Couplets › Freedom
From Bang-e-Dara · originally composed in Urdu
Ghulami mein na kaam aati hain shamsheeren na tadbeeren
Jo ho zauq-e-yaqeen paida to kat jaati hain zanjeeren
Jo ho zauq-e-yaqeen paida to kat jaati hain zanjeeren
“In bondage neither swords nor clever schemes are of any use; but once a taste for conviction is born, the chains fall away on their own.”
Romanहिन्दी
ग़ुलामी में न काम आती हैं शमशीरें न तदबीरें
जो हो ज़ौक़-ए-यक़ीन पैदा तो कट जाती हैं ज़ंजीरें
जो हो ज़ौक़-ए-यक़ीन पैदा तो कट जाती हैं ज़ंजीरें
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 argues that real freedom is won inside before it is won outside. Weapons and tactics fail a people who do not yet believe they are free. The decisive change is the birth of yaqeen, a settled inner certainty; once that takes hold, the chains lose their grip almost by themselves.
For You, Today
If a situation has you trapped, examine the belief before the strategy. No tactic outperforms a person who has genuinely decided they are no longer bound; build that conviction first and the options open up.
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
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