68 Urdu ash'ar / shaayari (shers, couplets) on the theme:
Religion, Reason, & Tradition
bemohabbat
khuda nahin milta
keep your worship to yourself,
o priest
without love,
god can’t be got
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3.6K
aye khuda, varna
bandagi kya hai
even you need and crave
adulation and flattery
or else, dear god,
what is prayer for?
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19
jis ke jalve se
tajallii pe tajallii hai maziid
today is the joyful
celebration of lakshmi puja
whose radiance brings
waves and waves of illumination
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3.3K
tera dil to hai sanam-ashna
tujhe kya milega namaaz mein
when i was prostrate in prayer
i heard a voice from the ground
when your heart itself is the beloved
what will you get from this prayer?
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2
2.2K
aisi namaaz se guzar
aise imam se guzar
your priest is absent
and your prayer joyless
find your way out of
that priest and that prayer
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3.8K
sajde kisi ke dar pe
kiye ja raha huun main
whether accepted or not
it is a matter of fate
but at someone’s doorstep
i am prostrate in prayer
1971: Padma Shri
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2
1.8K
janaab-e-shaikh ka naqsh-e-qadam
yuun bhi hai aur yuun bhi
here the mosque, there the tavern
how odd indeed
the footprints of the holy man
are seen here and there too
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amaa’n dekho toh
kitne maulavi hai
on judgment day
in the line of sinners
you can see
how many priests there are
front, top, head
assembly on judgment day
sinners
line
priests
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4.2K
qurbaan hai is kufr par
imaan hamara
when the scholars of sharia
call your hair heresy
we will sacrifice our faith
at that blasphemy's altar
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10
azmat-e-khaak se inkaar
karoge kab tak
for how long will you sing
praises for heavenly gods
for how long will you deny
human greatness
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3.7K
main buton se phiroon
khuda na kare
may reality not
lead me to falsehood
by god, may i not
bow before the idols
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6
vagarna afv ke qaabil
mere gunaah nahin
it is only by your mercy
that i expect absolution
else, my sins are beyond
any claim for pardon
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na ho yaqeen to phir
mojza na maange koi
go tell the dwellers of
this city of skepticism
those who don't believe
shouldn't expect miracles either
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46
mazdoor hain hum mazdoor hain hum
mazdoor ki duniya kaali hai
let the palaces be lit up with lamps
how does it matter to us it is diwali
we are laborers, laborers we are
our world filled with darkness
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3.7K
kis barhaman ne kaha tha
ki ye saal achchha hai
days and nights have not changed
nor is the condition any good
which brahmin foretold
this is a good year
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2.5K
rind ke rind rahe
haath se jannat na gayi
indulged in wine by night,
sought forgiveness by dawn
i remained a wine-lover
but did not lose paradise
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11
sar phira de insaan ka
aisa khabt-e-mazhab kya
all but you are infidels?
what does that even mean?
what is this frenzy of faith
that drives a person insane?
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4
kyaa baat hai vaaiz ki
yahaan aur wahaan aur
what is forbidden in this world
is allowed and enjoyed in paradise
what's with the preacher's rules
some here and some there?
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1
munh se maango to
khuda aur khafa hota hai
whatever is given to you in kindness
you accept jus that ‘naadir’
if you were to ask for more
god will get even more angry
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4
2.3K
kuchh khuda ke qahr kuchh inaam
ki baaten karein
the cleric and the priest
talk of their faiths
talking of god's wrath
and sometimes of divine favor
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ya wo jagah bata de
jahaan par khuda na ho
oh priest, allow me to drink
sitting here in the mosque
or, show me a place
where there is no god
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5.1K
kisi rote hue bachche ko
hansaaya jaaye
the mosque is too far from home
maybe we should try this...
why not make
a few crying children smile?
