Couplets › Love
From Bang-e-Dra, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
Anokhi waza hai saare zamane se nirale hain
Ye aashiq kaun si basti ke ya-rab rahne wale hain
Ye aashiq kaun si basti ke ya-rab rahne wale hain
“Their manner is singular, set apart from all the world — which town, O Lord, do these lovers belong to?”
Romanहिन्दी
अनोखी वज़ा है सारे ज़माने से निराले हैं
ये आशिक़ कौन सी बस्ती के या-रब रहने वाले हैं
ये आशिक़ कौन सी बस्ती के या-रब रहने वाले 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
Iqbal marvels at lovers as a different kind of people altogether. Their bearing, their values, their way of being do not match the world's — and so he wonders, almost playfully, what country they could possibly come from. To love greatly is to live by a map no one else is using.
For You, Today
If your devotion to a craft, a cause or a person makes you feel out of step with everyone around you, Iqbal would not call that a flaw. People who love deeply have always seemed to belong to a town the rest of the world cannot find.
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
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