# Saz-e-Yak Zarra Nahin Faiz-e-Chaman Se Bekaar

**Urdu title:** سازِ یک ذرّہ نہیں فیضِ چمن سے بیکار

**Section:** Noha & Marsiya -- Fatima Zahra Imamia Centre devotional library
**Page:** https://fzic.org/library/noha/saz-e-yak-zarra-nahin-faiz-e-chaman-se-bekaar-50019
**Form:** Manqabat
**Poet:** Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib
**Source: Urdu text: Urdu Wikisource (public domain). Roman Urdu and English: prepared by the Centre.**

## About this text

Mirza Ghalib's first qasida in praise of Imam Ali (a), headed Manqabat-e-Haidari in his diwan. It opens with spring, whose bounty leaves nothing idle, and turns to the King for whose house Gabriel served as builder and whose dust of Najaf is the goal of the mystics; a second opening addresses Imam Ali (a) as the candle of spring. Written in Ghalib's early, highly Persianised style, it is among the hardest poems of his diwan; the English gives the plain sense of each couplet.

## Text

**Stanza 1**

Urdu:  
سازِ یک ذرّہ نہیں فیضِ چمن سے بیکار  
سایۂ لالۂ بےداغ سویداۓ بہار

Roman Urdu:  
Saz-e-yak zarra nahin faiz-e-chaman se bekaar  
Saaya-e-lala-e-bedagh suwaida-e-bahar

English:  
Through the bounty of the garden, not one speck's instrument lies idle;  
The shadow of a tulip without its dark spot becomes the black core of spring's heart.

**Stanza 2**

Urdu:  
مستئ بادِ صبا سے ہے بہ عرضِ سبزہ  
ریزۂ شیشۂ مے جوہرِ تیغِ کہسار

Roman Urdu:  
Masti-e-baad-e-saba se hai ba arz-e-sabza  
Reza-e-shisha-e-mai jauhar-e-tegh-e-kohsar

English:  
From the intoxication of the morning breeze, in the guise of green grass,  
The watered steel of the mountain's sword is shards of a wine flask.

**Stanza 3**

Urdu:  
سبز ہے جامِ زمرّد کی طرح داغِ پلنگ  
تازہ ہے ریشۂ نارنج صفت روۓ شرار

Roman Urdu:  
Sabz hai jaam-e-zumurrad ki tarah daagh-e-palang  
Taza hai resha-e-naranj sifat roo-e-sharar

English:  
The leopard's spots are green as an emerald cup;  
The face of the spark is fresh as the fibres of an orange.

**Stanza 4**

Urdu:  
مستئِ ابر سے گلچینِ طرب ہے حسرت  
کہ اس آغوش میں ممکن ہے دو عالم کا فِشار

Roman Urdu:  
Masti-e-abr se gulchin-e-tarab hai hasrat  
Ke is aaghosh mein mumkin hai do aalam ka fishar

English:  
From the intoxication of the clouds, even longing gathers the flowers of delight,  
For in this embrace both worlds can be held close.

**Stanza 5**

Urdu:  
کوہ و صحرا ہمہ معمورئِ شوقِ بلبل  
راہِ خوابیدہ ہوئی خندۂ گل سے بیدار

Roman Urdu:  
Koh-o-sehra hama mamoori-e-shauq-e-bulbul  
Raah-e-khwabida hui khanda-e-gul se bedar

English:  
Mountain and desert are all thronged with the nightingale's longing;  
The sleeping road has woken at the laughter of the rose.

**Stanza 6**

Urdu:  
سونپے ہے فیضِ ہوا صورتِ مژگانِ یتیم  
سر نوشتِ دو جہاں ابر بہ یک سطرِ غبار

Roman Urdu:  
Saunpe hai faiz-e-hawa surat-e-mizhgan-e-yateem  
Sar navisht-e-do jahan abr ba yak satr-e-ghubar

English:  
The bounty of the air makes the cloud entrust, as to an orphan's eyelashes,  
The fate of both worlds to a single line of dust.

**Stanza 7**

Urdu:  
کاٹ کر پھینکۓ ناخن جو باندازِ ہلال  
قوت نامیہ اس کو بھی نہ چھوڑے بیکار

Roman Urdu:  
Kaat kar phenkiye nakhun jo ba andaz-e-hilal  
Quwwat-e-namiya us ko bhi na chhore bekaar

English:  
If you clip a nail and throw it away, curved like the new moon,  
The power of growth will not leave even that idle.

**Stanza 8**

Urdu:  
کفِ ہر خاک بہ گردون شدہ قمری پرواز  
دامِ ہر کاغذِ آتش زدہ طاؤسِ شکار

Roman Urdu:  
Kaf-e-har khaak ba gardoon shuda qumri parwaz  
Daam-e-har kaghaz-e-atish zada taoos shikar

English:  
Every handful of dust tossed to the sky flies off like a turtle-dove;  
Every scorched sheet of paper is a net that snares peacocks.

