Couplet Vll

'Jaan dee, dee huyi usee ki thi,
                                 Haq yeh hai ki haq ada na hua'

This is the seventh couplet of the ghazal 'Dard minnat kashey dawa na hua which I would like to elaborate today.

According to Ranjan Bannerji of Ghazal-e-Ghalib.com the interpretation is as follows:-

                        'Life was a trust from Lord, He had given us this
                         trust as a blessings, and confided it to us,

                        I gave my life  on the  path of truth, but what virt-
                        ue of is there in this, the life was not mine.

                        ( We have not fulfilled our responsibility.  If   we
                        had sacrificed something  of  our  own    in  His
                        path, then it  would  have   accomplishment    of
                        our duty.)  [  This thought, these words, this tho-
                        ught,  these words,   this  construction,  they  are
                        all beyond description  ]

What comes to my mind is that Ghalib is pouring forth his emotions and sentiments in this couplet. He is streaming his thankfulness as well as obligation to God. Though Ghalib is shown to be a happy go lucky person, a man for whom liquor was an elixir, in the deepest crevices of his heart he was not an atheist. He did not adhere to old age customs and traditions yet he was aware of the fact that life can be lived only if God wills.

'Jaan dee, dee hui usi ki thi' - here the word 'dee' that has been used is quite significant. Ghalib expresses a sense of obligation to the Lord for having given him a life but at the same time he also points out to what he has done- gave his life up in His servitude and devotion.

In the next line-' Haq yeh hai ki haq adaa na hua' . If we interpolate a slight change in the first 'haq' the meaning, to a great extant becomes a lot clearer. I mean to say that this 'haq', if taken as 'haqeeqat' ekes out a clear meaning.

Ghalib seems to be ruing the fact that though God has bestowed him a life as a human being and he feels obliged to Him it is a fact that he could not repay the debt or obligation by any means. Whatever he has done in the service to God is nothing compared to the gift of the precious life which God granted him.

The two lines of this sher have been used as a means to compare God's bounties on man and what, in return, man does to repay that act of God.