Raqeeb

is tarah zindagi ne diya hai hamara sath jaise koi nibah raha ho raqib se

na main samjha na aap aae kahin se pasina pochhiye apni jabin se

dozakh o jannat hain ab meri nazar ke samne ghar raqibon ne banaya us ke ghar ke samne

le mere tajrabon se sabaq ai mere raqib do-chaar sal umr mein tujh se bada hun main

rafiqon se raqib achchhe jo jal kar nam lete hain gulon se khar behtar hain jo daman tham lete hain

jo koi aawe hai nazdik hi baithe hai tere hum kahan tak tere pahlu se sarakte jawen whoever comes takes his place here right by your side how long with this displacement from you shall i abide

mujh se bigad gae to raqibon ki ban gai ghairon mein bat raha hai mera e'tibar aaj

tumhaare khat mein naya ek salam kis ka tha na tha raqib to aakhir wo nam kis ka tha that new greeting in your note, from whom was it do say if not my rival's signature, whose name was it then, pray? the speaker reads the beloved’s letter and is jolted by a “new سلام” and an unfamiliar name, sensing a hidden third person. the letter becomes evidence, and the new greeting a metaphor for shifting loyalties. by denying “raqib” yet insisting on an explanation, the couplet captures the ache of love mixed with suspicion. its emotional core is jealous doubt: the fear that affection is no longer exclusive.

idhar aa raqib mere main tujhe gale laga lun mera ishq be-maza tha teri dushmani se pahle

us naqsh-e-pa ke sajde ne kya kya kiya zalil main kucha-e-raqib mein bhi sar ke bal gaya bowing to her footsteps brought me shame i dread i went to my rival's street standing on my head the beloved’s footprint becomes a symbol of extreme worship: the lover’s reverence is so excessive that it turns into public humiliation. the second line intensifies the shame—he lowers himself so completely that he even enters the rival’s lane, where his pride should have stopped him. the couplet captures love as obsession that breaks dignity and makes one cross forbidden boundaries. the emotional core is helpless devotion mixed with self-awareness of disgrace.

raqib qatl hua us ki tegh-e-abru se haram-zada tha achchha hua halal hua

jaana pada raqib ke dar par hazar bar ai kash jaanta na tere rah-guzar ko main to my rival's stead a thousand times i had to go would it be, the path you often tread i did not know the poet expresses deep regret over the humiliation suffered in his pursuit of love. knowing the beloved's address became a curse, as it compelled him to visit repeatedly, forcing him to seek access or news through his rival, thereby stripping him of his self-respect.

jama karte ho kyun raqibon ko ek tamasha hua gila na hua you collect my enemies, why in this manner? pray a spectacle this is and not the way to remonstrate the poet addresses the beloved, asking why they have assembled his rivals to witness their interaction. the intention was to express a private grievance (gila) about love, but the presence of an audience has turned this intimate moment into a mockery and a public show (tamasha), stripping it of its sincerity and dignity.

baithe hue raqib hain dilbar ke aas-pas kanton ka hai hujum gul-e-tar ke aas-pas

ghair se kheli hai holi yar ne dale mujh par dida-e-khun-bar rang

yaad aain us ko dekh ke apni musibaten roe hum aaj khub lipat kar raqib se

apni zaban se mujhe jo chahe kah len aap badh badh ke bolna nahin achchha raqib ka

hamein nargis ka dasta ghair ke hathon se kyun bheja jo aankhen hi dikhani thin dikhate apni nazron se the poet uses a clever play on words involving the narcissus flower (nargis), which is metaphorically compared to an eye in urdu poetry, and the idiom 'to show eyes' (meaning to glare or show anger). the lover complains that if the beloved wanted to scold him, direct eye contact would have been preferred over sending symbolic 'eyes' via a rival.

aap hi se na jab raha matlab phir raqibon se mujh ko kya matlab

ghussa aata hai pyar aata hai ghair ke ghar se yar aata hai

kahte ho ki hamdard kisi ka nahin sunte main ne to raqibon se suna aur hi kuchh hai

jis ka tujh sa habib howega kaun us ka raqib howega

hum apne ishq ki ab aur kya shahadat den hamein hamare raqibon ne mo'tabar jaana

raqib donon jahan mein zalil kyun hota kisi ke bich mein kam-bakht agar nahin aata

wo jise sare zamane ne kaha mera raqib main ne us ko ham-safar jaana ki tu us ki bhi thi

go aap ne jawab bura hi diya wale mujh se bayan na kije adu ke payam ko though you may have replied to him as rudely as you claim don't tell me what was in my rival's message, just the same the speaker accepts the beloved’s bitter response, but draws a boundary: he won’t tolerate hearing an adversary’s “message” delivered through the beloved. “adu” (enemy/rival) hints at a rival in love; repeating his words would feel like humiliation and a betrayal of intimacy. the couplet turns on self-respect—pain from the beloved is endurable, but disgrace via the rival is not.

haal mera bhi ja-e-ibrat hai ab sifarish raqib karte hain

samne us ke na kahte magar ab kahte hain lazzat-e-ishq gai ghair ke mar jaane se i would not say this to her, but now it can be said the pleasure of romance has gone, now with my rival dead

ye kah ke mere samne tala raqib ko mujh se kabhi ki jaan na pahchan jaiye

sadme uthaen rashk ke kab tak jo ho so ho ya to raqib hi nahin ya aaj hum nahin