**Stanza 9**

Urdu:  
مےکدے میں ہو اگر آرزوۓ گل چینی  
بھول جا یک قدحِ بادہ بہ طاقِ گلزار

Roman Urdu:  
Maikade mein ho agar aarzoo-e-gul chini  
Bhool ja yak qadah-e-bada ba taaq-e-gulzar

English:  
If in the tavern you long to gather flowers,  
Leave a single cup of wine forgotten in a niche of the garden.

**Stanza 10**

Urdu:  
موجِ گل ڈھونڈھ بہ خلوت کدۂ غنچۂ باغ  
گُم کرے گوشۂ مےخانہ میں گر تو دستار

Roman Urdu:  
Mauj-e-gul dhoondh ba khalwat kada-e-ghuncha-e-baagh  
Gum kare gosha-e-maikhana mein gar tu dastar

English:  
Look for the wave of the rose in the secret chamber of a garden bud  
If you lose your turban in a corner of the tavern.

**Stanza 11**

Urdu:  
کھینچے گر مانئ اندیشہ چمن کی تصویر  
سبزہ مثلِ خطِ نو خیز ہو خطِّ پرکار

Roman Urdu:  
Khenche gar Mani-e-andesha chaman ki tasveer  
Sabza misl-e-khatt-e-nau khez ho khatt-e-parkar

English:  
If the Mani of imagination should paint the garden,  
The line of the compass would turn to green grass, like the first down on a young man's cheek.

**Stanza 12**

Urdu:  
لعل سے کی ہے پۓ زمزمۂ مدحتِ شاہ  
طوطئِ سبزۂکہسار نے پیدا منقار

Roman Urdu:  
Laal se ki hai pa-e-zamzama-e-midhat-e-shah  
Tooti-e-sabza-e-kohsar ne paida minqar

English:  
Out of ruby, to sing the praises of the King,  
The parrot of the mountain's greenery has grown a beak.

**Stanza 13**

Urdu:  
وہ شہنشاہ کہ جس کی پۓ تعمیرِ سرا  
چشمِ جبریل ہوئی قالبِ خشتِ دیوار

Roman Urdu:  
Wo shahanshah ke jis ki pa-e-tameer-e-sara  
Chashm-e-Jibreel hui qalib-e-khisht-e-deewar

English:  
That King of kings, for the building of whose house  
The eye of Gabriel became the mould for the bricks of the walls;

**Stanza 14**

Urdu:  
فلک العرش ہجومِ خمِ دوشِ مزدور  
رشتۂ فیضِ ازل سازِ طنابِ معمار

Roman Urdu:  
Falak-ul-arsh hujoom-e-kham-e-dosh-e-mazdoor  
Rishta-e-faiz-e-azal saz-e-tanab-e-memar

English:  
The heaven of the Throne is but the bent shoulders of its labourers;  
The thread of eternal grace is the master builder's measuring cord.

**Stanza 15**

Urdu:  
سبزۂ نُہ چمن و یک خطِ پشتِ لبِ بام  
رفعتِ ہمّتِ صد عارف و یک اوجِ حصار

Roman Urdu:  
Sabza-e-nuh chaman-o-yak khatt-e-pusht-e-lab-e-baam  
Rifat-e-himmat-e-sad arif-o-yak auj-e-hisar

English:  
The green of the nine gardens of heaven is but one line of down above the lip of its roof;  
The lofty resolve of a hundred mystics is but one height of its rampart.

**Stanza 16**

Urdu:  
واں کی خاشاک سے حاصل ہو جسے یک پرِکاہ  
وہ رہے مِر وحۂ بالِ پری سےبیزار

Roman Urdu:  
Waan ki khashak se hasil ho jise yak par-e-kah  
Wo rahe mirwaha-e-baal-e-pari se bezaar

English:  
Whoever gains from the straw of that place a single blade,  
Will ever disdain a fan made of a fairy's wings.

**Stanza 17**

Urdu:  
خاکِ صحراۓ نجف جوہرِ سیرِ عُرفا  
چشمِ نقشِ قدم آئینۂ بختِ بیدار

Roman Urdu:  
Khaak-e-sehra-e-Najaf jauhar-e-sair-e-urafa  
Chashm-e-naqsh-e-qadam aaina-e-bakht-e-bedar

English:  
The dust of the desert of Najaf is the essence of the mystics' journeying;  
The eye of a footprint is the mirror of a waking fortune.

**Stanza 18**

Urdu:  
ذرّہ اس گرد کاخورشید کو آئینہ ناز  
گرد اُس دشت کی اُمّید کو احرامِ بہار

Roman Urdu:  
Zarra us gard ka khursheed ko aaina-e-naaz  
Gard us dasht ki ummeed ko ehram-e-bahar

English:  
A speck of that dust is a mirror of pride for the sun;  
The dust of that desert is, for hope, the pilgrim's robe of spring.

