Why are we so humiliated today, when until yesterday we could not tolerate even an angel's slight disrespect in our presence?
Ghalib reflects on the tragic, existential fall of humanity with a blend of wonder and bitter irony. He takes us back to the moment of creation, when humankind was held in such celestial esteem that even angels dared not show the slightest insolence toward us. Contrasting that grand cosmic dignity with our present helplessness and misery on earth, he asks how a being once so revered could fall into such deep humiliation.
Interpretation note: meanings and explanations may be AI-assisted and should not replace a primary text or scholarly edition. See the editorial policy.
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