dil-e-naadaa tujhe huaa kyaa hai
aakhir is dard ki davaa kyaa hai

ham hai mushtaaq aur vo bezaar
yaa ilaahi, ye maajaraa kyaa hai

mai bhi muh me zubaan rakhataa hun
kaash puchho ki mudda kyaa hai

jabaki tujh bin nahi koi maujud
phir ye hagaamaa ai khudaa kyaa hai

ye pari-cheharaa log kaise hai
gamazaa-o-ush{}vaa-o-adaa kyaa hai

shikane-zulafe-amabari kyaa hai
nigaahe-chashme-surama saa kyaa hai

sabz-o-gul kahaan se aaye hai
abr kyaa chiz hai, havaa kyaa hai

hamako unase vafaa ki hai ummid
jo nahi jaanate vafaa kyaa hai

haan bhalaa kar, teraa bhalaa hogaa
aur daravesh ki sadaa kyaa hai

jaan tum par nisaar karataa hun
mai nahi jaanataa duaa kyaa hai

maine maanaa ki kuchh nahi ``gaalib''
muft haath aaye, to buraa kyaa hai

What ails this heart, so foolish and frail?
What balm exists for this unending trail?
We yearn, they scorn, a distance we can't mend,
O God, this riddle, what does it portend?

Though speech resides within my humble breast,
I long to ask, what lengths must I invest?
When none exists, save only you above,
Then why this turmoil, what stirs your love?

These faces fair, what secrets do they keep?
Their subtle glances, what emotions sweep?
The raven tresses, fragrant in the air,
The kohl-lined eyes, what truths do they declare?

Where bloom the flowers, where the verdant grows?
What is a cloud, what winds the spirit knows?
From them, we seek a faithfulness we crave,
Who know not even what devotion gave.
Do good, and good will find its way to you.

The dervish's song, what secrets does it imbue?
My life I offer, freely, to your name,
I know not prayer, nor how to fan the flame.
Though “Ghalib” I am nothing, it is true,
If offered freely, what is there to rue?