Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Hayat kya hai khayal o nazar ki majzubi
Khudi ki maut hai andesha-ha-e-guna-gun
Khudi ki maut hai andesha-ha-e-guna-gun
“What is life? The absorbed focus of thought and vision; and scattered, many-coloured doubts are the death of selfhood.”
Romanहिन्दी
हयात क्या है ख़याल ओ नज़र की मजज़ूबी
ख़ुदी की मौत है अँदेशा-हा-ए-गूना-गूँ
ख़ुदी की मौत है अँदेशा-हा-ए-गूना-गूँ
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 defines real life as concentrated attention, thought and sight gathered into a single, absorbed purpose. The opposite, a mind splintered into countless anxious doubts, drains the self. Khudi dies not from one great failure but from a thousand small hesitations.
For You, Today
A scattered, doubt-ridden mind quietly kills your strength. Gather your attention onto what matters and commit. Endless second-guessing feels like caution but is really the slow death of your resolve.
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
Amal se zindagi banti hai jannat bhi jahannum bhi
Ye khaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na naari hai
Ye khaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na naari hai
By our deeds we make life a heaven or a hell. This creature of dust is, by nature, neither angel of light nor demon of fire.
Action · Courage