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Saff (Day of Ashura)
Added 2026-06-25 by A
dhal gaya suraj shama jali
nanha mera asghar kahan gaya hai
The sun has set, the candles are lit
Where has my little Asghar (as) gone?
raat andheri sunsan ban
dhondoon kahan tujhe ay gulbadan
ro ro pukare maa dil jali
nanha mera asghar kahan gaya hai
The night is dark, the wilderness desolate…
Where can I search for you, my flower?
His grieving mother cries out, weeping…
Where has my little Asghar (as) gone?
ye to batade ay hurmala
chhida hai kyun tune nanha gala
doobi hai khoon may nanhi kali
nanha mera asghar kahan gaya hai
Just tell me, Hurmala
why did you pierce his tiny throat?
My small bud is drowned in blood!
Where has my little Asghar (as) gone?
teri zameen par ay karbala
ghuum hogaya hai bacha mera
dhoond rahi hu gali gali
nanha mera asghar kahan gaya hai
On your land, oh Karbala
my child has disappeared!
I am searching everywhere...
Where has my little Asghar (as) gone?
jānib-e maidān boro, ārām-e jānam
"Go to the battlefield, my soul's comfort!"
guft layla, bā dard-o gham:
ay javān-am, nā-murād-am
jānib-e maidān boro, ārām-e jānam
Layla (as) said, with pain and sorrow:
Oh my young man, my unfulfilled wish!
Go to the battlefield, my soul's comfort!
guft zainab: ay barādar,
ay shafī'-e rūz-e mahshar
jānib-e maidān boro, ārām-e jānam
Zaynab (as) said: Oh brother
Oh intercessor on the Day of Judgment!
Go to the battlefield, my soul's comfort!
abbas nahi aaye
Abbas (as) did not return!
yeh kehtiti sakina, abbas nahi aye
paani ke liye teheri, abbas nahi aye
Sakina (as) kept saying, "Abbas (as) did not return!"
She waited for water, but Abbas (as) did not return!
dekha ke alam aya, umid thi ye dilme
pilwaungi me sabko, abbas nahi aye
She saw the flag of Abbas (as) returning, and hope rose in her heart…
"I'll give everyone water!" But Abbas (as) did not return!
tha sab ke dilme paani, khayme me jo ayega
phir aye na darya se, abbas nahi aye
Everyone hoped water would come to the tents
but he never came from the river; Abbas (as) did not return!
ye falak se aati thi sada
qutilal husaynu bi karbala
This call came from the heavens!
Husayn (as) has been slain in Karbala!
jigar-e hasan pe chhuri chali, hue pāsh pāsh dil-e ali
lahad-e nabi mein zalzala, qutila'l-husaynu bi karbal
A dagger was struck into Hassan's (as) liver; Ali's (as) heart was shattered to pieces!
An earthquake struck the tomb of the Prophet (pbuh)! Husayn (as) has been slain in Karbala!
ye batool kehti hai peet kar, ke main lut gayi meri lo khabar
mere dard kī aas, mere kibriyā, qutila'l-husaynu bi karbala
Fatima (as) beats her chest and says, "I have been plundered! Come to my aid!"
"Oh hope of my sorrow, oh my Lord!" Husayn (as) has been slain in Karbala!
qutila'l-husaynu bi karbala
qutila'l-husaynu bi karbala
zubiha'l-husaynu bi karbala
qutila'l-husaynu bi karbala
Husayn (as) has been slain in Karbala!
Husayn (as) has been slain in Karbala!
Husayn (as) has been sacrificed in Karbala!
Husayn (as) has been slain in Karbala!
baad-e qatl-e shah gardoon se ye aati thi sadaa
shaamiyo! basta baazu-e zainab-o-kulsoom raa
After the king's Husayn's (as) murder, this cry came from the heavens!
"Oh people of Shaam! The arms of Zaynab (as) and Kulsoom (as) are bound!"
ae mere mazloom bhaiya, haafiz-o-naasir khuda
shaamiyo! basta baazu-e zainab-o-kulsoom raa
"Oh my oppressed brother, may God be your protector and helper!"
"Oh people of Shaam! The arms of Zaynab (as) and Kulsoom (as) are bound!"
qaid hote hain haram, looti hain aal-e-mustafa
shaamiyo! basta baazu-e zainab-o-kulsoom raa
The women are being imprisoned, and the family of Mustafa (pbuh) has been plundered!
"Oh people of Shaam! The arms of Zaynab (as) and Kulsoom (as) are bound!"
zibah pyaase ho gaye jis waqt shah-e-karbala
ghul hua firdaus mein, haaye haaye imam-e-rehnuma
When the king of Karbala (Husayn (as)) was sacrificed while thirsty
a wail rose in Paradise: "Alas, alas, for the guiding Imam (Husayn (as))!"
betiyaan hain aapki balwe mein mohtaaj-e-rida
shaamiyo! basta baazu-e zainab-o-kulsoom raa
"Your daughters, in this tumult, are desperate for their veils!"
"Oh people of Sham! The arms of Zaynab (as) and Kulsoom (as) are bound!"
hussain shaheed-e-karbala wawayla
abbas alamdaram chishud wawayla
akbare nawjawan chishud wawayla
asghare bezubaan chishud wawayla
Husayn (as), the martyr of Karbala!
What happened to my flag-bearer Abbas (as)?
What happened to the young Akbar (as)?
What happened to the speechless Asghar (as)?
alau hussayn maulana
ya azlamat duniyanam
Oh Husayn (as), our Master!
Oh how dark our world has become!
bāfughān gufta zaynab-e maḥzūn
bar sar-e na'sh-e shāh-e maẓlūmān
khāahr-marā burdand sū-ye shām, ay birādar-e jān!
With a cry of grief, sorrowful Zaynab (as) said
over the body of the King of the Oppressed (Husayn (as)):
"They took my sister toward Sham, oh dear brother!"
bā fughān gufta laylā-ye muztar
bar sar-e na'sh-e shahzāda akbar
rūḥ-e rashīdān, hai wāwailā!
zaḥmat-kashīdān, hai wāwailā!
āyna-ye umīdān, hai wāwailā!
With a cry of grief, distraught Layla (as) said
over the body of the prince Akbar (as):
"Oh righteous soul, woe!
Oh one who endured hardship, woe!
Oh mirror of our hopes, woe!"
bā fughān gufta kulthūm-e bīqarār
bar sar-e na'sh-e mīr-e 'alamdār
ay birādar-e mān, hai wāwailā!
tīghī [bar] sar-e mān, hai wāwailā!
raft az bar-e mān, hai wāwailā!
With a cry of grief, restless Kulsoom (as) said
over the body of the chief flag-bearer (Abbas (as)):
"Oh our brother, woe!
A sword is upon our heads, woe!
He has gone from our side, woe!"
bāng-e ʿabbās, ʿalamdār-e ḥusayn-am, aykum
man ke sāqī-ye yatīmān-e ḥusayn-am, aykum
The voice of Abbas (as) says, "I am Husayn's (as) flag-bearer
I am the water-bearer for Husayn's (as) orphans!
zaynab-e zār kujā? kujā ān bāzār kujā?
tawq-o-zanjīr kujā? ʿābid-e bīmār kujā?
Look where is Zaynab (as), and where is that marketplace?
Where are the neck shackles and chains, and where is the ailing Abid (as)?
qatl-e farzand-e rasūl-e s̱aqalayn-am, aykum
nūr-e chashm-e asadullāh, ḥusayn-am, aykum
The grandson of the Prophet (pbuh) has been murdered
He was the light of the eyes of the Lion of God, Husayn (as)!
sar-e ḥusayn kujā? majlis-e sharāb kujā?
hujūm-e ʿām kujā? āl-e batūlaān kujā?
Where is Husayn's (as) head, and look at this place of drinking!
Look at the wretched onlookers, and look where are the daughters of Fatima (as)!
sū-ye shaām mī-barand
in kūfiyo bā shūr-o-shar
ay zamīn-e karbalā
jān-e to, jān-e hussain!
They are being taken to Sham
these Kufans, with commotion and evil!
Oh land of Karbala
your soul is Husayn's (as) soul!