Hum Dekhenge

Faiz Ahmed Faiz

Hum dekhenge
Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge
Wo din ke jis ka wada hai
Jo lauh-e-azl mein likha hai

Jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-e-garan
Rooi ki tarah ur jaenge
Hum mehkoomon ke paaon tale
Ye dharti dhar dhar dharkegi
Aur ahl-e-hakam ke sar oopar
Jab bijli kar kar karkegi

Jab arz-e-Khuda ke kaabe se
Sab but uthwae jaenge
Hum ahl-e-safa mardood-e-harm
Masnad pe bethae jaenge
Sab taaj uchale jaenge
Sab takht girae jaenge

Bas naam rahega Allah ka
Jo ghayab bhi hai hazir bhi
Jo manzar bhi hai nazir bhi
Utthega an-al-haq ka nara
Jo mai bhi hoon tum bhi ho
Aur raaj karegi Khalq-e-Khuda
Jo mai bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho

 
My Translation
 
We shall Witness
It is certain that we too, shall witness
the day that has been promised
of which has been written on the slate of eternity
 
When the enormous mountains of tyranny
blow away like cotton.
Under our feet- the feet of the oppressed-
when the earth will pulsate deafeningly
and on the heads of our rulers
when lightning will strike.
 
From the abode of God
When icons of falsehood will be taken out,
When we- the faithful- who have been barred out of sacred places
will be seated on high cushions 
When the crowns will be tossed,
When the thrones will be brought down.
 
Only The name will survive
Who cannot be seen but is also present
Who is the spectacle and the beholder, both
I am the Truth- the cry will rise,
Which is I, as well as you
And then God’s creation will rule
Which is I, as well as you

32 Responses to “Hum Dekhenge”

  1. wonderful, wonderful. who is this author?

  2. Well done. Great translation.
    And welcome to blogging from a lazy blogger :D haha…
    seriously, thats the worst thing that can happen to you here. Laziness. :D
    enjoy, and good luck.

  3. Beautiful, I look forward to reading more. Good luck!

  4. Thanks! for such a warm welcome and sorry for such a tardy response :(

  5. [...] Transliteration and translation [...]

  6. Hello Ghazala,

    Loved your translation. I hope you don’t mind if I use it for an article I’m doing. It’s the best I’ve found so far.

    Stay well, and I hope to see more translations of Faiz.

    Best,
    Dileep

  7. ghazala Says:

    Thanks! Dileep. Please go ahead and use it just credit me for the translation and i’d like to read your article if possible…

  8. hi thanks for the invite .. to your blog.. I am neither a poet nor have read much poetry in my life ..but love to read poems that friends write on day to day life.. as all great poets really did that anyway..before they became great.. and mostly they became great after they left this world which is the way the world works.. most wonderful things and people are recognised much after they have gone.. humanity only learns in hindsight..it was a pleasure going through some of thepoems on your blog..please keep me posted..regards ash

  9. ghazala Says:

    Thanks! Ashraf, for visiting… please come again.

  10. Salaamz…

    This poem came as a ray of light in my life that has lost all hope…

    Allah Hafiz…!!!

  11. So shines the humanist poetry of Faiz.
    J. Keep it up, friend!
    Khuda Haafiz!

  12. Beautiful translation!
    I was never into poetry but your blog has given given a new insight!! Your selection of poems is incredible. I am a regular visitor now and really look forward to reading new postings on your blog. Keep writing!!

  13. seema tiwari Says:

    congratulations Ghazala! it was a great feeling to see ur incredible work! somehow i had come across both the original version and its translation but never knew that its u behind this bridge…..plz carry on! gudluck!

  14. ritu, seema… i’m honoured. I do it only because it really is such a soul-tonic! :) thanks so much.

  15. Hi Ghazala:

    Great translation.
    ‘Ghazal’ is my blog name too :-) and this is one of my fav Faiz poems..
    after ‘Yeh haath salamat hai jab tak,’..and ‘Sab aatl hoke, tere muqaabil’
    I’m sure you’ve heard Nayyara Noor and Farida Khanum sahiba’s great renditions of the same.
    Also, may I add a link to your blog..

    Thanks and Peace,

    L

  16. alibintariq Says:

    I’ll appreciate if you can provide a Urdu text of this poem, i have searched it on Google but no success…great work anyways

  17. Anonymous Says:

    hey well done. I love to read & listen this ghazal; both Faiz Ahmed Faiz & Iqbal Bano are legends.

  18. [...] a lengthy tribute at Pakistaniat.  The (romanized) text, with inevitably unjust translation, are here.  I don’t have any particular belief in an afterlife, but I’d like to think of Bano [...]

  19. Nivedita Menon said

    on April 22, 2009 at 4:18 PM

    http://kafila.org/2009/04/22/iqbal-bano-1935-2009/#comment-5638

    [...] looked for translations of Hum Dekhenge on the web, for those who do not understand Urdu, and found two by Ghazala and Maniza Naqvi, on whose translations I based my version [...]

  20. nadira from kannur Says:

    Very nice translation Ghazala. I hope you won’t mind if I use it for a post on my blog page on RediffIland about Iqbal Bano.

  21. hey ghazala…a frnd introduced me 2 ur blog n now i m jus hooked! was never much into poetry n especially not urdu, but ur selections of poems and their translations have just opened up a whole new world for me….also love ur descriptions of places…puts me rite ther in tht place visualise n experience it….
    went thru ur blog at a time wen i was losing hope abt a lotta things, n m happy 2 find solace in these words n kno ther r more ppl hum bhi dekhenge woh din…
    in solidarity..
    smita.

    • Smita… just so humbled by your comment… thanks… i’m glad that you feel this way… blogging has been completely therapeutic for me as well. do continue to visit and feel free to leave your reflections in the comment box. you (readers like you) are my shining light.

  22. i luv this poetry so meaningful
    i luv da translation

  23. I had been looking for a translation of ‘AnalhaQ’ and found this site.
    I will visit again for more of Faiz poetry.
    Thanks!

  24. hello dere, really beautiful translation.
    I have used your translation on my blog http://my.opera.com/Changing_woman/blog/2009/04/24/iqbal-bano as I couldn’t find any better translation..however I have mentioned your blog and gave links to your original work…do you mind?

  25. this is beautiful…..this ghazal has always touched me but this is the first time someone has helped me understand it fully…thanks

  26. thanks pallavi, you might be interested in another post on the blog http://ghazala.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/sounds-of-resistance-and-freedom/

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