**Stanza 19**

Urdu:  
آفرینش کو ہے واں سے طلبِ مستئ ناز  
عرضِ خمیازۂ ایجاد ہے ہرموجِ غبار

Roman Urdu:  
Aafrinish ko hai waan se talab-e-masti-e-naaz  
Arz-e-khamyaza-e-ijad hai har mauj-e-ghubar

English:  
From there creation seeks the intoxication of grace;  
Every wave of dust displays the yawning craving of creation.

### Second opening -- مطلعِ ثانی

**Stanza 20**

Urdu:  
فیض سے تیرے ہے اے شمعِ شبستانِ بہار  
دلِ پروانہ چراغاں، پرِ بلبل گلنار

Roman Urdu:  
Faiz se tere hai ae shama-e-shabistan-e-bahar  
Dil-e-parwana charaghan, par-e-bulbul gulnar

English:  
By your bounty, O candle of the chamber of spring,  
The moth's heart is lit with festive lamps, and the nightingale's wing is red as the pomegranate flower.

**Stanza 21**

Urdu:  
شکلِ طاؤس کرے آئینہ خانہ پرواز  
ذوق میں جلوے کے تیرے بہ ہواۓ دیدار

Roman Urdu:  
Shakl-e-taoos kare aaina khana parwaz  
Zauq mein jalwe ke tere ba hawa-e-deedar

English:  
The hall of mirrors would take wing like a peacock  
In its delight in your splendour, longing to behold you.

**Stanza 22**

Urdu:  
تیری اولاد کے غم سے ہے بروۓ گردوں  
سِلکِ اختر میں مہِ نو مژۂ گوہر بار

Roman Urdu:  
Teri aulad ke gham se hai ba roo-e-gardoon  
Silk-e-akhtar mein mah-e-nau mizha-e-gauhar baar

English:  
From grief for your children, upon the face of the sky  
The new moon among the strings of stars is an eyelash shedding pearls.

**Stanza 23**

Urdu:  
ہم عبادت کو، ترا نقشِ قدم مُہرِ نماز  
ہم ریاضت کو، ترے حوصلے سے استظہار

Roman Urdu:  
Hum ibadat ko, tera naqsh-e-qadam muhr-e-namaz  
Hum riyazat ko, tere hausle se istizhar

English:  
For our worship, your footprint is the tablet on which we bow in prayer;  
For our discipline, we draw our strength from your fortitude.

**Stanza 24**

Urdu:  
مدح میں تیری نہاں زمزمۂ نعتِ نبی  
جام سے تیرے عیاں بادۂ جوشِ اسرار

Roman Urdu:  
Madh mein teri nihan zamzama-e-naat-e-nabi  
Jaam se tere ayan bada-e-josh-e-asrar

English:  
Hidden in your praise is the song in praise of the Prophet;  
From your cup the wine of seething mysteries shows plain.

**Stanza 25**

Urdu:  
جوہرِ دستِ دعا آئینہ یعنی تاثیر  
یک طرف نازشِ مژگان و دگر سو غمِ خار

Roman Urdu:  
Jauhar-e-dast-e-dua aaina yani taseer  
Yak taraf nazish-e-mizhgan-o-digar soo gham-e-khaar

English:  
The grain of the hand raised in prayer is a mirror, that is, of its effect:  
On one side the pride of eyelashes, on the other the grief of the thorn.

**Stanza 26**

Urdu:  
مَردُمک سے ہو عزا خانۂ اقبالِ نگاہ  
خاکِ در کی ترے جو چشم نہ ہوآئینہ دار

Roman Urdu:  
Mardumak se ho aza khana-e-iqbal-e-nigah  
Khaak-e-dar ki tere jo chashm na ho aaina dar

English:  
Let its pupil make a house of mourning for the fortune of its sight,  
That eye which does not hold up a mirror to the dust of your door.

**Stanza 27**

Urdu:  
دشمنِ آلِ نبی کو بہ طرب خانۂ دہر  
عرضِ خمیازۂ سیلاب ہوطاقِ دیوار

Roman Urdu:  
Dushman-e-aal-e-nabi ko ba tarab khana-e-dahr  
Arz-e-khamyaza-e-sailab ho taaq-e-deewar

English:  
For the enemy of the Prophet's family, in the pleasure-house of the world,  
May the niche in the wall gape like the jaws of a flood.

**Stanza 28**

Urdu:  
دیدہ تا دل اسدآئینۂ یک پرتوِ شوق  
فیضِ معنی سے خطِ ساغرِ راقم سرشار

Roman Urdu:  
Deeda ta dil Asad aaina-e-yak partau-e-shauq  
Faiz-e-mani se khatt-e-saghar-e-raqim sarshar

English:  
Asad, from eye to heart I am a mirror of a single ray of longing;  
By the bounty of meaning, the writer's cup is brimming to its line.

---

Published by Fatima Zahra Imamia Centre, North Ipswich QLD, https://fzic.org.
Free to read.