Couplets › Love
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 — 'Zauq-o-Shauq' · originally composed in Urdu
Aql-o-dil-o-nigah ka murshid-e-awwaleen hai ishq
Ishq na ho to shar-o-deen butkada-e-tasavvurat
Ishq na ho to shar-o-deen butkada-e-tasavvurat
“Love is the first teacher of intellect, heart and sight. Without love, even law and faith become only a temple of empty ideas.”
Romanहिन्दी
अक़्ल ओ दिल ओ निगाह का मुर्शिद-ए-अव्वलीं है इश्क़
इश्क़ न हो तो शर-ओ-दीं बुतकदा-ए-तसव्वुरात
इश्क़ न हो तो शर-ओ-दीं बुतकदा-ए-तसव्वुरात
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 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
Mazhab nahin sikhata aapas mein bair rakhna
Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindostan hamara
Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindostan hamara
Religion does not teach us to hold enmity among ourselves. We are of Hind, and Hindustan is our homeland.
Unity · Love