Word Meaning
मोहतसिब
muhtasib
Meaning
An official moral censor or inspector who polices public conduct and wine-drinking.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Islamic society and Urdu poetry, the muhtasib was a municipal overseer enforcing public order and prohibiting forbidden acts like intoxication. In ghazal tradition, he serves as the archetypal hypocritical adversary of the carefree drinker (rind). In this couplet, the poet boldly proclaims a universal license for wine and threatens to turn the moralistic censor himself into roasted meat.
Etymology
Arabic, from the root ḥ-s-b (ح-س-ب), meaning to reckon or hold accountable; active participle of the eighth verbal form (iḥtasaba).
Usage
In the Urdu ghazal, the muhtasib regularly appears alongside the waiz (preacher) and zahid (ascetic) as an antagonist to love and spiritual intoxication.
Examples
The censor arrived to shatter the wine goblets.
Do not fear the censor in the company of lovers.