एहतियात

Meaning

Caution, care, prudence, circumspection, or dietary abstinence.

Detailed Meaning

In classical Urdu poetry, 'ehtiyat' denotes caution, restraint, or strict medical abstinence (parhez). In this couplet, it refers to the deliberate prudence and avoidance of excess that paradoxically worsened the lover's emotional fever instead of curing it. It highlights the poetic irony of how calculated care can lead to ruin when applied to the fire of longing.

Etymology

Arabic (اِحْتِيَاط, iḥtiyāṭ), verbal noun from the root ḥ-w-ṭ (ح-و-ط) meaning to surround, protect, or guard.

Usage

Frequently invoked in the ghazal to contrast the spontaneous abandon of passion with the futile, calculated restraint of worldly wisdom.

Examples

Synonyms

Related Words