Zulmat ko Zia

I have always had a fascination with the Urdu language. Having lived in Hyderabad my entire life, I have found this language to be very beautiful and having a natural poetic sound to it, the way Italian supposedly has.

Due to this fascination, I have taken a liking to songs, ghazals and qawwalis that are sung in Urdu. Naturally, I have come across numerous Pakistani artists. One such artist is Habib Jalib, the "poet of the people".

One of my favourite poems of Jalib is "Zulmat ko Zia". When Zia ul Haq seized power via a coup, Jalib wrote this poem. The word "Zia" in Urdu means light. Using this, Jalib writes, "How can I call this darkness as light?"

Over the past month or so, due to obvious reasons, this poem has become even more dear to me. I shall post the lyrics and translation of the poem. Pakistani band "Laal" adapted the poem into the form of a song. I shall also post a link to the song.

Lyrics

"Haq baat pe koday aur zindaan, 

Batil ke shikanje me hai ye jaan 

Insaan he ke sehme bethe he, 

Khoon-khwar darinde he raksaan 

Iss zulm-o-sitam ko lutf-o-karam

Iss dukh ko dawa kya likhna 

Zulmat ko zia, sar sar ko saba,

Banday ko khuda kya likhna

Har shaam yaha shaam-e-weeran,

Aaseb zada raste galiyan 

Jis shehr ki dhun main nikle the,

Woh shehr dil-e-barbad kaha 

Sehra ko chaman, ban ko gulshan

Badal ko rida kya likhna 

Zulmat ko zia, sa sar ko saba

Banday ko khuda kya likhna

Aye mere watan ke fankaro,

Zulmat pe na apna fan waro 

Ye mehl sara’on ke baasi,

Kaatil hain sabhi apne yaro 

Wirsay main hame yeh gham hai mila,

[Zia ul Haq]

Iss gham ko nayaa kia likhna 

Zulmat ko zia, sarsar ko saba,

Bande ko khuda kya likhna."

Translation:

"For the truth you are flogged and imprisoned,

Our lives are trapped in the grip of lies,

As citizens crouch down in terror,

The blood thirsty monsters roam about.

This cruelty as kindness, 

This disease as a cure I cannot write

This dark night as dawn , these toxic fumes as a breeze 

And a human as god I cannot write.

Every evening here is one of desolation,

Every road and alley is struck by calamity,

With hope in our hearts we searched for a city,

Where is that city now,  my devastated heart?

This desert as a rose garden, 

This cloud as silver lining I cannot write

This dark night as dawn , these toxic fumes as a breeze 

And a human as god I cannot write.

Oh fellow artists of my homeland!

Don’t sacrifice your art to this darkness,

These people who live in palaces,

All are murderers, my comrades.

We have inherited this grief from the past,

[Zia ul Haq]

How can I write of this grief as new?

This dark night as dawn , these toxic fumes as a breeze 

And a human as god I cannot write."

Laal - Zulmat ko Zia