Ghazal - Classical Definition of Ghazal  

Sourced from "Ghazal kya hai ?" by Dr.Arshad Jamaal. " Aaina-e-ghazal", Ghazal in short, is a collection of Sher's which follow the rules of 'Matla', 'Maqta', 'Beher', 'Kaafiyaa' and 'Radif'. So to know what Ghazal is, it's necessary to know what these terms mean. 

To understand these terms easily , we will take an example. 

1. koi ummid bar nahin aati 
    koi surat nazar nahin aati 

2. aage aati thi haale dil par hasi 
    ab kisi baat par nahin aati

3. hum wahan hain, jahan se humko bhi 
    kucch hamaari khabar nahin aati 

4. kaabaa kis muh se jaaoge 'Ghalib' 
   sharm tumko magar nahin aati

What is a Sher ?  
It's a poem of two lines. This definition is deceptively simple. Please note that, every Sher is a poem in itself !A Sher does not need, anything around it, to convey the message.All the 4 stanzas in our example are independent poems, Sher's.