakun , fayaakun , fayaakun
Be! and there was!
Be! and there was, and there was
And it was, and it was, and it was
jab kahiiN pe
kuchh nahiiN bhii nahiiN thaa
vahii thaa [ x 4 ]
When there was absolutely nothing
on any place
yourself were [x 4]
About this song
- Singers
- Mohit Chauhan, Javed Ali
- Lyrics
- Irshad Kamil
- Music
- A.R. Rahman
- On screen
- Ranbir Kapoor
kun fayaakun (Hindi: कुन फ़याकुन, Urdu: کن فیکون) "Be! and it was" is an Arabic phrase used in the context of describing God's power of creation just through his will.
It appears several times in the Quran with that meaning.
The video clip belongs to the 2011 Indian movie "Rockstar" starring actor Ranbir Kapoor.
In the plot, Kapoor is "JJ", a renowned singer, who at the time had a family crisis and had to take refuge in a Dehli mausoleum (the shrine of Sufi saint Nazzimudin Auliya). During his stay in the mausoleum, he sings qawwalis repeating this devotional phrase.
The musicians accompanying him in the video are an actual qawwali band: the Nizami brothers.
The singers are Mohit Chauhan, Javed Ali, and A. R. Rahman, all very famous Indian playback singers.
The song was composed by A. R. Rahman himself (also a very famous playback composer), and written by lyricist Irshad Kamil.