न था कुछ तो / Galib

न था कुछ तो खुदा था, कुछ न होता तो खुदा होता
डुबोया मुझको होने ने, न होता में तो क्या होता?
When there was nothing, there was God; even if nothing existed, God would still be
I was destroyed because I existed; how would it have mattered if I did not exist.
 na thaa kuchh to Khudaa thaa, kuchh na hotaa to Khudaa hotaa
Duboyaa mujh ko hone ne, na hotaa mai.n to kyaa hotaa
[Duboya: sank/destroyed]

हुआ जब गम से यूं बेहिस तो गम क्या सर के कटने का
न होता गर जुदा तन से तो जानो: पर धरा होता।
When gone numb by so much pain, why be concerned about the head being chopped?
If it had not been separated from the body, would be resting on the knees. 
huaa jab Gam se yuu.N behis to Gam kyaa sar ke kaTane kaa
na hotaa gar judaa tan se to zaa.Nno.n par dharaa hotaa
[behis: shocked/stunned/numb]
[zaa.Nno.n: thigh, dharaa: lying]

हुई मुद्दत के ग़ालिब मर गया पर याद आता है,
वो हर एक बात पे कहना के यूं होता तो क्या होता।
It has been some time since Ghalib died, but I remember
His constant argument, “What would be if it were like this?”