It was the golden age of Urdu poetry. Mirza Ghalib shone brightly in the skies of Delhi. Beside him stood Ibrahim Zauq. Yet, during that very era, another shayer ruled the literary realm. His name was Hakim Momin Khan Momin. History also knows him as ‘Miyan Momin’ or ‘Hakim Khan’. Much like Faraz, his poetry possessed a strange, magnetic pull.
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Miyan Momin: The Man and His Moniker
In Urdu poetry, ‘Momin’ signifies a faithful or devout Muslim. When Momin Khan chose ‘Momin’ as his pen name (takhallis), it gave rise to a curious paradox. Whenever he wrote a couplet stating, “Momin has turned into an infidel today,” the common folk were left utterly bewildered. They could not discern whether he was speaking of himself or of an ordinary Muslim losing their faith. By employing this double meaning, he introduced a clever new riddle to the world of shayeri.
Lineage and a Princely Childhood
Momin was born into a wealthy and aristocratic family. He came into the world in 1800, born to a renowned family of physicians in Delhi. His father, Hakim Ghulam Nabi Khan, was a royal physician to the Mughal court. Following his birth, his name was chosen by the celebrated Sufi saint, Shah Abdul Aziz.
As the son of a well-to-do household, Momin’s upbringing was grand. He did not merely study Unani medicine. He also attained deep scholarship in Arabic, Persian, mathematics, and astronomy. In his youth, he was exceptionally handsome. He lived his life with aristocratic elegance.
An Independent Spirit: Refusing Royal Patronage
The literary atmosphere of Delhi played a pivotal role in his evolution as a poet. Shah Nasir was his very first master in poetry. However, Momin quickly carved out his own unique style. The core themes of his shayeri were aristocratic love, intense inner anguish, and a distinct psychological tension.
Whilst contemporary poets were forced to seek royal favour merely to survive, Momin remained fiercely independent. The Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, invited him to become the official court poet. Momin declined the offer. He even rejected a monthly stipend offered by the British Resident in Delhi.
He never sought patronage from any king or nawab. He never penned a qasida (panegyric poem) to flatter rulers. He sustained his lifestyle solely through his medical practice and ancestral property. Free from the constraints of royal employment, he kept his shayeri independent and dignified.
Miyan Momin was a man of such immense self-respect that he refused to write verses in praise of the nobility. There was, however, one exception. He wrote a qasida for the Nawab of Tonk, Wajir-ud-Daulah. Yet, it was not a commissioned piece of flattery. He wrote it out of genuine respect for the Nawab’s piety. Delighted, the Nawab wished to shower him with lavish gifts. Momin politely declined them all.
Versatile Genius and Ghalib’s Tribute
Momin was not just a poet. He was simultaneously a physician, an astrologer, and an accomplished chess player. A profound melancholy always lingered within Momin’s romantic ghazals. One of his couplets remains immortal in the history of Urdu literature:
Tum mere paas hote ho goya / Jab koi doosra nahin hotaEnglish Meaning: You are right there beside me (in my thoughts), precisely when no one else is around.
Mirza Ghalib was utterly stunned by the depth of this single couplet. Ghalib famously remarked, “If anyone were to give me this couplet by Momin, I would gladly give him my entire Diwan (collected works) in return.” Such recognition from a contemporary poet was an extraordinary honour.
The bond between Mirza Ghalib and Momin was remarkably sweet and respectful. Despite the fierce professional jealousy common among poets of that era, Ghalib and Momin held each other in high esteem. Ghalib frequently praised the introspective love and psychological depth of Momin’s ghazals during private gatherings.
Another of Momin’s famous ghazals is widely celebrated. Sung by legends like Ghulam Ali and Begum Akhtar, it still brings tears to the eyes:
Woh jo hum mein tum mein qaraar tha, tumhein yaad ho ke na yaad ho / Wahi yaani waada nibah ka, tumhein yaad ho ke na yaad hoEnglish Meaning: That sweet understanding we once shared, do you remember it or not? That very promise to stay together, do you remember it or not?
https://youtu.be/DsL5ymMboro?si=1TY09um_BDZ0W9Ox
Secret Love and a Political Diary
The intense yearning and raw emotion found in Momin’s verses stemmed from a real, flesh-and-blood romance. Historians note that Momin was deeply infatuated with a famous courtesan (tawaif) of Delhi named ‘Sahib Jan’. She was a woman of matchless beauty and intellect. Momin composed a vast series of poems dedicated to her, known as Masnavi-e-Momin. In it, he openly depicted their clandestine affair, their intense longing, their fear of society, and their lovers’ tiffs. This caused quite a stir in the conservative society of the time.
Momin also possessed a remarkable habit of keeping a daily journal. He maintained a secret diary documenting the turbulent political landscape of Delhi. Many pages of this diary were recovered after his death. From these records, modern researchers have unearthed invaluable historical data regarding early 19th-century elite Delhi society, contemporary epidemics, and Unani medical practices.
