Arabic · noun · The Heart & the Body
Tabassum
तबस्सुम
said ta-BAS-sum
also written: tabasum, tabassum-e
Meaning
A smile; a gentle, soft smile.
Literally: a smile, soft smiling
Usage & notes
Tabassum is the beloved's smile — the gentle parting of the lips that lights the whole face and floods the lover with hope. Softer than open laughter, it is a quiet grace, the small mercy that can undo a thousand sorrows. The ghazal treasures the tabassum as a rare gift the beloved bestows or withholds; a single smile is wealth enough to live on, the sign that one is, for a moment, looked upon with favor.