Couplets  ›  Unity
From Bang-e-Dara · originally composed in Urdu
Hai Ram ke vajood pe Hindostan ko naaz
Ahl-e-nazar samajhte hain us ko imam-e-Hind

“India takes pride in the very existence of Ram; those of discerning sight regard him as the spiritual leader of India.”

Romanहिन्दी
है राम के वजूद पे हिन्दोस्ताँ को नाज़
अहल-ए-नज़र समझते हैं उस को इमाम-ए-हिंद

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, a Muslim poet, openly honours Ram as a figure of light belonging to all of India. He calls Ram an imam of the land, a guide whose worth the discerning recognise across any line of faith. The couplet is a clear statement of shared inheritance: India's great souls belong to everyone who claims the country, not to one community alone.

For You, Today

Treat the wisdom of every tradition around you as part of a common inheritance. The discerning person, Iqbal suggests, learns from a great soul regardless of which community first claimed them.

Themes:Unity
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In the same spirit
Mazhab nahin sikhata aapas mein bair rakhna
Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindostan hamara
Religion does not teach us to hold enmity among ourselves. We are of Hind, and Hindustan is our homeland.
Unity · Love
Patthar ki mooraton mein samjha hai tu Khuda hai
Khaak-e-watan ka mujh ko har zarra devta hai
You have imagined that God dwells within stone idols — for me, every single speck of my homeland's dust is itself a deity.
Unity · Love
Yaqeen afrad ka sarmaya-e-tameer-e-millat hai
Yahi quvvat hai jo surat-gar-e-taqdeer-e-millat hai
The conviction of individuals is the capital that builds a community — this is the very force that sculpts a people's destiny.
Unity · Selfhood · Leadership