Arabic · noun · Love & Longing

Karam

करम
said ka-RAM
also written: karam-e, karm
Meaning

Grace, kindness, favor; the mercy the lover implores of the beloved.

Literally: kindness, grace, favor

Usage & notes

Karam is the beloved's kindness or favor — the merciful turning-toward that the lover prays for after long cruelty (jafa) and neglect. A single act of karam can redeem a thousand wounds; the ghazal sets it as the bright opposite of the beloved's habitual sitam. In the divine reading karam is the grace of God, the unearned mercy on which the supplicant soul ultimately throws all its hope.