What Is a Qasida? The Urdu Ode of Praise

Tashbib (or nasib): the prelude, on any theme the poet likes, such as spring, love, the times or his own talent, where the poet shows his art.

Gurez: the transition, a turn of a couplet or two that leads cleverly from the prelude to the subject.

Madh: the praise of the patron's generosity, justice, courage or holiness.

Dua: the closing prayer for the patron's long life and glory, often with a request for reward.

Mirza Sauda (1713–1781) is the supreme Urdu qasida poet, famous also for his satirical qasidas mocking the times. Sheikh Ibrahim Zauq (1790–1854), poet laureate at the Mughal court and teacher of Bahadur Shah Zafar, was celebrated for the difficulty and polish of his odes. Ghalib wrote most of his qasidas in Persian. In the late nineteenth century Mohsin Kakorvi wrote devotional qasidas in praise of the Prophet that are still recited.

The praise of patrons can feel distant, but the preludes contain some of the most brilliant descriptive and satirical verse in Urdu, and the qasida shows the full technical range of classical poetry. See also the marsiya, the other great long form.