Anti-British Sentiment and a Precise Prophecy
Momin passed away in 1852, exactly five years before the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Yet, the poetry of his final years simmered with intense resentment towards British rule. Though he did not fight on the battlefield, his writings ignited a spirit of freedom among the youth of Delhi. Several historians believe that had he lived until 1857, he likely would have been a prime target for the British administration, alongside Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Momin’s mastery of astronomy and astrology (Ilm-e-Nujum) was nothing short of extraordinary. He accurately calculated the time of his own demise. A few days before his death in 1852, he penned a qat’a (a four-line poem) in Persian. In it, he explicitly stated that his limbs would break and he would perish. Coincidentally, he fell from the roof of his house, broke his arms and legs, and died exactly as foreseen.
The end of Momin’s life was as tragic as his verses. He passed away at the young age of 52, shortly after this accident. Today, this great shayer rests in Delhi’s Mehdiyaan Cemetery. Miyan Momin was a rare blend of Ghalib’s philosophy and Faraz’s romance. He is gone, but his tear-stained ghazals continue to knock on the hearts of lovers to this day.
Let us explore some of his finest works:
1.
Urdu: تم میرے پاس ہوتے ہو گویا جب کوئی دوسرا نہیں ہوتا
Roman: Tum mere paas hote ho goya / Jab koi doosra nahin hota
English Meaning: You are right there beside me (in my thoughts), precisely when no one else is around.
2.
Urdu: وہ جو ہم میں تم میں قرار تھا تمہیں یاد ہو کہ نہ یاد ہو
Roman: Woh jo hum mein tum mein qaraar tha tumhein yaad ho ke na yaad ho / Wahi yaani waada nibah ka tumhein yaad ho ke na yaad ho
English Meaning: That sweet understanding we once shared, do you remember it or not? That very promise to stay together, do you remember it or not?
3.
Urdu: عمر ساری تو کٹی عشقِ بتاں میں مومنؔ آخری وقت میں کیا خاک مسلماں ہوں گے
Roman: Umr saari to kati ishq-e-butaan mein Momin / Aakhri waqt mein kya khaak musalmaan honge
English Meaning: My entire life was spent enslaved by the love of idol-like beauties, O Momin! Now, in these final moments, how on earth am I to become a devout Muslim?
4.
Urdu: روئیے اس کی بے وفائی پر یا کریں شکوہ اپنی قسمت کا
Roman: Roiye us ki be-wafaai par / Ya karein shikwa apni qismat ka
English Meaning: Should I sit and weep over her cruel infidelity, or should I complain about my own fate and fortune?
5.
Urdu: غیر کے دل میں گر جگہ پائی آپ نے تو مری قضا پائی
Roman: Ghair ke dil میں gar jagah paai / Aap ne to mri qaza paai
English Meaning: If you have carved out a place for yourself in another man’s heart, then know this—you have sealed my death sentence.
6.
Urdu: ناؤک انداز جگر تک گئی لہر اب کے جی بچا لائے تو جانیں گے
Roman: Naawak andaz jigar tak gayi lahar ab ke / Jee bacha laaye to jaaneinge
English Meaning: The arrow of her piercing glance has struck my very soul this time; if I manage to escape with my life from this blow, only then shall I consider myself brave.
7.
Urdu: تم چلو تو قیامت اٹھے گی تم رکو تو زمانہ رکے گا
Roman: Tum chalo to qiyamat uthegi / Tum ruko to zamana rukega
English Meaning: When you step forward and walk, a veritable doomsday descends upon the world; and when you pause, the entire universe grinds to a halt.
8.
Urdu: اثر اس کو ذرا نہیں ہوتا رنج راحت فزا نہیں ہوتا
Roman: Asar us ko zara nahin hota / Ranj raahat-faza nahin hota
English Meaning: My pleas have absolutely no effect on her heart; and this profound sorrow brings me no comfort whatsoever.
9.
Urdu: قاصد آیا ہے وہاں سے تو کوئی بات تو کہہ کچھ تو معلوم ہو اس شوخ کا احوال ہمیں
Roman: Qasid aaya hai wahan se to koi baat to keh / Kuch to maaloem ho us shokh کا ahwaal humein
English Meaning: O messenger! Now that you have returned from her side, speak up! Let us at least know how that lively beloved of mine is faring!
10.
Urdu: ذکرِ اغیار سے کیا فائدہ مومنؔ دیکھو اپنے احوال پہ کچھ رحم کرو
Roman: Zikr-e-aghyar se kya faayda Momin dekho / Apne ahwaal pe kuch rehm karo
English Meaning: What is the use of speaking about rivals and strangers, O Momin? Look at your own wretched condition instead, and have some mercy on yourself.
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