بانگِ درا · حصہ سوم
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In Response To A Letter
ہوس 
بھی 
ہو 
تو 
نہیں 
مجھ 
میں 
ہمت 
تگ 
و 
تاز 
حصول 
جاہ 
ہے 
وابستہ 
مذاق 
تلاش 
Even if I have greed I do not have the strength for exertion acquiring position is connected with the taste for search.
ہزار 
شکر، 
طبیعت 
ہے 
ریزہ 
کار 
مری 
ہزار 
شکر، 
نہیں 
ہے 
دماغ 
فتنہ 
تراش 
A thousand thanks to God that my nature is contentment. A thousand thanks to God that my mind is not mischievous.
مرے 
سخن 
سے 
دلوں 
کی 
ہیں 
کھیتیاں 
سرسبز 
جہاں 
میں 
ہوں 
میں 
مثال 
سحاب 
دریا 
پاش 
Cultivations of human hearts flourish with my writings; in the world I am creative like the ocean feeding cloud.
یہ 
عقدہ 
ہائے 
سیاست 
تجھے 
مبارک 
ہوں 
کہ 
فیض 
عشق 
سے 
ناخن 
مرا 
ہے 
سینہ 
خراش 
Congratulations to you on these secrets of politics; as my finger nail by Love’s grace is breast-excoriating.
ہوائے 
بزم 
سلاطیں 
دلیل 
مردہ 
دلی 
کیا 
ہے 
حافظ 
رنگیں 
نوا 
نے 
راز 
یہ 
فاش 
Desire for audience with kings is a sign of lifelessness; this secret has been exposed by Hafiz of elegant poetry.
گرت 
ہوا 
ست 
کہ 
با 
خضر 
ہم 
نشیں 
باشی 
نہاں 
ز 
چشم 
سکندر 
چو 
آب 
حیواں 
باش 
اگر تیرے دل میں خضر (علیہ) کی رفاقت کی خواہش ہو تو جان لے کہ سکندر کی طرح آب حیات کا چشمہ تیری نظروں سے بھی ہمیشہ پوشیدہ رہے گا۔
‘If you desire that you elevated to Khizar* be: Hidden from Sikandar’s eye as immortality’s water be.’ (This hemistich alludes to the tradition of Khizar A.S: Khizar was endowed with two gifts from God, viz. mercy and knowledge from His own Presence. The second hemistich is relevant to the parable alluded to here. This gift entitled him to interpret the inner meaning and mystery of events and creations of God. Though the Holy Qur’an does not say so in Muslim literature Khizar is credited with the knowledge of the stream, of the water of immortality, drinking which would confer immortality on any living object, including Man. This tradition could be based on Greek writings which have influenced Muslim thought to a very great extent. Sikandar was one of the persons who requested Khizar to lead him to this stream. The identity of Sikandar is also shrouded in mystery. The Holy Qur’an relates the parable of a powerful and righteous king Dhul Qarnain (The Two-horned One) in Surah 18:83-101. This king is identified with three kings, viz (I) Alexander the Great of Greece (356-323 B.C.); (ii) an ancient Persian king and (iii) a prehistoric Himyarite king… When Khizar was very much pressed by Sikandar for leading him to the stream of immortality he did so. When they reached there they found hundreds of thousands of living beings, including men, who had taken the water and had not died. They had grown old, decrepit and devoid of feelings. The moral of the story is that the normal cycle of the birth and death as designed by God is the best scheme of things for human beings as well as other living things. The moral of the story also is that the value of the water of immortality, which persists till today in folk lore, lies in its being unavailable even to a king like Sikandar. Similarly, the value of a self-respecting person lies in his being out of reach of kings and other materialistic elite of the world.)
English Translation by: Dr M.A.K. Khalil
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