Pinnacle of Expression: 30 Excellent Urdu Poems

Hazaaron khwahishein aisi ke har khwahish pe dam nikle
Bahut nikle mere armaan lekin phir bhi kam nikle. (Ghalib)
Thousands of desires, each worth dying for,
Many of my desires were fulfilled, yet many remained.
Dil se jo baat nikalti hai asar rakhti hai
Par nahin taaqat-e-parwaaz magar rakhti hai. (Iqbal)
The word that comes from the heart has an effect;
It doesn’t have wings, but it has the power of flight.

Ab ke hum bichhde toh shaayad kabhi khwaabon mein milein
Jis tarah sookhe hue phool kitaabon mein milein. (Ahmad Faraz)
If we part this time, perhaps we’ll meet in dreams,
Just as dried flowers are found in books.

Zindagi zinda dili ka naam hai
Murda dil kya khaak jiya karte hain. (Imam Bakhsh Nasikh)
Life is the name of being lively;
What life do the dead-hearted live?

Khud ko parhta hoon, phir chhor deta hoon
Ik warq roz, maror deta hoon. (Attributed to Jaun Elia)
I read myself, then I leave it,
A page every day, I crumple.

Ishq ne Ghalib nikamma kar diya
Warna hum bhi aadmi thay kaam ke. (Ghalib)
Love has made Ghalib useless,
Otherwise, I too was a man of worth.

Ranjish hi sahi dil hi dukhaane ke liye aa
Aa phir se mujhe chhor ke jaane ke liye aa. (Ahmad Faraz)
Let it be resentment, come just to hurt my heart;
Come again, to leave me once more.

Yeh ishq nahin aasaan itna hi samajh leeje
Ik aag ka dariya hai aur doob ke jaana hai. (Jigar Moradabadi)
This love is not easy, just understand this much;
It is a river of fire, and one must drown to cross it.

Tundi-e-baad-e-mukhaalif se na ghabra aye uqaab
Yeh toh chalti hai tujhe ooncha udaane ke liye. (Iqbal)
Do not be dismayed by the fierceness of the opposing wind, O eagle;
It blows only to make you fly higher.

Hum toh samjhe thay ke ik zakhm hai bhar jaayega
Kya khabar thi ke rag-e-jaan mein utar jaayega. (Ahmad Faraz)
I had thought it was just a wound that would heal;
What did I know that it would descend into the vein of life?

Woh aaye bazm mein itna toh Mir ne dekha
Phir us ke baad charaaghon mein raushni na rahi. (Mir Dard)
She came to the assembly, Mir saw that much;
After that, there was no light left in the lamps.

Kaun kehta hai ke maut aayi toh mar jaaoonga
Main toh dariya hoon samandar mein utar jaaoonga. (Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi)
Who says that when death comes, I will die?
I am a river, I will merge into the ocean.

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mein hai. (Bismil Azimabadi)
The desire for martyrdom is now in our hearts;
We have to see how much strength there is in the murderer’s arm.

Ulti ho gayeen sab tadbeerein kuch na dawa ne kaam kiya
Dekha is beemaari-e-dil ne aakhir kaam tamaam kiya. (Mir Taqi Mir)
All plans were overturned, no medicine worked;
Look, this ailment of the heart finally finished the job.

Tum mere paas hote ho goya
Jab koi doosra nahin hota. (Momin)
You are with me, it seems,
When no one else is around.

Kitna aasaan tha tere hijr mein marna jaanaan
Phir bhi ik umr lagi jaan se jaate jaate. (Jaun Elia)
How easy it was to die in your separation, beloved,
Yet it took a lifetime for life to finally depart.

Apne mann mein doob kar paa ja suraagh-e-zindagi
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban apna toh ban. (Iqbal)
Delve into your own self and find the secret of life;
If you do not become Mine, don’t, but at least become your own.

Gham-e-duniya bhi gham-e-yaar mein shaamil kar lo
Nasha barhta hai sharaabein jo sharaabon mein milein. (Ahmad Faraz)
Include the sorrows of the world in the sorrow of the beloved;
Intoxication increases when wines are mixed with wines.

Yeh na thi hamari qismat ke wisaal-e-yaar hota
Agar aur jeete rehte yahi intezaar hota. (Ghalib)
It was not my destiny to unite with the beloved;
Had I lived longer, this waiting would have continued.

Shikwa-e-zulmat-e-shab se toh kahin behtar tha
Apne hisse ki koi shama jalaate jaate. (Ahmad Faraz)
It would have been far better than complaining about the darkness of the night,
If you had lit a candle of your own share as you went.

Jo guzaari na ja saki hum se
Hum ne woh zindagi guzaari hai. (Jaun Elia)
That life which could not be lived by me,
That is the life I have lived.

Kaafir hai toh shamsheer pe karta hai bharosa
Momin hai toh be-tegh bhi ladta hai sipaahi. (Iqbal)
If one is an unbeliever, he relies on the sword;
If one is a believer, the soldier fights even without a sword.

Kuch toh hawa bhi sard thi kuch tha tera khayaal bhi
Dil ko khushi ke saath saath hota raha malaal bhi. (Parveen Shakir)
The wind was somewhat cold, and there was also the thought of you;
Along with happiness, the heart also felt sorrow.

Woh toh khushboo hai hawaaon mein bikhar jaayega
Masla phool ka hai phool kidhar jaayega. (Ahmad Faraz)
He is a fragrance, he will spread in the winds;
The problem is of the flower, where will the flower go?

Is zindagi mein itni faraaghat kise naseeb
Itna na yaad aa ke tujhe bhool jaayein hum. (Ahmad Faraz)
Who is fortunate enough to have so much leisure in this life?
Don’t remind me of yourself so much that I forget you.

Aa’een-e-jawaan mardaan, haq-goi-o-be-baaki
Allah ke sheron ko aati nahin roobaahi. (Iqbal)
The code of chivalrous men is truthfulness and fearlessness;
The lions of God do not know fox-like cunning.

Umr bhar sang-zani karte rahe ahl-e-watan
Yeh alag baat ke dafnaayeinge e’zaaz ke saath. (Qateel Shifai)
All life long, countrymen threw stones;
It’s a different matter that they will bury with honor.

Mitaade apni hasti ko agar kuch martaba chaahe
Ke daana khaak mein mil kar gul-o-gulzaar hota hai. (Iqbal)
Erase your own existence if you desire some status;
For a seed, by mixing with the soil, becomes a rose and a rose garden.

Kya takalluf karein yeh kehne mein
Jo bhi khush hai hum us se jalte hain. (Jaun Elia)
Why be formal in saying this?
Whoever is happy, we are jealous of them.

Zindagi kis tarah basar hogi
Dil nahin lag raha mohabbat mein. (Jaun Elia)
How will life be spent?
The heart is not engaged in love.