What may not be apparent is not subtlety, 

What has remained hidden is not truth,

This is not nature, nor pleasure– 

It is something else; it is not chastity.

.

Avoiding the breeze and the garden,

Not hearing any longer the voice that stirs up magic,

The glow of the cheek no longer blooming–

It is something else; it is not chastity.

.

To pass on the road stealthily,

To sacrifice even your own emotions;

To live in hiding [behind veils], to die in hiding [behind veils]– 

This is something else; it is not chastity.

.

Every time, silent in continuous thoughts,

The cloud of suspicion on the soft delicate heart,

A faint smile, stifled speech–

This is something else; it is not chastity.

.

That bitter anxiety always in the heart, 

That evening and dawn, an anxiety in the heart,

A typhoon gushing forth in the heart–

This is something else; it is not chastity.

.

To tread upon the invitation of the eyes, 

To tread upon the capacity for subtlety, 

To tread upon the demands of nature– 

This is something else; it is not chastity.

.

I swear by the travelling taste of the night stars, 

I swear by the morning breeze of the dawn’s skies, 

I swear by the sun and moon of the skies–

This is something else; it is not chastity.

.

I swear by the playfulness of Sanjugta!s love,

I swear by the resolute determination of Joan,

I swear by Tahirah, by Halide–

This is something else; it is not chastity.

    1947

.

From:Āhang (Melody; 1938). Dihlī: Āzād Kitāb Ghar. 1956. pp. 82 – 84

Pardah aur ʻiṣmat  is quoted in full in Urdu Poetry, 1935-1970