In the soul-stirring Kafi Ronde Umar Nibhai, the master mystic Khwaja Ghulam Farid articulates the ultimate state of spiritual desolation and Ishq-e-Haqiqi. The poet describes a soul so consumed by the fire of longing that worldly honor, physical health, and social norms become meaningless. Through the metaphors of spiritual burning and the constant pain of separation, he reveals that the path to the Divine Beloved is a journey where no worldly comfort can offer a cure, save for the Murshid’s grace and the Beloved’s own presence.
روندیں عمر نبھائی
یار دی خبر نہ کائی
Ronde umar nibhai
Yaar di khabar na kaai
I have spent my entire life in weeping,
Yet I have received no news of the Beloved.
بھاگ سہاگ سنگار ونجائم
دلوں وساریا ماہی
Bhag suhag sangaar vanjayam
Dilon visariya maahi
I sacrificed my good fortune, marital bliss, and adornments,
Yet the Beloved (Maahi) has forgotten me from His heart.
دور گیا ول آیا ناہیں
مر سا کھا کر پھائی
Door gaya val aaya nahin
Mar sa kha kar phaai
He went far away and never returned;
I shall die by taking poison or the gallows.
عشق نہیں کنی بار غضب دی
چٹنگ چوانتی لائی
Ishq nahin kani baar ghazab di
Chatang chawanti laai
This is not love, but a rain of divine wrath;
It has set my heart ablaze like a burning coal.
جوبن سارا روپ گنوائم
دردیں مار مسائی
Joban saara roop ganwayam
Dardeen maar musaai
I have lost all my youth and beauty;
The intensity of pain has destroyed me.
فخرالدین مٹھل دے شوقوں
دم دم پیڑ سوائی
Fakhruddin mithal de shauqon
Dum dum peer sawai
Out of longing for my sweet master, Fakhruddin,
With every breath, my agony increases manifold.
یار فرید نہ پائم پھیرا
گل گئم مفت اجائی
Yaar Farid na payam phera
Gul gayum muft ajaai
The Beloved did not return to visit Farid;
I have wasted away and perished in vain.
Vocabulary: Ronde Umar Nibhai
- Vanjayam: To lose, waste, or cast away.
- Visariya: Forgotten or put out of mind.
- Phaai: A noose; symbolic of self-sacrifice or extreme grief.
- Chatang: A spark or the initial flame of fire.
- Chawanti: A smoldering log or burning wood.
- Musaai: Perished, decayed, or destroyed by affliction.
- Mithal: The Sweet One; a title of endearment for the Murshid or Beloved.
- Sawai: Increased; to become more intense.
- Ajaai: In vain; uselessly or without reward.