“Aashiq Hovain Taan Ishq KamaVain” is a powerful instructional Kaafi by the renowned Sufi master Shah Hussain. In this poem, Hussain lays down the rigorous conditions for true spiritual love. He famously compares the path of Divine love to a needle’s eye, suggesting that a seeker must become as thin as a thread—symbolizing the shedding of the ego and worldly pride—to pass through. It is a call to internal purity over outward religious display, urging the seeker to move beyond the title of “Sheikh” to find a true spiritual station.
عاشق ہوویں تاں عشق کماویں
راہ عشق سوئی دا ناکہ
دھاگہ ہوویں تاں ہی جاویں
Aashiq hovain taan ishq kamavain
Rah ishq sooi da naka
Dhaga hovain taan hi javain
If you claim to be a lover, then earn that love
The path of love is like the eye of a needle
Only if you become a thread can you pass through.
باہر پاک اندر آلودہ
کیہا توں شیخ کہاویں
کہے حسین جے فارغ تھیویں
تاں خاص مراتبہ پاویں
Bahar paak andar aalooda
Kiya toon sheikh kahavain
Kahe Hussain je faragh theevain
Taan khaas murataba pavain
Pure on the outside, but polluted within
Why do you let yourself be called a Sheikh?
Says Hussain, if you free yourself from desire
Only then will you attain a special station.
Vocabulary: Aashiq Hovain Taan Ishq KamaVain
- Kamavain: To earn / To practice / To live out.
- Naka: The eye of a needle / A narrow pass.
- Dhaga: Thread (symbolizing humility and ego-loss).
- Aalooda: Polluted / Contaminated / Dirty.
- Sheikh: A title for a religious elder or leader.
- Faragh: Free / Disengaged (from worldly greed).
- Murataba: Rank / Spiritual station / Status.