تُم اپْنے شَکْوَے کی باتیں

tum apne shikve kii baateN

Touch on each word to display its meaning

تُم اپْنے شَکْوَے کی باتیں

The Matter of Your Complaints

تُم اپْنے شَکْوَے کی باتیں نَہ کھودْ کھودْ کے پوچھو

حَذَر کَرو مِرے دِل سے کِہ اِس میں آگ دَبْی ہے

Don't you dig and dig and ask about the matter of your complaints

Beware of my heart, for a repressed fire exists in it

دلا یہ دَرْد و اَلم بھی تو مُغتَنَم ہے کِہ آخِر

نَہ گِرْیۂِ سَحْری ہے نَہ آہِ نِیم شَبی ہے

Oh heart, this agony is worthwhile, for in the end,

there is neither morning weeping nor midnight sigh.

نظر بہ نقص گدایاں کَمَالَ بے اَدَبی ہے

کِہ خارِخُشْک کو بھی دعواۓ چمن نسبی ہے

A look at the shortcomings of the needy is the utmost disrespect,

for even the dry thorn has a claim to the ancestral garden.

ہوا وِصال سے شَوقِ دِلِ حَرِیص زِیادہ

لَبِ قَدَح پہ کَفِ بادَہ جوشِ تشنہِ لَبی ہے

Consummated the union, the desire of the greedy heart is more,

for wine at hand on the goblet's rim is fervor for the thirsty lips.

خوشا وہ دِل کِہ سَراپا طِلِسْمِ بے خَبَری ہو

جُنُونِ یاس و اَلَم رِزْقِ مَدّعا طَلَبی ہے

Bravo to be the heart blissfully unaware!

The madness of despair and melancholy is the daily bread of the seeker.

چمن میں کِس کے یہ بَرْہَم ہوئی ہے بَزْمِ تَماشا

کِہ بِرْگ بَرْگِ سَمَن شِیشَہ رِیزۂِ حَلَبی ہے

In the garden, whose agitated audience for the spectacle is this?

for every single jasmin leaf is a shard of Aleppo's glass!

اِمامِ ظاہِر و باطِن اَمِیرِ صُورَت و مَعنی

علی والی اسَد اللہ جانشِینِ نَبی ہے

The Imam of the Manifest and the Hidden, the Master of Form and Meaning,

The wali Ali, Lion of God, is the Successor of the Prophet.

About this song

Lyrics: Ghalib

tum apne shikve kii baateN (Hindi: तुम अपने शिकवे की बातें , Urdu: تُم اپْنے شَکْوَے کی باتیں) "The Matters of Your Grievance" are the first words of a Gazal written by the celebrated Urdu writer Ghalib.

This poem is a profound reflection on the human condition, blending themes of ignorance, longing, and suffering with exquisite poetic imagery. The poet praises the heart lost in the "enchantment of unawareness" tilism-e-bexaberii, suggesting that blissful ignorance shields it from worldly pain. Yet, the second line reveals that even madness, despair, and pain are essential, serving as sustenance for those who seek their desires. This duality —between the bliss of unawareness and the necessity of suffering— captures the ghazal's essence: a meditation on the complexities of existence. Using metaphors like "Aleppo glass" and "jasmine leaves" adds layers of fragility and beauty, making the ghazal a timeless exploration of emotion and philosophy.

The full given name of Ghalib was Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan (he even used "Asad" as a pen name in the earlier part of his career). On the other hand, the full laqab (honorific title) of the fourth caliph, Ali, was Asadullāh al-Ghālib ("The Victorious Lion of God"). In other words, Ali and Ghalib shared a portion of their names.

Therefore, the seemingly spontaneous invocation of Ali can be interpreted as fulfilling the poetic requirement to mention the author’s pen name in the last couplet of the ghazal—achieved under the guise of devotion yet delivered with mock self-aggrandizement.