Every literature is rooted in a given culture. In other words, it is the culture that determines the nature of its literary production, as well as its forms and genres. Ghazal, for example, that has travelled from location to location and language to language ever since the sixth century is one of the most resplendent examples that shows how distinctly it configured in each of the locations starting from Arabia.  When it arrived in India and found its expression in Urdu, it harked back to the Persian ghazal and its grand tradition. It found many of its stock references in the Persian tradition. To acquire an indigenous character, the Urdu ghazal reconfigured itself afresh in the Indian context with reference to imagery and symbolism. In this process, it also institutionalised certain concepts and defined its major dramatis personae.  

To add in the same vein, every literature draws first upon a certain register of words that constitute its broader diction and characterises the text. The words then mature into multiple ways—now as an image and now as a simile. In the hands of a poet with better imaginative faculty, similes grow into metaphors and then into symbols. It is not for every poet, however, to turn the metaphors and symbols into myths. This is done only by those who are endowed with the potential to create concrete universals and become thereby the most canonical of the poets in the literary trajectory.

During the past five centuries, the Urdu ghazal has institutionalised a number of concepts and persons that define the essential nature of ghazal, especially the classical ghazal. It is difficult sometimes to distinguish an institution from a person as they epitomise each other. Interestingly enough, both of these define and redefine the institution of love in the romantic and spiritualist terms, as also those of faith and socio-cultural paradigms. It is in these respects that the Urdu ghazal has acquired its broader identity.

The aashiq and maashooq, being the two stock figures of the Urdu ghazal, constitute an exclusive world of their own and define the concepts of hijr and wisaal. Together, they constitute a universe of like and unlike persons and institutions that include habeeb and raqeeb, gul and bulbul, daaman and garebaan, maikhaana and paimaana, saqi and muhtasib, qafas and chaman, bijli and aashiyan, qaatil and qaasid, dair and haram, Sheikh and Brahman to name some of them.

Here are a few select shers that would help appreciate the essential markers of Urdu ghazal with reference to certain institutionalised concepts and persons. They are used independently at times while at others they supplement each other to create a rich web of meaning. These shers clearly represent the metaphoric configurations, symbolic nature and the mythic proportions of these institutions and persons. Together, all these institutions and persons create a universe of their own kind and they broadly indicate a major tradition of Eastern poetry in general and of Urdu poetry in particular. One may easily notice how these poetical renditions swerve from plebeian to philosophical and define and redefine the quintessential nature of Urdu ghazal.  

INSTITUTIONALISED CONCEPTS

Aashiyaan

Aaney ka is chaman mein sabab bekali hui
Joon barq hum tadap ke girey aashiyaan se

(Meer Taqi Meer)

Jitna main aashiyaan mein qafas se qareeb tha
Utna hi ab qafas mein hoon main aashiyaan se duur

(Bismil Saeedi)

Bijli

Qafas mein mujh se roodaad-e chaman kahtey na dar humdum
Giri ho jis pe kal bijli wo mera aashiyaan kyun ho
(Asadullah Khan Ghalib)

Koyi bijli un kharaabon mein ghataa raushan karey
Ai andheri bastiyo tum ko Khuda raushan karey

(Irfan Siddiqui)

Bismil

Naya bismil hoon main waaqif naheen rasm-e shahaadat se
Bata de tuu hi ai zaalim tadapney ki adaa kya hai

(Brij Narain Chakbast)

Ye qatl-e aam aur be-izn qatl-e aam kya kahiye
Ye bismil kaisey bismil hain inhein qaatil naheen milta

(Majaz Lucknowi)

Bulbul

Bulbul ghazal saraayi aage hamaare mat kar
Sab hum se seekhtey hain andaaz guftugu ka

(MeerTaqi Meer)

Waheen the shaakh-e gul per gul jahaan jama’
Kiye bulbul ne khaar-e aashiyaan jama’

(Ghulam Hamadani Mushafi)

Chaman

Wo hawa khaah-e chaman hoon ke chaman mein sar-e sub’h
Pehley main aataa hoon aur baad-e saba merey baad

(Munawwar Khan Ghafil)

Aseer-e band-e zamaana hoon saahebaan chaman
Meri taraf se gulon ko bahut dua kahiye

(Majrooh Sultanpuri)

Daaman

Gauhar-e ashk se labrez hai saaraa daaman
Aaj kal daaman-e daulat hai hamaara daaman

(Khwaja Mohammad Wazeer)

Sau baar tera daaman haathon mein mere aaya
Jo aankh khuli dekha apna hi garebaan tha

(Asghar Gaundvi)

Dair

Aa hi kooda tha dair mein waa’iz
Hum ne taala Khuda Khuda kar ke

(Meer Mehdi Majrooh)

Puraani kaawishein dair-o-haram ki mit’ti jaati hain
Nai tehzeeb ke jhagdey hain ab sheikh-o-brahman mein

(Brij Narayan Chakbast)

Garebaan

Jab tak ke garebaan mein ik taar rahega
Tab tak meri garden ke upar baar rahega
(Sheikh Zahuruddin Hatim)

Garebaan dar garebaan nukta aaraayi bhi hoti hai
Bahaar aaye to diwaanon ki ruswaayi bhi hoti hai

(Qateel Shifai)

Gul  

Badan gul, chehra gul, rukhsaar gul, lab gul, dehan gul
Saraapa ab to wo rashk-e chaman hain yaar phulon ka

(Nazeer Akbarabadi)

Jis chaman zaar ka hai tuu gul-e tar
Bulbul us gulsitaan ke hum bhi hain

(Meer)

Gulshan

Main us gulshan ka bulbul hoon bahaar aaney naheen paati
Ke sayyad aan kar mera gulistan mole letey hain

(Haider Ali Atash)

Gulshan mein kaun bulbul-e naalaan ko de panaah
Gulcheen-o baaghbaan bhi hain saiyyad ki tarah

(Imdad Imam Asar)

Haram

Tamaasha-i dair-o haram dekhtey hai
Tujhey har bahaaney se hum dekhtey hain

(Dagh Dehlvi)

Hui hain dair-o haram mein ye saazishein kaisi
Dhuan sa uthhne laga shahr ke makaanon se

(Kumar Pashi)

Hijr

Khwab tha ya khayal tha kya tha
Hijr tha ya wisaal tha kya tha

(Ghulam Hamadani Mushafi)

Hijr mein kaif-e intezaar na pooch
Khoon-e dil bhi sharaab hona tha

(Asrarul Haq Majaz)

Jaam

Jaam hai tauba shikan, tauba meri jaam shikan
Saamney dher hain tootey hue paimaanon ke

(Riaz Khairabadi)

Ik jam khanakta jam ke Saqi raat guzarne waali hai
Ikhosh ruba inaam ke Saqi raat guzarne waali hai
(QateelShifai)

Maikhana

Jaan kar minjumla-i- khaasaan-e maikhaana mujhey

Muddaton roya karenge jam-o-paimaana mujhe

(Jigar Moradabadi)

Aae the hañste khelte maikhane mein Firaq
Jab pee chuke sharaab to sanjida ho gaye

(Firaq Gorakhpuri)

Paimaana

Hans ke paimaana diya zaalim ne tarsaaney ke baad
Aak naazuk se lab-e saqi hain paimaaney ke baad
(Riaz Khairabadi)

Diya Saqi ne awwal roze wo paimaana masti mein
Ke main naa-aashna pee kar hua deewaana masti mein

(Nushoor Wahidi)

Qafas

Qafas mein mujh se roodad-e chaman kahte na dar humdum
Giri hai jis pe kal bijli wo mera aashiyaan kyun ho

(Asadullah Khan Ghalib)

Kuchh qafas ki teeliyon se chhan raha hai nor sa
Kucch fiza kuchh hasrat-e parwaaz ki baatein karein

(Firaq Gorakhpuri)

Wisaal/Wasl

Wasl mein rang ud gaya mera
Kya judaayi ko munh dikhaoonga

(Meer Taqi Meer)

Zara wisaal ke baad aaeena to dekh ai dost
Terey Jamaal ki doshizagi nikhar aaee

(Firaq Gorakhpuri)

PERSONS

Aashiq

Ishq maashooq ishq aashiq hai
Yaani apna hi mubtala hai ishq

(Meer Taqi Meer)

Anokhi waz’a hai saarey zamaaney se niraaley hai
Ye aashiq kaun si basti key a Rab rahney waaley hain

(Allama Iqbal)

Barahman

Dekha hai aashiqon ne Barahman ki aankh se
Har but Khuda hai chaahney waalon ke saamney

(Munir Shikohabadi)

But gar hai na koyi but shikan hai
Sab wah-o guman-e Barhaman hai

(Ravish Siddiqui)

Maashooq

Chhed maashooq se kije to zara tham tham kar
Roz ke naama-o paighaam burey hotey hain

(Dagh Dehlavi)

Hamein maashooq ko apna banana tak naheen aata
Banaaney waaley aaeena bana letey hsain patthar se

(Safi Aurangabadi)

Muhtasib

Hum maikashon ko dar naheen marney ka muhtasib
Firdaus mein bhi suntey hai nehr-e sharaab hai

(Imam Bakhsh Nasikh)

Ai muhtasib na phaink mere muhtasib na phaink
Zaalim sharaab hai arrey zaalim sharaab hai

(Jigar Moradabadi)

Qaatil

Yoon na qaatil ko jab yaqeen aayaa
Hum ne dil khole kar dikhaayi chote

(Fani Badayuni)

Jab lagein zakhm toh qaatil ko dua di jaaye
Hai yehi rasm toh ye rasm uttha di jaaye

(Jaan Nisaaar Akhtar)

Raqeeb

Jaanaa pada raqeeb ke dar per hazaar baar
Ai kaash jaantaa na teri rehguzar ko main

(Asadullah Khan Ghalib)

Main khali haath hi jaa pahuncha us ki mehfil mein
Mera raqeeb badey intezaam se aaya

(Jamal Ehsani)

Qaasid

Qaasid jo gaya mera le naama to zaalim ne
Naama ke kiye purzey qaasid ko bithha rakhha

(Ghulam Hamadani Mushafi)

Muntazir dil hai yaar ke khat ka
Qaasid aa qaasid, shitaab shitaab

(Dawood Aurangabadi)

Saaqi

Saaqi baaqi jo kuchh hai le le
Baaqi saaqi sharaab de de

(Pandit Daya Shankar Naseem)

Tez hai aaj dard-e dil Saqi
Talkhi-i mai ko tez tar kar de

(Faiz Ahmad Faiz)

Shaikh

Baqi hai dil mein Sheikh ke hasrat gunaah ki
Kaala karega munh bhi jo daadhi sayaah ki

(Sheikh Ibrahim Zauq)

Gar yehi naasaazi-i deen hai to ik din Sheikh ji
Hum wahi hum hain, wahi but hai, wahi zunnar hai

(Qayem Chandpuri)

Zahid

Muafiqat karey kyun maikashon sati zahid
Idhar sharaab udhar masjid-omusalla hai

(Siraj Aurangabadi)

Sataaishgar hai zahid is qadar jis bagh-e rizwaan ka
Wo ik guldasta hai hum bekhudon ki taaq-e nisyaan ka

(Asadullah Khan Ghalib)