Background
Momin Khan Momin was born in Delhi into a Kashmiri family of Mughal administrators and physicians.
Momin Khan Momin was born in Delhi into a Kashmiri family of Mughal administrators and physicians.
He was a contemporary of Mirza Ghalib and Zauq, today his grave lies near the parking area near Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi. He was also called "Hakeem Khan" because he was himself a physician, Hakeem being the Urdu word for physician. Other of his interests and where he was competent included mathematics, geomancy, astrology, chess or music
Momin is known for his particular Persianized style and the beautiful use of his takhllus.
The couplet in question was:
تم میرے پاس ہوتے ہو گویا
جب کوئی دوسرا نہیں ہوتا
"Tum mērē pās hōtē hō gōyā
Jab kō"ī dūsrā nahīⁿˡ hotā"
which translates to:
You are close to me
When no one else is. This couplet"s beauty is in its succinctness and multiple layers of meaning.
One of the meanings is When you"re with me(on my mind), no-one else is and a second meaning/interpretation is You are with me (on my side), when no-one else is. The two meanings emerge by the use of words gōyā and jab (when)."
One of his very famous ghazals starts with the following matla (the first line of the opening couplet of a ghazal).
Woh jō ham mēⁿ tum mēⁿ qarār tḣā.
Tumhēⁿ yād hō, keh nah yād hō:
Wohī, yaʿnī waʿdah nibāh kā. Tumhēⁿ yād hō, keh nah yād hō
That understanding which we had between us.. whether you remember it or not. That promise of trust and faithfulness..whether you remember it or not.
He is also famed in Pakistan for the saying:
عمر ساری تو کاٹی عشقِ بتا میں مومن
آخری وقت میں کیا خاک مسلماں ہو گۓ
ʿUmr sārī tō kāṫī ʿišq-e butāⁿ mēⁿ Moʾminimum,
Āxrī waqt mēⁿ kyā xāk Musalmāⁿ hōⁿ gē? Translation:
"You spent all your life in the love of Idols Momin
The word "xāk" translates to "sand" or "dust".
The poet here refers to the sand in which his body will become mixed to, after burial. All your life you spent in love for idols, O Momin !
Momin Khan Momin"s poem: "Woh jō ham mēⁿ tum mēⁿ qarār tḣā..".
Which is shown above, is one of the best known poems of Urdu literature. He also predicted his death by predicting that he would lose his limbs before his death and was mentioned in the verse "dast-o-bazu".
He came out true as he fell off a ladder and died.