(Photos, written info, etc., from YouTube poster Mansoom.)
(Another, live version of the famous song that I posted about last February.)
Hum Dekhain Gay
We shall see
Lazim Hai ke hum Bhi Dekhain Gay
It is necessary that we shall also see
Woh Din ke Jis ka Wadah Hai
That day which has been promised
Jo Loh-e-Azl pe Likha hai
Which is written with God’s ink
Hum Dekhain Gay
We shall see
Jab Zulm-o-Sitam ke Koh-e-garaan
When the mountains of cruelty and torture
Ruii ki Tarah Urd Jain Gay
Will fly like pieces of cotton
Hum Mehkumoon ke Paun Talay
Under the feet of the governed
Yeh Dharti Dhard Dhard Dhardkay gi
This earth will quake
Aur Ehl-e-Hukum ke Sar Uper
And over the head of the ruler
Jab Bijli kard Kard Kardke gi
When lightning will thunder
Hum Dekhain Gay
We shall see
Jab Arz-e-Khuda ke kabay se
When from God’s Mecca
Sab but Uthwaaiy Jain gay
All the idols will be shattered
Hum Ehl-e-Safa Mardood-e-Haram
Us people standing in the mosque
Masnad pe Bithaaiy jain gay
Will be elevated to a higher platform
Sab Taaj Uchalay jain gay
All the crowns will be tossed
Sab Takht Giraaiy Jain gay
All the thrones will be toppled
Bas Naam rahay Ga Allah ka
Then only God’s name will remain
Jo Ghayab Bhi hai Hazir Bhi
Who is both absent and present
Jo nazir bhi hai manzar bhi
Who is both the observer and the view itself
Uthay ga Analhaq ka Naara
When the anthem of truth will be raised
Jo Main bhi Hun aur Tumbhi ho
Who I am and you are as well
Aur Raaj karay gi khalq-e-Khuda
And the people of God will reign
Jo main bhi hun aur tum bhi ho
Who I am and you are as well
Hum Dekhain Gay
We shall see
Lazim Hai ke hum Bhi Dekhain Gay
It is necessary that we shall also see
Hum Dekhain Gay
We shall see
(Translation from EGO.)
(There is also a nice article at CHUP-Changing Up Pakistan. And plenty of info at Wikipedia, of course.)
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P.S. 11/22: I have found out that there is another good post honoring Faiz – and also linking to this post – at Dawn.com Forum. I also discovered a fine “Remembering Faiz” YouTube clip with a sweet-sounding Noor/Faiz song from Sukh Ka Sapna, a 1962 film that Faiz was “deeply involved in” (according to info from YouTube poster Inaam Nadeem)…
Dances on the Footpath 
Lovely post. I think one of the greatest 20th century poet in any any language.
On a lighter note, in the audio only youtube clips, Noor Jehan sings a popular Punjabi song “Tere mukhde da kala kala til ve” which has this line in the refrain “O, the boy from Sialkot” (O mudiya Sialkotya” and you can hear the laugh in her voice as she says that: because Faiz, from Sialkot, was present at the gathering!
And a little survey that I sent to my family last month, as to which translation they preferred:
Original Urdu
Raat yunh dil mein teri khoee hui yaad aayee
Jaise veeraaney mein chupkey sey bahaar aa jaye
Jaisey sehra on mein howley se chaley baadey naseem
Jaisey beemaar ko bey wajhey Qaraar aa jaaye
>
Translation by Agha Shahid Ali, from A Rebel’s Silhouette:
At night my lost memory of you returned
and I was like the empty field where springtime,
without being noticed, is bringing flowers;
I was like the desert over which
the breeze moves gently, with great care;
I was like the dying patient
who, for no reason, smiles.
Translation by Sarvat Rahman, from 100 Poems by Faiz Ahmed Faiz:
Last night, your long-lost memory came back to me as though
Spring stealthily should come to a forsaken wilderness
A gentle breeze its fragrance over burning deserts blow
Or, all at once be soothed somehow the sick soul’s distress.
Translation by Vikram Seth, from Mappings:
Last night your faded memory came to me
As in the wilderness spring comes quietly,
As, slowly, in the desert, moves the breeze,
As, to a sick man, without cause, comes peace.
> English Translation – source unknown
Last night, your lost memories crept into my heart
as spring arrives secretly into a barren garden
as a cool morning breeze blows slowly in a desert
as a sick person feels well, for no reason.
Thank you, Bawa! Yes, I saw somewhere (YouTube comments?) that Noor made an amusing reference to Faiz in one of the non-Faiz songs that she sang. Well, now I know what that was!
And a very nice coincidence that you sent that “survey” to your family just last month and have all those versions to share here…
Right now, I think I will be retiring for the night (yes, a bit early for me – I might not even see the dawn :) , so I’ll contemplate some of these beautiful words before I fall asleep, and maybe they will be in my dreams.
He was a gr8 gr8 Poet in the history of our country, a Lovable person, a legend, May Allah Bless his soul…
I have missed on so many interesting posts as I had little time during the past one month due to my official assignments.
Thanks for the links.
Coming to Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry here is the link to one of his famous poems ‘Hume thehre ajnabee’ interspersed with Bengali couplets by Qazi Nazrul Islam,the poet-laureate of Bangladesh.The Music is by Muzaffar Ali,multifaceted artiste.The moods convey the thoughts of poets of a united India who witnessed partition and could express the anguish of this trauma through their poems.
The other link is to a beautiful song compoed by Khaiyyam for Muzaffar Ali’s ‘Anjuman’ that dwelt on the problems of the women craftsmen of Lucknow.This poem by Faiz has been ung by Khaiyyam and Jagjit Kaur.
Veda, welcome back to the comments here, and thank you for these interesting clips.
Faiz and Nazrul is an interesting combination and it is no surprise that the combination works well.
By the way, I did some reading up on Nazrul a couple of years ago after seeing some clips of performances by Suzana Ansar…
This is my first comment on your interesitng blog. Just wanted to share with you that I was lucky to personally meet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when he visited my city in India (I think in 1979) – I was a teenager then. There was a short talk and then he mingled with the people around. A very talented poet. It was an emotional gathering coz that was the time when things were getting normalised bet India and Pakistan and visitors were being allowed to visit each other.