Couplets › Love
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
Ahval-e-mohabbat mein kuch nahin aisa
o avval o
o avval o
“In the states of love there is no real difference — the same burning and restless glow at the start, the same burning and restless glow at the end.”
Romanहिन्दी
अहवाल-ए-मोहब्बत में कुछ नहीं ऐसा
ओ तब-ओ-ताब ओ तब-ओ-ताब
ओ तब-ओ-ताब ओ तब-ओ-ताब
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 describes love as a constant, not a curve. It does not cool with time or fade into routine; the soz — the ardour — and the tab-o-taab — the restless brightness — are the same on the last day as on the first. True love, in his reading, does not have a honeymoon and an afterward.
For You, Today
A real devotion — to a person, a craft, a cause — should not need the novelty of beginnings to keep its heat. If your commitment has gone cold, the question is whether it was love at all, or only excitement.
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
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
Zindagi ho meri parwane ki surat ya-rab
Ilm ki shama se ho mujh ko mohabbat ya-rab
Ilm ki shama se ho mujh ko mohabbat ya-rab
Let my life be like the moth's, O Lord; let me love the lamp of knowledge.
Love · Aspiration · Youth