Couplets › Restlessness
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
Har ik muqam se aage muqam hai tera
Hayat zauq-e-safar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
Hayat zauq-e-safar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
“Beyond every destination lies another that is yours; life is nothing but the love of the journey.”
Romanहिन्दी
हर इक मुक़ाम से आगे मुक़ाम है तेरा
हयात ज़ौक़-ए-सफ़र के सिवा कुछ और नहीं
हयात ज़ौक़-ए-सफ़र के सिवा कुछ और नहीं
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
The Interpretation
No arrival is final for Iqbal; every station is only the doorway to the next. Life itself is defined not as reaching but as the appetite for the road. To stop travelling is to stop living.
For You, Today
If you think the next milestone will finally let you rest, Iqbal disagrees — there is always a further one, and that is the good news. The point was never the destination; it was the hunger to keep going.
In the same spirit
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
Mohabbat mujhe un jawanon se hai
Sitaron pe jo dalte hain kamand
Sitaron pe jo dalte hain kamand
My love is for those young ones who cast their lasso upon the stars.
Youth · Aspiration