The song uses three couplets from Hafeez Hoshiarpuri's famous ghazal but is entirely Aftab's.
'Mohabbat' opens beautifully to the sound of gentle guitar strumming, accompanied by the harp, in a manner that gives the impression that the sound is meant to mimic a collaboration between the former stringed instrument with a sitar. In her husky pitch, Arooj Aftab croons the opening lines to her latest song:
Mohabbat karnay walay kum na hongey/ Teri mehfil mein lekin hum na hongey [You will never be short of lovers/ But I will not be a part of your gathering].
Yes, it’s the famous ghazal by Hafeez Hoshiarpuri rendered to great acclaim by the likes of Mehdi Hasan and Farida Khanum. Whereas Mehdi Hasan sang five couplets and Farida sang four from the ghazal (the full ghazal has nine couplets), Arooj limits herself to only three couplets. But she makes the song entirely her own and the rendition is very much a modern one that has Arooj’s signature ambient sound.