Couplets › Adversity
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
Agar kho gaya ek nasheman to kya gham
Maqamat-e-aah-o-faghan aur bhi hain
Maqamat-e-aah-o-faghan aur bhi hain
“If one nest has been lost — what is there to grieve? There are other stations of sighing and lament still ahead.”
अगर खो गया इक नशेमन तो क्या ग़म
मक़ामात-ए-आह-ओ-फ़ुग़ाँ और भी हैं
मक़ामात-ए-आह-ओ-फ़ुग़ाँ और भी हैं
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
From the same ghazal as 'Sitaron se aage', this verse meets loss with an open horizon. A nest gone is not the end of dwelling places; there are other stations still to come, even other sorrows worth feeling. Iqbal will not let a single loss shrink the map.
For You, Today
When something you built is taken from you, the grief is real — but Iqbal widens the frame. One lost nest is not the last place you will ever live. Other stations, and other beginnings, remain.
In the same spirit
Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Beyond the stars there are worlds yet — there are still more trials of love to come.
Aspiration · Love · Restlessness
Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
My longing rises to my lips as a prayer: O God, may my life be like a candle's flame.
Hope · Aspiration
Nahin hai naumeed Iqbal apni kisht-e-veeran se
Zara nam ho to ye mitti badi zarkhez hai saqi
Zara nam ho to ye mitti badi zarkhez hai saqi
Iqbal is not without hope, even from his barren field — let there be a little moisture, cupbearer, and this soil is wonderfully fertile.
Hope · Aspiration