Ghazal

In poetry (and as the lyrics in songs), the ghazal (Persian/Arabic

In poetry (and as the lyrics in songs), the ghazal (Persian/Arabic: غزل‎, Hindi: ग़ज़ल, Turkish gazel) is a poetic form consisting of couplets which share a rhyme and a refrain. (The word "ghazal" is of Arabic origins, and is pronounced roughly like the English word "guzzle", but with a different first consonant.) Ghazal (adapted into Urdu from Persian) is a reference to the cry of a gazelle.

The form is ancient, originating in 10th century Persian verse. It is derived from the Persian qasida, which in turn derived from a pre-Islamic Arabian form. The ghazal spread into India in the 12th century under the influence of the new Islamic Sultanate courts and Sufi mystics. Although the ghazal is most prominently a form of Urdu poetry, today, it has influenced the poetry of many languages.