La Phir Ik Baar Wohi Bada-o-Jaam

La Phir Ik Baar Wohi Bada-o-Jaam, Ay Saki!
(O Cup-bearer! Give me again that wine of love for Thee)

la phir ik baar wohi bada-o-jaam ay saqi
haath aa jaye mujhe mera maqaam ay saqi

teen so saal se hein hind ke maikhane bund
ub munasib hai tera faiz ho aam ay saqi

meri meenaye ghazal mein thi zara si baqi
shaikh kehta hai ke hai yeh bhi haram ay saqi

sher mardo se howa beshae tehqeeq tahi
reh gaye sufi-o-mulla ke ghulam ay saqi

ishq ki tegh-e-jigardar urali kis ne?
ilm ke haath mein khali hai nayam ay saqi

seena roshan ho to hai soz-o-sukhan ain hayat
hona roshan to sukhan marg-e-dawam ay saqi

tu meri raat ko mehtaab se mehroom na rakh
tere paimane mein hai maahe tamaam ay saqi

la phir ik baar wohi bada-o-jaam ay saqi
haath aa jaye mujhe mera maqaam ay saqi...

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O Cup—bearer! Give me again that wine of love for Thee;
Let me gain the place my soul desires.

My lyrical vein was all but dried up, still
The sheik decrees that, too, should be choked to death.

No trail now blazes in new fields of thought,
But blind slaves of sufies and mullahs survive.

Who snatched away the piercing sword of love?
Knowledge is left with an empty sheath alone.

With a luminous soul the power of song is life;
With a darkened soul that power is eternal death.

A full moon glistens in Thy brimful cup;
Deprive me not of its silver beams at night.

By Allamma Iqbal