Couplets › Love
From Bang-e-Dra, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
se hota hai ka
Na ho mein to kya hai
Na ho mein to kya hai
“The heart's verdict is settled by a glance alone — and if there is no spark in the glance, what charm is left at all?”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
से होता है का
न हो में तो क्या है
न हो में तो क्या है
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
فقط نگاہ سے ہوتا ہے فیصلہ دل کا
نہ ہو نگاہ میں شوخی تو دلبری کیا ہے
نہ ہو نگاہ میں شوخی تو دلبری کیا ہے
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal locates real persuasion not in argument but in presence. A single glance decides what speeches cannot. And without shokhi — a living spark, a vivid aliveness — the most polished manner is hollow; charm is not technique, it is energy.
For You, Today
What wins people is rarely the perfect pitch — it is the spark behind the eyes, the sense that someone is fully alive to the moment. Cultivate the aliveness; the rest is just decoration.
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
Nahin tera nasheman qasr-e-sultani ke gumbad par
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Your nest is not on the dome of a royal palace. You are a falcon — make your dwelling on the rocks of the mountains.
The Falcon · Freedom · Courage