Couplets › Selfhood
From Zarb-e-Kalim, 1936 — 'Mard-e-Musalman' · originally composed in Urdu
Har lehza hai momin ki nayi shaan nayi aan
Guftar mein kirdar mein Allah ki burhan
Guftar mein kirdar mein Allah ki burhan
“Every moment the man of faith wears a new splendour, a new grace; in his speech and in his character, he is the proof of God.”
Romanहिन्दी
हर लहज़ा है मोमिन की नई शान नई आन
गुफ़्तार में किरदार में अल्लाह की बुरहान
गुफ़्तार में किरदार में अल्लाह की बुरहान
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
The Interpretation
The believer is never static — each moment renews him. And the proof of the divine he carries is not in argument but in how he speaks and acts. Iqbal locates faith in character and conduct, not in creed recited.
For You, Today
What you actually are shows up in your words and behaviour, not in your stated beliefs. Iqbal makes character the only convincing argument — and he expects you to be renewed, not the same person on repeat.
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
Ho mere dam se yunhi watan ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
Let my country be adorned by me, as a garden is adorned by its flowers.
Aspiration · Youth · Action