Guru Arjan praises the One in the language of Islam — khoob, kudrat, Khuda, gareeb nivaaj, Allah — all pointing at the same Oneness.
The Arc
The rahau bursts out fivefold: excellent, excellent is Your Name, against the fourfold falseness of worldly pride. From there the shabad praises the beauty of the One's people, the wonder of all creation, and the One as support of the unsupported and cherisher of the meek. It closes with a plea to keep God — named here as Allah, as heart and soul and breath — always close.
Key Vocabulary
khoob — excellent, beautiful (Persian)
jhooth — false; worldly pride
deedaar — vision, sight (Persian); the beauty of the One's people
kudrat — creative power (Persian/Arabic)
sachay paatisaah — True King (Persian)
khudaa-ay / gareeb nivaaj / Allah — God; Cherisher of the poor; the divine, all in the vocabulary of Islam
Themes and Cross-Connections
The honoring of the lowly (gareeb nivaaj, support of the unsupported) is a caste-leveling thread running through Gurbani. The praise-of-creation motif connects to the philosophy notes on wonder.
For Raag Bhairao
Bhairao's bright, intense dawn energy suits the shabad's exuberant, fivefold praise — a raag that wakes the world matched with a Name repeated like the sunrise.
Translation Notes
This shabad is a landmark of interfaith devotion: Guru Arjan praises the One entirely in Persian and Arabic devotional vocabulary (khoob, jhooth, deedaar, kudrat, paatisaah, Khuda, gareeb nivaaj, Allah). These are rendered respectfully as names and praises of the one Oneness. The closing Alhu na visrai ("may God never be forgotten") is rendered in positive form — "may I always keep God close" — per the project's positive-framing rule.
Guru Arjan praises the One in the language of Islam — khoob, kudrat, Khuda, gareeb nivaaj, Allah — all pointing at the same Oneness.
The Arc
The rahau bursts out fivefold: excellent, excellent is Your Name, against the fourfold falseness of worldly pride. From there the shabad praises the beauty of the One's people, the wonder of all creation, and the One as support of the unsupported and cherisher of the meek. It closes with a plea to keep God — named here as Allah, as heart and soul and breath — always close.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The honoring of the lowly (gareeb nivaaj, support of the unsupported) is a caste-leveling thread running through Gurbani. The praise-of-creation motif connects to the philosophy notes on wonder.
For Raag Bhairao
Bhairao's bright, intense dawn energy suits the shabad's exuberant, fivefold praise — a raag that wakes the world matched with a Name repeated like the sunrise.
Translation Notes
This shabad is a landmark of interfaith devotion: Guru Arjan praises the One entirely in Persian and Arabic devotional vocabulary (khoob, jhooth, deedaar, kudrat, paatisaah, Khuda, gareeb nivaaj, Allah). These are rendered respectfully as names and praises of the one Oneness. The closing Alhu na visrai ("may God never be forgotten") is rendered in positive form — "may I always keep God close" — per the project's positive-framing rule.