kar chuka hai tu hamara
“We are not the kind to be crushed by falsehood, O sky; a hundred times already you have tested us.”
कर चुका है तू इम्तिहाँ हमारा
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
سو بار کر چکا ہے تو امتحاں ہمارا
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
Iqbal answers fate itself with defiance. He addresses the heavens as an old adversary and points out that repeated trials have only confirmed his resilience, not broken it. The couplet reframes a long history of hardship as evidence of strength: each test survived is proof that falsehood cannot win here.
When wrong seems to have the upper hand, recall everything you have already withstood. The trials behind you are not a record of suffering but a record of proof; you have refused to break before, and you can refuse again.
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Ye khaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na naari hai