Word Meaning
कम-असबाबी
kam-asbābī
Meaning
Lack of possessions, scarcity of means, destitution, or poverty.
Detailed Meaning
Literally denoting a shortage of material belongings, equipment, or provisions, the term signifies extreme destitution and ascetic detachment. In the given couplet, it functions within the paradoxical phrase 'asbāb-e-kam-asbābī' (the paraphernalia of having no possessions), emphasizing how even the burdens of poverty have accumulated so greatly that there is no space left in the city for the destitute lover.
Etymology
Compound formed from Persian 'kam' (little, scant) + Arabic 'asbāb' (plural of 'sabab', belongings/means) + Persian abstract noun suffix '-ī'.
Usage
Commonly employed in classical Urdu ghazal to glorify the ascetic detachment (faqr) and homeless destitution of the true lover.
Examples
Such is the state of destitution that not even a shadow remains.
We made our very lack of worldly means our finest ornament.