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1.7K
dil ko khush rakhne ko 'ghalib'
yeh khayaal achchha hai
i do understand
the truth about heaven, but
to keep my heart happy, ghalib
it is a comforting thought
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3.2K
ab ye haalat hai ki
dar dar ke gale milte hain
we celebrated together
sometimes eid, sometimes diwali
now it is such that
we embrace with trepidation
Anonymous
condition, situation
to embrace
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4.2K
ye bhi ik nau ki
himaaqat hai
to be a hostage to
reason's dictates
is also a kind of
foolishness
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2.1K
un ko maikhaane mein le aao
sanwar jaayenge
zauq, those priests
ruined by religious schools
bring them to the tavern
so they can be reformed
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1.8K
haan tera yaqeen, tera yaqeen,
tera yaqeen hai
your faith has confined you
to a deep, dark well
yes, your faith, your faith it is
indeed your faith
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3.8K
maqsad tu khud apna
bana leta to kya hota
what is the purpose of life
god only knows
but what if you figured out
your own purpose
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34
hum ik bazm mein thay
ye sab se judaa thay
not tied to the heretic,
not bound to the pious
present in the same gathering
but apart from them all
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14
teri raahguzar se jaate to
kuchh aur baat hoti
though he found god
through the holy places
had he taken your path (of love),
it would be a different story
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47
mujh ko is tarz-e-ibaadat pe
hansi aati hai
sometimes fearing hell
sometimes desiring heaven
this manner of worship
makes me laugh
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58
kooche ke us ke baashindon ne
sab ko yahin se salaam kiya
which sanctum? what holy direction?
who is divine? which holy robes?
from the lane of the beloved
we bid farewell to all
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71
hum samajhne ke naheen
laakh tu samjhaaye hamein
of what use are your sermons,
oh priest and preacher
i am not one to understand
even if explained a million times
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23
sukoon is baat ka tha
na mandir ka zikr tha, na masjid ka
the kids were fighting
in the neighborhood, not sure about what
it was such a relief that there was
neither the mention of temple nor mosque
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4.2K
kis qadar vaaiz-e-makkaar
Daraata hai mujhe
as if he has just come
breathing the air of hell
how deceitful is this cunning preacher
trying to frighten me
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19
deepavali se aaj
zameen aasmaan hai
streets are alive with joy
houses shining with lamps
deepavali has transformed
the earth into heaven
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4.2K
jalwa buton ka dekh ke
niyyat badal gayi
i was ready for prayers, hearing
the mention of heavenly beauties
but upon seeing the bright idols
my intentions changed
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4.2K
hota kuch agar hosh to
maikhaane na jaate
the foolish preacher
invites me into the mosque
if i have any sense, won’t i
find my way to the taverns?
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4.7K
par itna jaante hain
kal wo jaata tha ke hum nikle
where’s the tavern’s entrance, ghalib,
and where is the preacher
i know only this…yesterday,
when i was coming out, he was going in
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4.0K
bandagi se
khuda nahin milta
through love,
you will find, o priest
through worship,
you won't find god
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2.6K
gar kaaba hua to kya
butkhaana hua to kya
we are devotees of love,
not of dogmas
whether a mosque or a temple,
so what?
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12
koyi nahi tera, to meri jaan,
khuda hai
with people’s indifference
don’t be dismayed, ghalib
if in the world you have none,
so be it, there is god for you
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2.4K
faaltu aql mujh mein
thi hi naheen
in religious debates
i did not participate
useless smarts
i did not have in me
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5.0K
kya gin gin ke nam lena uska
jo behisaab deta hai
i broke the prayer rosary
with this thought, ‘faraz’
why count and pray to one
who gives without keeping an account
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4.4K
par diwali bhi ajab
pakeeza-tar tyohaar hai
in dussehra too
there is joy and beauty, nazir
but diwali is
uniquely and purely joyous
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5.0K
tujhi se shikaayat?
tujhi se nadaamat?
what is this devotion of mine
for you, oh god?
for you, my complaints?
and for you, my repentance?
