Zulf

puchha jo un se chand nikalta hai kis tarah zulfon ko rukh pe dal ke jhatka diya ki yun

aah ko chahiye ek umr asar hote tak kaun jita hai teri zulf ke sar hote tak a prayer needs a lifetime, an answer to obtain who can live until the time that you decide to deign ghalib laments the disparity between the brevity of human life and the time required to win a beloved's heart. while a plea for love might eventually be heard, life is too short to wait for that moment. the 'conquering of tresses' metaphorically refers to untangling the complexities of the relationship, a task that outlasts the lover's life.

hum hue tum hue ki 'mir' hue us ki zulfon ke sab asir hue whether me or you, or miir it may be are prisoners of her tresses for eternity meer taqi meer says love levels everyone: speaker, listener, even the poet himself. the beloved’s “tresses” are a metaphor for the snares of beauty that bind the heart. the couplet carries a half-playful, half-resigned tone: no one escapes this captivity. it suggests an inevitable, shared fate in عشق.

ye udi udi si rangat ye khule khule se gesu teri subh kah rahi hai teri raat ka fasana

kai chand the sar-e-asman ki chamak chamak ke palat gae na lahu mere hi jigar mein tha na tumhaari zulf siyah thi

nind us ki hai dimagh us ka hai raaten us ki hain teri zulfen jis ke bazu par pareshan ho gain ghalib describes the ultimate romantic success, stating that the person who holds the beloved in their arms possesses everything. the scattering of hair on the lover's arm symbolizes deep intimacy, granting that person true rest and the right to be proud, while others are left restless.

kis ne bhige hue baalon se ye jhatka pani jhum ke aai ghata tut ke barsa pani

jab yar ne utha kar zulfon ke baal bandhe tab main ne apne dil mein lakhon khayal bandhe when my beloved raised her arms to gather up her tresses a million desires gathered in my heart and got tied up in a tangle.

us zulf pe phabti shab-e-dijur ki sujhi andhe ko andhere mein badi dur ki sujhi

apne sar ek bala to leni thi main ne wo zulf apne sar li hai

bikhri hui wo zulf ishaaron mein kah gai main bhi sharik hun tere haal-e-tabah mein

bahut mushkil hai duniya ka sanwarna teri zulfon ka pech-o-kham nahin hai

kuchh bikhri hui yaadon ke qisse bhi bahut the kuchh us ne bhi baalon ko khula chhod diya tha

ye khule khule se gesu inhen lakh tu sanware mere hath se sanwarte to kuchh aur baat hoti

chhedti hain kabhi lab ko kabhi rukhsaron ko tum ne zulfon ko bahut sar pe chadha rakkha hai

zahid ne mera hasil-e-iman nahin dekha rukh par teri zulfon ko pareshan nahin dekha the priest has seen my piety, he hasn't seen your grace he has not seen your tresses strewn across your face

ai junun phir mere sar par wahi shamat aai phir phansa zulfon mein dil phir wahi aafat aai

ijazat ho to main tasdiq kar lun teri zulfon se suna hai zindagi ek khub-surat dam hai saqi

hath tuten main ne gar chhedi hon zulfen aap ki aap ke sar ki qasam baad-e-saba thi main na tha

uljha hai panw yar ka zulf-e-daraaz mein lo aap apne dam mein sayyaad aa gaya the couplet plays on a witty reversal: the beloved’s long hair becomes a “trap,” and the lover who once seemed the hunter turns into the caught one. the image suggests that beauty ensnares even the one who thinks he controls the chase. emotionally, it celebrates love’s power to disarm pride and flip roles in an instant.

sarak kar aa gain zulfen jo in makhmur aankhon tak main ye samjha ki mai-khane pe badli chhai jati hai

dekhi thi ek raat teri zulf khwab mein phir jab talak jiya main pareshan hi raha

zulfen sina naf kamar ek nadi mein kitne bhanwar

jo dekhte teri zanjir-e-zulf ka aalam asir hone ki aazad aarzu karte

na jhatko zulf se pani ye moti tut jaenge tumhaara kuchh na bigdega magar dil tut jaenge

phir yaad bahut aaegi zulfon ki ghani sham jab dhup mein saya koi sar par na milega

aap ki nazuk kamar par bojh padta hai bahut badh chale hain had se gesu kuchh inhen kam kijiye

dekh lete jo mere dil ki pareshani ko aap baithe hue zulfen na sanwara karte

sab ke jaisi na bana zulf ki hum sada-nigah tere dhoke mein kisi aur ke shane lag jaen

abr mein chand gar na dekha ho rukh pe zulfon ko dal kar dekho