Renowned Urdu Verse: 30 Famous Poems & Trans

Dil-e-naadaan tujhe hua kya hai?
Aakhir is dard ki dawa kya hai? (Ghalib)
O foolish heart, what has happened to you?
Ultimately, what is the cure for this pain?
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.

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.

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.

Woh jo hum mein tum mein qaraar tha tumhein yaad ho ke na yaad ho
Wohi yaani waada nibaah ka tumhein yaad ho ke na yaad ho. (Momin)
That understanding between us, whether you remember it or not,
That very promise of commitment, whether you remember it or not.

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

Sitaron se aage jahaan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihaan aur bhi hain. (Iqbal)
There are more worlds beyond the stars;
There are still more tests of love.

Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqdeer se pehle
Khuda bande se khud poochhe bata teri raza kya hai. (Iqbal)
Elevate your Self so high that before every decree of fate,
God Himself asks the servant, “Tell Me, what is your will?”

Ab toh ghabra ke yeh kehte hain ke mar jaayenge
Mar ke bhi chain na paaya toh kidhar jaayenge. (Zauq)
Now, in desperation, I say I will die,
But if I don’t find peace even after death, where will I go?

Laayi hayaat aaye qaza le chali chale
Apni khushi na aaye na apni khushi chale. (Zauq)
Life brought us, we came; death took us, we went;
Neither did we come of our own accord, nor did we go of our own accord.

Patta patta boota boota haal hamara jaane hai
Jaane na jaane gul hi na jaane baagh toh saara jaane hai. (Mir Taqi Mir)
Every leaf, every plant knows my condition;
Whether the rose knows or not, the whole garden knows.

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.

Hum ko achha nahin lagta koi hum-naam tera
Koi tujh sa ho toh phir naam bhi tujh sa rakhe. (Parveen Shakir)
I don’t like anyone with the same name as yours;
If someone is like you, then they should also have a name like yours.

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 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.

Donon jahaan de ke woh samjhe yeh khush raha
Yaan aa pari yeh sharm ke takraar kya karein. (Sauda)
Giving both worlds, they thought he remained happy;
Here, this shame befell, what argument could be made?

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.

Koi ummeed bar nahin aati
Koi soorat nazar nahin aati. (Ghalib)
No hope is fulfilled,
No solution is in sight.

Tere waade par jiye hum toh yeh jaan jhoot jaana
Ke khushi se mar na jaate agar e’tibaar hota. (Ghalib)
If I lived on your promise, know this to be a lie;
For I would have died of happiness if I had trusted it.

Qatl-e-Hussain asl mein marg-e-Yazeed hai
Islam zinda hota hai har Karbala ke baad. (Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar)
The martyrdom of Hussain is, in reality, the death of Yazid;
Islam is revived after every Karbala.

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.

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?

Yun di hamein aazaadi ke duniya hui hairaan
Aye Quaid-e-Azam tera ehsaan hai ehsaan. (Mian Bashir Ahmed)
You gave us freedom in such a way that the world was amazed;
O Quaid-e-Azam, your favor is indeed a great favor.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Woh shakhs mujh ko jeet ke haara hai aur bas
Itna hi zindagi ka khasaara hai aur bas. (Munir Niazi)
That person, after winning me, has lost, and that’s all;
This much is the loss of life, and that’s all.

Dil dhadakne ka sabab yaad aaya
Woh teri yaad thi ab yaad aaya. (Nasir Kazmi)
The reason for the heart’s beating came to mind;
It was your memory, now I remember.

Hum bhi kya saada thay hum ne bhi samajh rakha tha
Gham-e-dauraan se judaa hai gham-e-jaanaan jaanaan. (Faiz Ahmad Faiz)
How naive I was, I too had assumed,
That the sorrow of the beloved is separate from the sorrows of the world, O beloved.