Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Giran-baha hai to hifz-e-khudi se hai warna
Guhar mein aab-e-guhar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
Guhar mein aab-e-guhar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
“If you are precious, it is from guarding your selfhood; otherwise a pearl is nothing but the lustre of a pearl.”
Romanहिन्दी
गिराँ-बहा है तो हिफ़्ज़-ए-ख़ुदी से है वर्ना
गुहर में आब-ए-गुहर के सिवा कुछ और नहीं
गुहर में आब-ए-गुहर के सिवा कुछ और नहीं
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 locates a person's worth in hifz-e-khudi, the guarding and keeping of selfhood. A pearl is valued for the lustre that is intrinsic to it; strip that away and only a bead remains. Likewise, what makes a person precious is the integrity of their own self, protected and preserved, not anything attached from outside.
For You, Today
Your real value lies in keeping your selfhood intact. Guard it. Lose your inner integrity and what is left, however decorated, is just a husk.
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
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
Parwaz hai dono ki isi ek faza mein
Kargas ka jahan aur hai, shaheen ka jahan aur
Kargas ka jahan aur hai, shaheen ka jahan aur
Both take flight in this very same sky — yet the vulture's world is one thing, and the falcon's another.
The Falcon · Self-Knowledge