Word Meaning

शफ़क़

shafaq

hinoun

Meaning

Twilight glow or redness in the sky at dusk or dawn.

Detailed Meaning

In classical Urdu poetry, shafaq denotes the crimson twilight glow spread across the horizon at sunset. In this verse, Ghalib links this redness to the bleeding heart and the fiery lament of the solitary lover. It serves as an evocative visual metaphor for deep sorrow, wounding, and melancholic beauty.

Etymology

Arabic (شَفَق), signifying twilight, evening twilight, or tender affection.

Usage

In the ghazal tradition, shafaq is frequently invoked to symbolize bleeding wounds, the pain of parting at twilight, and transient beauty.

Examples

The pale evening sky was bathed in the blood-red tint of shafaq.

Her departing shadow dissolved into the distant shafaq.

Synonyms

अरुणिमासंध्या-लालीसुर्ख़ी

Related Words

शामसुर्ख़ीसहरउफ़क़
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