Ai husn-e-haqiqi noor-e-azal
[O’ Beauty of Truth, the Eternal Light!]
Tenu waajib te imkaan kahun
[Do I call you necessity and possibility,]
Tenu khalik zaat qadeem kahun
[Do I call you the ancient divinity]
Tenu haadis khalq jahan kahun
[The one, creation and the world]
Tenu mutlaq mehez wajood kahun
[Do I call you free and pure Being,]
Tenu almiya ayaan kahun
[Or the apparent lord of all,]
Arvaah nafoos aqool kahun
[Do I call you the souls, the egos and the intellects,]
Ashbaa iyaan nehaan kahun
[The imbued manifest, and the imbued hidden,]
Tenu ain haqeeqat maahiyat
[The actual reality, the substance,]
Tenu arz sifat te shaan kahun
[The word, the attribute and dignity,]
Anvaah kahun auzaah kahun
[Do I call you the variety, and the circumstance,]
Atvaar kahun auzaan kahun
[Do I call you the throne and the firmament,]
Tenu arsh kahun aflaak kahun
[Do I call you the throne and the firmament,]
Tenu naaz naeem janaan kahun
[And the demurring delights of Paradise,]
Tenu tat jamaad nabaat kahun
[Do I call you mineral and vegetable,]
Haivaan kahun insaan kahun
[Animal and human,]
Tenu masjid mandir dair kahun
[Do I call you the mosque, the temple, the monastery,]
Tenu pothi te quran kahun
[The scriptures, the Quran,]
Tasbeeh kahun zunnaar kahun
[The rosary, the girdle,]
Tenu kufr kahun imaan kahun
[Godlessness, and faith,]
Tenu baadal barkha gaaj kahun
[Do I call you the clouds, the flash, the thunder,]
Tenu bijli te baraan kahun
[Lightning and the downpour,]
Tenu aab kahun kahun tenu khaak kahun
[Water and earth,]
Tenu baad kahun neeraan kahun
[The gust and the inferno,]
Tenu dasrat lichman raam kahun
[Do I call you Dashrat, Laxman, Ram ]
Tenu sita ji janaan kahun [
and lovely Sita,]
Baldev jasuda nand kahun ; Tenu kishan kanhaya kaan kahun
[Baldev, Shiv, Nand, and Krishna,]
Tenu barhma bishan ganesh kahun
[Brahma, Vishnu and Ganesh,]
Mahadev kahun bhagvaan kahun
[Mahadev and Bhagvaan,]
Teni geet granth te bed kahun
[Do I call you the Gita, the Granth, and the Ved,]
Tenu gyaan kahun agyaan kahun
[Knowledge and the unknowable,]
Tenu ibrahim hawa shees kahun
[Do I call you Abraham, Eve and Seth,]
Tenu nooh kahun tufaan kahun
[Noah and the deluge,]
Tenu ibrahim khaleel kahun
[Abraham the friend, ]
Tenu musa bin imran kahun
[and Moses son of Amran,]
Tenu har dil da dildaar kahun ;Tenu ahmad aalishaan kahun
[And Ahmad the glorious, darling of every heart,]
Tenu shaahid malk hijaaz kahun
[Do I call you the witness, the Lord, or Hejaz,]
Tenu baais kaun makaan kahun
[The awakener, existence, or the point,]
Tenu naaz kahun andaaz kahun
[Do I call you admiration or prognosis,]
Tenu hoor pari ghilmaan kahun
[Nymph, fairy, and the young lad,]
Tenu nouk kahun tenu ttouk kahun
[The tip and the nip,]
Tenu surkhi beerha paan kahun
[And the redness of betel leaves,]
Tenu tabla te tamboor kahun
[The Tabla and Tanpura,]
Tenu dholak surr te taan kahun
[The drum, the notes and the improvisation,]
Tenu husn te haar singhaar kahun
[Do I call you beauty and the fragrant flower,]
Tenu ashwa ghamza aan kahun
[Coyness and that amorous glance,]
Tenu ishq kahun tenu ilm kahun
[Do I call you Love and knowledge,]
Tenu vehem yaqeen gumaan kahun
[Superstition, belief, and conjecture,]
Tenu husn kavi idraak kahun
[The beauty of power, and conception,]
Tenu zauk kahun wajdaan kahun
[Aptitude and ecstasy,]
Tenu sakar kahun sakraan kahun
[Do I call you intoxication and the drunk,]
Tenu hairat te hairaan kahun
[Amazement and the amazed,]
Tasleem kahun talveen kahun!
[Submission and the connection,]
Tamkeen kahun irfaan kahun
[Compliance and Gnosticism,]
Tenu sumbal sosan sarv kahun
[Do I call you the Hyacinth, the Lilly, and the Cypress,]
Tenu nargis nafarmaan kahun
[And the rebellious Narcissus,]
Tenu laale daagh te baagh kahun ; Gulzaar kahun bustaan kahun
[The bereaved Tulip, the Rose garden, and the orchard,]
Tenu khanjar teer tufang kahun
[Do I call you the dagger, the lance, and the rifle,]
Tenu barcha bank sanaan kahun
[The hail, the bullet, the spear,]
Tenu teer khidang kamaan kahun
[The arrows made of white poplar, and the bow,]
Soofaar kahun peekaan kahun
[The arrow-notch, and the arrowhead,]
Berang kahun bemisal kahun
[Do I call you colorless, and unparalleled,]
Besoorat har har aan kahun
[Formless in every instant,]
Subooh kahun qudoos kahun
[Glory and holiness,]
Rehman kahun subhaan kahun
[Most glorious and most compassionate,]
Kar taubaa tart Fareed sada
[Repent now Farid forever!]
Har sheh nu par nuksaan kahun
[For whatever I may say is less,]
Tenu paak alakh be aib kahun
[Do I call you the pure and the humane,]
Tenu haq be naam nishaan kahun
[The Truth without trace or name.]
Note: There are some obvious inaccuracies with Arieb’s translation. I shall post a better translation if I get time.
Here’s Arieb Azhar perfoming this Kafi in Coke Studio