Persian · noun · The Heart & the Body
Khaish-e-Gham
ख़ेश-ए-ग़म
also written: Khwesh-e-gham
Meaning
Kinship with grief; the close, almost familial bond between the lover and sorrow.
Literally: kinsman of grief
How Iqbal uses it
The lover treats grief as khaish, his own blood-relation, so that to be parted from sorrow would itself be a loss.
See it in the verse
Khaish-e-Gham in Iqbal’s couplets
Agar kho gaya ek nasheman to kya gham
Maqamat-e-aah-o-faghan aur bhi hain
Maqamat-e-aah-o-faghan aur bhi hain
If one nest has been lost — what is there to grieve? There are other stations of sighing and lament still ahead.
Adversity · Hope · Restlessness
Kabhi chhodi hui manzil bhi yaad aati hai rahi ko
Khatak si hai jo sine mein gham-e-manzil na ban jae
Khatak si hai jo sine mein gham-e-manzil na ban jae
Sometimes the traveller remembers even the destination he left behind; I fear this faint ache in my chest may grow into grief for a settled place.
Restlessness · Aspiration