O Lord, the politics of the West is Your rival,
But its devotees are only the rich and powerful.
You created only one Satan from fire,
But he created two hundred thousand devils from dust!
This poem critiques Western politics ("siyasat-e-Afrang") as a force of corruption that rivals divine authority, yet its adherents are exclusively the wealthy and powerful. Drawing on Islamic theology, the poet contrasts God's creation of a singular Iblis (Satan) from fire with the pervasive influence of Western politics, which is depicted as having created "two hundred thousand Iblises" from dust, metaphorically representing countless human evils born from materialism and power. This reflects a common theme in Urdu poetry of the era, lamenting the moral and social decay attributed to colonial influence and contrasting it with spiritual values.
the world's unfairness (shikwa) · wit & rebuke · faith & the divine