aaiye haath uThaayeN ham bhii
ham jinheN rasm-e-du’aa yaad nahiiN
ham jinheN soz-e-muhabbat ke sivaa
ko’ii but, ko’ii Khudaa yaad nahiiN
aaiye arz guzaareN ke nigaar-e-hastii
zehr-e-imroz meN shiiriini-e-fardaa bhar de
voh jinheN taab-garaaN-baarii-e-ayyaam nahiiN
un ki palkoN pe shab-o-roz ko halkaa kar de
jin kii aaNkhoN ko rukh-e-subh kaa yaaraa bhii nahiiN
un kii raatoN meN ko’ii shamaa munavvar kar de
jin ke qadmoN ko kisii rah ka sahaara bhii nahiiN
un kii nazroN pe ko’ii raah ujaagar kar de
jinkaa diiN pairavi-e-kazbo-riyaa hai un ko
himmat-e-kufr mile, jurrat-e-tehqiiq mile
jin ke sar muntazir-e-tegh-e-jafaa haiN un ko
dast-e-qaatil ko jhaTak dene ki taufiiq mile
ishq ka sarr-e-nihaaN jaan tapaaN hai jis se
aaj iqraar kareN aur tapish miT jaaye
harf-e-haq dil meiN khaTakta hai jo kaNTe kii tarah
aaj izhaar kareN or khalish miT jaaye
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
14th August 1967
Rough draft
Prayer
Come, let us too lift our hands
We, who do not remember the custom of prayer
We, who other than the fire of love,
Do not recall any idol, any god
Come, let us pray that the beloved, life
Suffuses tomorrow’s sweetness into today’s poison
Makes day and night sit lightly on the eyelashes
Of those who don’t have the strength to bear the burden of time
Those, who can’t see the face of dawn
May a flame light up their nights
Those, whose steps aren’t aided by a path
May a way ahead be illumined to their eyes
Those who believe in justifying deceit and hypocrisy
May they get the courage to defy, the daring to seek
May those whose heads await the sword of tyrrany
Get the strength to snap away the hand of the murderer
The hidden secret of love which has inflamed the soul:
Today own up to it; let the fever abate
The word of truth that pricks the heart like a thorn
Accept it today so that this piercing anxiety is gone
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
14th August 1967
Juvenilia 