Two poems from the work of Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984) was a prominent revolutionary Indo-Pakistani poet. In a brief career with the British Indian Army he was promoted to the…
One live flame
“if your beloved has the life of a fire step in now and burn along in a night full of suffering and darkness be…
Addicted to subtle discussions
We’re quite addicted to subtle discussions; we’re very fond of solving problems. So that we may tie knots and then undo them, we constantly…
All I have to offer…
Rest your cheek, for a moment, on this drunken cheek. Let me forget the war and cruelty inside myself. I hold these silver coins…
Each Note
Advice doesn’t help lovers! They’re not the kind of mountain stream you can build a dam across. An intellectual doesn’t know what the drunk…
“What do you really possess?”
What do you really possess, and what have you gained? What pearls have you brought up from the depth of the sea? On the…
I am a child of love
I profess the religion of love, Love is my religion and my faith. My mother is love My father is love My prophet is…
Sahir Ludhianvi’s poem composed on Ghalib’s centenary celebrations
Sahir Ludhianvi laments the way Urdu was treated by Indian nation-state as it became alien overnight. Ikees baras guzray aazadi-i-kaamil ko Tab ja…
Abr mi barad-o man shovm-e az yar-e judaa (The cloud weeps…)
Amir Khusrau’s lofty couplet Abr mi barad-o man shovm-e az yar-e judaa Choon kunam dil becheneen roz zedildar judaa. Abr baraan wa man-o yar…
Who am I,my friend
How does a part of the world leave the world? How can wetness leave water? Don’t try to put out a fire by throwing…
Any Chance Meeting
In every gathering, in any chance meeting on the street, there is a shine, an elegance rising up. Today, I recognized that that jewel-like…
When the heart becomes whole
When the heart becomes whole, it will know the flavors of falsehood and truth. When Adam’s greed for the forbidden fruit increased, it robbed…
I wasn’t like this before….
believe me i wasn’t always like this lacking common sense or looking insane like you i used to be clever in my days never…
“This Useless Heart”
Heart, since you embraced the mysteries, you have become useless for anything else. Go mad, don’t stay sane. People meditate to get something. All…
Kabir dohas
Bhagat Kabir has composed many Dohas (hymns) and some of them have also been included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: || 1 ||…
Faiz Ahmad Faiz: 1974 Interview from Radio Pakistan Archives
Faiz Ahmad Faiz In Program Fun aur Funkar = Panalist Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, Hameed Akhtar, Qayyum Nazar, Sajjad Baqar Rizvi, Anees Nagi, Intizar…
For I do not recognise myself
ATP recently published a piece of mine on Rumi and Bulleh Shah. I have quoted a translation of Rumi’s verse (rendered by Reynold A.…
Occupy yourself with your own inward self! – Rumi
Oh heart, place no honey in the mouth of the ill! Speak not of entrancing eyes in the assembly of the blind! Although God…
Turned by the waves of Love – Rumi
Know that the wheeling heavens are turned by waves of Love: were it not for Love, the world would be frozen, stiff. How would…
If you don’t know the way – Rumi
If you have a touchstone, go ahead, choose; otherwise, go and devote yourself to one who knows the differences. Either you must have a…