Couplets › Love
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 — 'Zauq-o-Shauq' · originally composed in Urdu
ka hai
na ho to
na ho to
“Love is the first teacher of intellect, heart and sight. Without love, even law and faith become only a temple of empty ideas.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
ओ ओ का है
न हो तो
न हो तो
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
عقل و دل و نگاہ کا مرشد اولیں ہے عشق
عشق نہ ہو تو شرع و دیں بتکدۂ تصورات!
عشق نہ ہو تو شرع و دیں بتکدۂ تصورات!
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal names love as the original teacher — what instructs the mind, the heart and the eye before anything else can. Without it, even good systems of thought and belief turn hollow, a museum of concepts with nothing alive inside.
For You, Today
Frameworks, rules and ideas matter — but Iqbal warns they go lifeless without love behind them. Whatever you believe in, ask whether love is the teacher of it, or only the idea.
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