Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Muslims lost their five daily prayers; the Hindus lost their worship too.
Without their sacred spaces, how can the Hindu women bathe and mark their foreheads?
Those who never remembered the One as Raam in the easy days cannot now even cry out to Him as Khuda.
This one is about how war hurts everyone's prayers the same.
Iknaa vakhat khu-aa-ee-ah iknHaa poojaa jaa-ay — some lost their five daily prayer times, and some lost their worship. The Muslim prayers and the Hindu worship go quiet in the same verse.
Guru Nanak counts both groups' losses side by side, with equal sadness. That fairness is the heart of the lesson.
The last line uses two names for the same One. Raam na kabhoo chayti-o hun kahan na milai khudaa-ay — those who never remembered the One as Raam now cannot even call out "Khuda." Raam is a Hindu name for God. Khuda is a Muslim name for God. They name one and the same One.
Those who forgot the One in easy times, by either name, now find it hard to call out in hard times.
Think of practicing a fire drill at school on a calm, sunny day. You practice when things are easy, so you know what to do when things are hard. Remembering the One works the same way.
What would it mean to grieve for people whose religion is different from yours?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI