Meaning
A short poem, usually of two or more couplets, developing a single continuous thought — unlike the ghazal, whose couplets each stand alone.
Literally: 'a piece, a fragment' — a self-contained segment of verse
See it in the verse
Qat'a in Iqbal’s couplets
Phool ki patti se kat sakta hai heere ka jigar
Mard-e-nadaan par kalaam-e-narm-o-nazuk be-asar
Mard-e-nadaan par kalaam-e-narm-o-nazuk be-asar
A diamond's heart can be cut by the petal of a flower — yet on a foolish man, soft and gentle words have no effect.
Self-Knowledge · Action
Ghulami mein na kaam aati hain shamsheerein na tadbeerein
Jo ho zauq-e-yaqeen paida to kat jaati hain zanjeerein
Jo ho zauq-e-yaqeen paida to kat jaati hain zanjeerein
In bondage, neither swords nor clever schemes are of any use — but once a relish for conviction is born, the chains themselves fall away.
Freedom · Courage · Awakening
Ghulami mein na kaam aati hain shamsheeren na tadbeeren
Jo ho zauq-e-yaqeen paida to kat jaati hain zanjeeren
Jo ho zauq-e-yaqeen paida to kat jaati hain zanjeeren
In bondage neither swords nor clever schemes are of any use; but once a taste for conviction is born, the chains fall away on their own.
Freedom · Self-Knowledge · Courage
Related words
ARABIC
Rubai
A quatrain — a self-contained four-line poem in a fixed metre, usually rhyming AABA, often epigrammatic or philosophical.
ARABIC
Nazm
A poem developed around a single connected theme, as opposed to the ghazal's discrete couplets.
ARABIC
Ghazal
A lyric poem of rhymed couplets sharing a single meter and refrain.
ARABIC
Bait
A couplet or verse, the building block of an ode or ghazal.