kareñge ahl-e-nazartaazabastiyāñābād
mirīnigāhnahīñsū-e-Kūfa-o-Baġhdād
By men whose eyes see far and wide new cities shall be founded:
Not by old Kufa or Baghdad is my thought’s vision bounded.
ye madrasa ye javāñ ye surūr o ra.anā.ī
inhīñke dam se haimai-ḳhāna-e-farañgābād
Rash youth, new‐fangled learning, giddy pleasure, gaudy plume,—
With these, while these still swarm, the Frankish wine‐shop is surrounded.
na falsafī se na mullā se haiġharazmujh ko
ye dilkīmautvoandesha o nazarkāfasād
Not with philosopher, nor with priest, my business; one lays waste
The heart, and one sows discord to keep mind and soul confounded;
faqīh-e-shahrkītahqīrkyāmajālmirī
magar ye baat ki maiñDhūñDtāhuuñdilkīkushād
And for the Pharisee – far from this poor worm be disrespect!
But how to enfranchise Man, is all the problem I have sounded.
ḳharīdsaktehaiñduniyāmeñishrat-e-parvez
ḳhudākī den haisarmāya-e-ġham-e-farhād
The fleshpots of the wealthy are for sale about the world;
Who bears love’s toils and pangs earns wealth that God’s hand has compounded.
kiyehaiñfaashrumūz-e-qalandarīmaiñ ne
ki fikr-e-madrasa-o-ḳhānqāhhoāzād
I have laid bare such mysteries as the hermit learns, that thought,
In cloister or in college, in true freedom may be grounded.
rishīkefāqoñ se TuuTā na barhamankātilism
asā na ho to kalīmīhaikār-e-be-buniyād
No fastings of Mahatmas will destroy the Brahmins’ sway;
Vainly, when Moses holds no rod, have all his words resounded!