Anonymous
attachment, affinity
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3.7K
aql or fahm se
paekaar karoge kab tak
how long will you persist with
this injustice and ignorance
how long will you procrastinate…
relying on reason and understanding
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2.7K
kya gharaz kyun jaayen
suu-e-kaaba-o-butkhaana hum
your love is shackled
by the prison of religion
why bother going to
mosque or temple
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8
tum acche maseeha ho
shifa kyun nahi dete
the restless have fallen sick
why don’t you offer a medicine
you are such a good healer
why don’t you cure their illness
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4.8K
hai bazm-e-shauq meri
kaamgaar eid ke din
warmth of a compassionate gaze
is the light of the heart
my assembly of enthusiasm
is fortunate on this day of eid
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4.3K
dariya samajh ke kuud paDe
hum saraab mein
doubt has turned me into
a sea of delusion
thinking it is a river,
i jumped headlong into a mirage
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3.8K
karen to hum bhi magar
kis khuda ki baat karen
each era brought in
a new religion, a new god
if we were to chat
about which god shall we talk?
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4.5K
naala mashhoor ghalat hai ke
asar karta hai
life was wasted prayers
and nothing came of it
the popular belief that
laments work...is a lie
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28
na tum hi laut ke aaye
na waqt-e-shaam hua
was waiting
to celebrate diwali together
neither did you return
nor is it time yet for the celebration
waiting
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2.1K
wahin par noor-e-imaan hai
wahin raah-e-yaqeen nikli
where the borders of
temples and mosques end
radiance of belief shines forth
the road to conviction begins
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33
us ko bhi bahattar kyun
ghilman na diya hota
it is possible you are in hell
and your wife is in heaven
why doesn’t she also get
72 handsome young men?
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2.0K
azal se zehn-e-insaan
basta-e-auhaam hai saaqi
religion but a fanciful belief
a string of delusions
forever the human mind has been
hostage to a bundle of superstitions
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2.3K
shikwe bhi hain tujhi se
aur pyaar bhi tujhi se
you are the pain, the blessing too
the wound and the cure too
complaint is against you too
and my love is for you too
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3.3K
sab kuchh bashar ki dil mein hai
aye shaikh, kya naheen?
no memory of idols
nor any thought of god
all is within the human heart
what is not there, o preacher?
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18
maala ho aur barhaman
sahbaa ho aur ham ho
ascetic and abstinence
devout and prayer mat
rosary and brahmin
wine and me
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39
aisa bhi koi hai ki
sab achchha kahein jise
ghalib, don't mind if
the cleric finds you sinful
is there anyone at all
the whole world deems virtuous?
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50
sheeshe ka maseeha koyi nahin
kya aas lagaaye baithe ho?
picking some scraps of glass
and hiding them in your clothes
there is no savior in these trinkets
what hope are you holding on to?
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1.6K
kaafir ko muflisi ne
musalmaan banaa diya
wine has become so expensive
that kaifi has quit drinking
poverty has turned
an infidel into a believer
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2.7K
shauq-e-talab ne dil ko
sanam-khaana kar diya
my religion is not
one of worshiping idols
my passion for seeking has
turned my heart into a temple
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1.8K
bas ho chuki namaaz
musalla uThaayiye
springtime has arrived,
mystics, drink some wine
prayers are over,
roll up the prayer-carpet
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4.0K
muraaqabe mein
bata subh-o-shaam kya dekha
someone ask the holy man
as to what he saw
when he closed his eyes
in meditation from dawn to dusk
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22
haa’el yaqeen ilm mein ho
mujh ko Dar ye hai
you revel in the thought
that only your faith is perfect
but my fear is that this stands
in the way of your learning
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2
3.4K
shukr hai zindagi
tabaah na kee
i didn’t have the priest
perform rituals and customs
happy that i didn’t
waste my life thus
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1
2.1K
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