Qismat

kisi ko ghar se nikalte hi mil gai manzil koi hamari tarah umr bhar safar mein raha

ye na thi hamari qismat ki visal-e-yar hota agar aur jite rahte yahi intizar hota that my love be consummated, fate did not ordain living longer had i waited, would have been in vain the poet resigns himself to the fact that union with the beloved was impossible due to fate, not a lack of time. he rationalizes his sorrow or death by arguing that a longer life would have been futile. more time would not have brought success in love, but only prolonged the agony of endless waiting.

kitna hai bad-nasib 'zafar' dafn ke liye do gaz zamin bhi na mili ku-e-yar mein the couplet compresses a lifetime of deprivation into the last need: a grave. “two yards of land” becomes a symbol of the smallest human right, while “the beloved’s lane” stands for home, closeness, and acceptance. the emotional core is yearning to belong—even in death—yet being denied that final nearness, turning love into a metaphor for exile and fate’s cruelty.

kisi ke tum ho kisi ka khuda hai duniya mein mere nasib mein tum bhi nahin khuda bhi nahin

tum hamare kisi tarah na hue warna duniya mein kya nahin hota your love by any means i could not gain or else in life what would not one attain the speaker laments that despite every effort, the beloved did not accept the relationship. the second line uses a rhetorical question to say that almost everything is possible in the world—yet this one wish failed. it conveys helplessness before fate and the sharp ache of unfulfilled love. the contrast between “everything” and “this one thing” intensifies the regret.

kabhi main apne hathon ki lakiron se nahin uljha mujhe malum hai qismat ka likkha bhi badalta hai

bulbul ko baghban se na sayyaad se gila qismat mein qaid likkhi thi fasl-e-bahaar mein --- --- the nightingale stands for a sensitive heart that expects joy in spring, yet ends up trapped. the poet says blame is pointless—neither caretaker nor captor is the real cause if fate has already decreed suffering. the contrast of “spring” with “cage” intensifies the pain: even the time meant for freedom and song becomes confinement. emotionally, it expresses helplessness and bitter acceptance.

yahan kisi ko bhi kuchh hasb-e-arzu na mila kisi ko hum na mile aur hum ko tu na mila

bad-qismati ko ye bhi gawara na ho saka hum jis pe mar mite wo hamara na ho saka

qismat to dekh tuti hai ja kar kahan kamand kuchh dur apne hath se jab baam rah gaya

hum ko na mil saka to faqat ek sukun-e-dil ai zindagi wagarna zamane mein kya na tha

roz wo khwab mein aate hain gale milne ko main jo sota hun to jag uthti hai qismat meri

kho diya tum ko to hum puchhte phirte hain yahi jis ki taqdir bigad jae wo karta kya hai the couplet captures the shock of separation and the speaker’s wandering, restless mind. losing the beloved feels like destiny itself has been ruined, so the grief turns into a single helpless question. “fate” here is a metaphor for life’s whole order collapsing, making action feel pointless. the emotional core is resignation mixed with aching longing.

tut padti thin ghataen jin ki aankhen dekh kar wo bhari barsat mein tarse hain pani ke liye

nairangi-e-siyasat-e-dauran to dekhiye manzil unhen mili jo sharik-e-safar na the

koi manzil ke qarib aa ke bhatak jata hai koi manzil pe pahunchta hai bhatak jaane se

tujh se qismat mein meri surat-e-qufl-e-abjad tha likha baat ke bante hi juda ho jaana ghalib uses the brilliant metaphor of a 'qufl-e-abjad' (a combination lock that opens when letters form a specific word). just as the lock opens and its parts separate precisely when the correct word is formed, the poet's destiny is such that the moment his connection with the beloved succeeds ('the point is made'), immediate separation follows.

justuju karni har ek amr mein nadani hai jo ki peshani pe likkhi hai wo pesh aani hai

kabhi saya hai kabhi dhup muqaddar mera hota rahta hai yun hi qarz barabar mera

khush-nasibi mein hai yahi ek aib bad-nasibon ke ghar nahin aati

zor qismat pe chal nahin sakta khamushi ikhtiyar karta hun

suna hai ab bhi mere hath ki lakiron mein najumiyon ko muqaddar dikhai deta hai

baad marne ke meri qabr pe aaya 'ghafil' yaad aai mere isa ko dawa mere baad

tadbir se qismat ki burai nahin jati bigdi hui taqdir banai nahin jati dagh dehlvi presents a stark faith in destiny: human strategy and effort have limits against what is decreed. the couplet treats “bad fate” as a fixed flaw that planning cannot wash away. its emotional core is weary acceptance—recognizing that some losses and turns of life remain beyond control.

apni qismat mein sabhi kuchh tha magar phul na the tum agar phul na hote to hamare hote

khuda taufiq deta hai jinhen wo ye samajhte hain ki khud apne hi hathon se bana karti hain taqdiren

phul khile hain gulshan gulshan lekin apna apna daman

kab hansa tha jo ye kahte ho ki rona hoga ho rahega meri qismat mein jo hona hoga

mere hawas ishq mein kya kam hain muntashir majnun ka nam ho gaya qismat ki baat hai

tumhein pata hai mere hath ki lakiron mein tumhaare nam ke sare huruf bante hain