Couplets › Adversity
From Zarb-e-Kalim, 1936 · originally composed in Urdu
ke ki karta hai nigehbani
Ya ya
Ya ya
“It is the one who keeps watch over nature's purposes — either the dweller of the desert, or the man of the mountains.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
के की करता है
या या
या या
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
فطرت کے مقاصد کی کرتا ہے نگہبانی
یا بندۂ صحرائی یا مرد کہستانی
یا بندۂ صحرائی یا مرد کہستانی
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal honours those formed by hard, open country. The desert-dweller and the mountain-man live close to nature's own intentions, unsoftened by comfort. Their hardihood is not roughness for its own sake; it is fidelity to a tougher, truer order of life.
For You, Today
Iqbal values the resilience that comes from living close to difficulty rather than insulated from it. The exposed life — desert or mountain — keeps a person aligned with something real that comfort tends to blur.
In the same spirit
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
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
Mere Allah burai se bachana mujh ko
Nek jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujh ko
Nek jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujh ko
My God, save me from evil; set me on the path that is good.
Humility · Self-Knowledge