This poem was translated by Professor Carlo Coppola as part of the MULOSIGE Translations project. You can explore our collection of Urdu Poetry here.

Professor Carlo Coppola, Oakland University

K̲h̲udā voh vaqt nah lāʼe / May God Never Send That Time

May God never send a time when you are sorrowful,

When you are forbidden tranquil sleep as well,

When your everlasting delights are finished,

When life is for you a bitter cup,

When your heart-mirror melts with sorrow,

When you are left powerless with crowded despair,

When you are left mercurial with the flood of pain

And when your youth turns into mere dreams

And when the pride of your beauty becomes complete humility;

When during long nights you too pine for comfort,

When your glance looks forward to some consoler,

When desire, reaching autumn, longs for spring,

When no forehead prostrates itself on your doorstep stone,

Gladdening you with the wares of submission and complete faith;

And you trusting the deceit of next-day promises.

May God never send that time when you recall 

The heart still restless for you, 

            The eye still waiting for you.

.

From: Naqsh-i faryādī (Image of the Supplicant). Dihlī: Urdū Ghar, 1941. pp. 20 – 21

             

May God never send a time when you are sorrowful,

When you are forbidden tranquil sleep as well,

When your everlasting delights are finished,

When life is for you a bitter cup,

When your heart-mirror melts with sorrow,

When you are left powerless with crowded despair,

When you are left mercurial with the flood of pain

And when your youth turns into mere dreams

And when the pride of your beauty becomes complete humility;

When during long nights you too pine for comfort,

When your glance looks forward to some consoler,

When desire, reaching autumn, longs for spring,

When no forehead prostrates itself on your doorstep stone,

Gladdening you with the wares of submission and complete faith;

And you trusting the deceit of next-day promises.

May God never send that time when you recall 

The heart still restless for you, 

            The eye still waiting for you.

.

From: Naqsh-i faryādī (Image of the Supplicant). Dihlī: Urdū Ghar, 1941. pp. 20 – 21