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عجب انداز تجھ کو نرگسِ مستانہ آتا ہے

'Ajab andāz tujh ko nargis-e-mastāna aatā hai

A strange art your intoxicated eyes know

Maulvi Haider Hassan Vehranwale Qawwal•The Dream Journey Sessions
Couplet 1
عجب انداز تجھ کو نرگسِ مستانہ آتا ہے کہ ہر ہشیار بننے کو یہاں دیوانہ آتا ہے
'ajab andāz tujh ko nargis-e-mastāna aatā hai ki har hoshiyār banñe ko yahāñ dīvāna aatā hai
A strange art your intoxicated eyes know, That everyone who tries to be wise comes here to become a madman.
Couplet 2
کوئی زاہد ہو واعظ ہو بے تابانہ آتا ہے سمجھ میں جس کی رازِ بادہ و پیمانہ آتا ہے
koī zāhid ho vā'iz ho be-tābāna aatā hai samajh meñ jis kī raaz bāda-o-paimāna aatā hai
Be it an ascetic or a preacher, he comes restlessly, The one who comes to understand the secret of the wine and the cup.
Couplet 3
وہی مسجد سے اُٹھ کر جانبِ مے خانہ آتا ہے حقیقت میں نگاہیں دیکھ لیتی ہیں حقیقت کو
vahī masjid se uTh kar jānib-e-mai-ḳhāna aatā hai haqīqat meñ nigāheñ dekh letī haiñ haqīqat ko
He is the one who rises from the mosque and comes toward the tavern; In reality, (his) eyes have seen the Reality.
Couplet 4
چھپا سکتے نہیں کثرت کے پردے رنگِ وحدت کو زمانہ کیا سمجھ سکتا ہے اُس کے کفرِ اُلفت کو
chhupā sakte nahīñ kasrat ke parde rañg-e-vahdat ko zamāna kyā samajh saktā hai us ke kufr-e-ulfat ko
The veils of multiplicity cannot hide the color of Oneness; How can the world understand his blasphemy of love?
Couplet 5
نظر بُت میں بھی جس کو جلوۂ جانانہ آتا ہے کری ہے دیر میں وہ سجدہ ریزی عین مستی میں
nazar but meñ bhī jis ko jalva-e-jānāna aatā hai karī hai dair meñ vo sajda-rezī 'ain mastī meñ
The one who sees the Splendor of the Beloved even in an idol... ...is the one who prostrates in the temple in a state of pure ecstasy.
Couplet 6
مجھے کافر لگے کہنے مسلمانوں کی بستی میں نظر آتی نہیں کچھ اپنی ہستی اپنی ہستی میں
mujhe kāfir lage kahne musalmānoñ kī bastī meñ nazar aatī nahīñ kuchh apnī hastī apnī hastī meñ
They started calling me an infidel in the land of Muslims; (Perhaps because) I see nothing of my own existence within my existence.
Couplet 7
کچھ ایسا کھو گیا ہوں دل کے ہاتھوں بُت پرستی میں جدھر جاتا ہوں میرے سامنے بُت خانہ آتا ہے
kuchh aisā kho gayā huuñ dil ke hāthoñ but-parastī meñ jidhar jaatā huuñ mere sāmne but-ḳhāna aatā hai
I have become so lost in this idol-worship at the hands of my heart, That wherever I go, an idol-house (temple) appears before me.
Couplet 8
میری تربت پہ آ کر خود یہ زاہد نے دُعا مانگی خدا بخشے بہت اچھی گزاری بُت پرستی میں
merī turbat pe aa kar ḳhud ye zāhid ne du'ā māñgī ḳhudā baḳhshe bahut achchhī guzārī but-parastī meñ
Coming to my grave, the ascetic himself made this prayer: "May God forgive him; he passed his life most excellently in idol-worship."

✨Metaphorical & Poetic Meaning

**This poem is a powerful expression of Sufi pantheism—the idea that God is in everything.**

Rejection of Orthodoxy: The poet contrasts the "wise" (hoshiyār), the "ascetic" (zāhid), and the "preacher" (vā'iz) with the "madman" (dīvāna). He says that the beloved's (God's) intoxicating gaze makes even the wisest seek "madness" (ecstatic love).

Tavern vs. Mosque: The "secret of the wine and cup" (bāda-o-paimāna) is mystical knowledge. One who understands this secret leaves the formal masjid (mosque) for the mai-ḳhāna (tavern), a place of unfiltered spiritual ecstasy, free of dogma, because his eyes have seen "Reality" (haqīqat).

Oneness vs. Multiplicity: The core of the poem. Kasrat (multiplicity, the material world) is just a "veil" that cannot hide Vahdat (the Oneness of God). The poet sees God in everything.

The "Blasphemy" of Idol Worship: This is the poem's central metaphor. The poet sees the "splendor of the Beloved" (jalva-e-jānāna) even in an "idol" (but). This is why he prostrates in a "temple" (dair). To the orthodox, this is kufr (blasphemy). To the poet, it is kufr-e-ulfat (the blasphemy of love), the highest form of realization.

The Final Victory: The poet becomes so consumed by this "idol-worship" (seeing God everywhere) that he is labeled an "infidel" (kāfir). He loses his own ego (apnī hastī). The final couplet is the ultimate triumph: after his death, the zāhid (the symbol of piety who condemned him) stands at his grave and concedes that the poet's "blasphemous" life was, in fact, a path to God.

📖Glossary of Highlighted Words

نرگسِ مستانہ (nargis-e-mastāna)
Intoxicated eyes (lit: "intoxicated narcissus," a classic metaphor for the beloved's eyes).
ہشیار (hoshiyār)
Wise, sane, clever.
دیوانہ (dīvāna)
Madman (in the context of love, one who is ecstatically devoted).
زاہد (zāhid)
Ascetic; a pious, orthodox, and often rigid religious man.
واعظ (vā'iz)
Preacher.
بے تابانہ (be-tābāna)
Restlessly, impatiently.
بادہ و پیمانہ (bāda-o-paimāna)
Wine and cup (metaphor for mystical knowledge and spiritual ecstasy).
مے خانہ (mai-ḳhāna)
Tavern (metaphor for a place of true, ecstatic spirituality, free of dogma).
حقیقت (haqīqat)
Reality; The ultimate Truth (God).
کثرت (kasrat)
Multiplicity; the diverse material world.
رنگِ وحدت (rañg-e-vahdat)
The color of Oneness; the singular divine reality.
کفرِ اُلفت (kufr-e-ulfat)
The blasphemy of love.
بُت (but)
Idol.
جلوۂ جانانہ (jalva-e-jānāna)
The splendor of the Beloved (God).
دیر (dair)
Temple.
سجدہ ریزی (sajda-rezī)
Prostration.
کافر (kāfir)
Infidel; non-believer.
ہستی (hastī)
Existence; being; ego.
بُت پرستی (but-parastī)
Idol-worship (used metaphorically for seeing God in all forms).
بُت خانہ (but-ḳhāna)
Idol-house; temple.
تربت (turbat)
Grave; tomb.

🎵Listen to the Song

Performed by Maulvi Haider Hassan Vehranwale Qawwal • The Dream Journey Sessions