सादा-औराक़ी

Meaning

Blankness or emptiness of pages; having unwritten leaves devoid of substance or deeds.

Detailed Meaning

Literally denoting the blank or unwritten state of leaves in a manuscript, the compound is used metaphorically for an absence of real deeds or inner substance. In this couplet, it serves as an ironic critique of orthodox formalists (the Sufi and the Mullah) whose ledgers of virtue are so completely empty that they will embarrass even the divine judge on the Day of Judgment.

Etymology

Persian 'sādah' (plain, blank) + Arabic 'awrāq' (plural of 'waraq', page/leaf) + Persian abstract noun suffix '-ī'.

Usage

Employed satirically or melancholically in ghazal and nazm poetry to expose spiritual emptiness hidden behind outward claims of scholarship or sanctity.

Examples

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