Ghalib
Ishq Par Zor Nahīñ
A couplet about love as a fire beyond command.
Why return to it: It accepts a helplessness that almost everyone knows but few can say gracefully.
Source note: Public-domain Ghalib; short original rendering added for accessible reading.
Original / noted line
Ishq Par Zor Nahīñ
Ishq par zor nahīñ hai ye vo ātiś G̱ẖālib
Ki lagā.e na lage aur bujhā.e na bane.
English transliteration
Transliteration
Ishq par zor nahīñ hai ye vo ātish Ghalib
Ki lagāe na lage aur bujhāe na bane.
Poetic English rendering
Rendering
Love cannot be ordered into flame, and once burning it cannot be ordered into ash. It arrives outside the jurisdiction of will.