Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril · originally composed in Urdu
Agar kaj-rau hain anjum aasman tera hai ya mera
Mujhe fikr-e-jahan kyun ho jahan tera hai ya mera
Mujhe fikr-e-jahan kyun ho jahan tera hai ya mera
“If the stars run crooked, is the sky yours or mine? Why should I fret over the world, when the world is yours and not my charge.”
Romanहिन्दी
अगर कज-रौ हैं अंजुम आसमाँ तेरा है या मेरा
मुझे फ़िक्र-ए-जहाँ क्यूँ हो जहाँ तेरा है या मेरा
मुझे फ़िक्र-ए-जहाँ क्यूँ हो जहाँ तेरा है या मेरा
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal draws a sharp line between what is his responsibility and what is not. He will not be paralysed by worry over a cosmos he did not design and cannot govern. The selfhood he prizes is freed by this clarity: do your own work fully, and refuse the crushing weight of problems that were never yours to carry.
For You, Today
Anxiety often comes from shouldering things outside your control. Be precise about your circle of responsibility, act fully inside it, and put down the rest.
In the same spirit
Khudi ko kar buland itna ki har taqdeer se pehle
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Raise your selfhood so high that, before issuing every decree of destiny, God Himself asks you: tell me, what is your wish?
Selfhood · Courage
Nahin tera nasheman qasr-e-sultani ke gumbad par
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Your nest is not on the dome of a royal palace. You are a falcon — make your dwelling on the rocks of the mountains.
The Falcon · Freedom · Courage
Apne mann mein doob kar pa ja suragh-e-zindagi
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban
Dive into your own self and find the trace of life. If you will not be mine, then do not — but at least become your own.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge