Couplets › Self-Knowledge
From Bang-e-Dra, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
mein bhi hai
Ye wo hai mein nahin
Ye wo hai mein nahin
“There is a certain delight in knowledge too — but it is a paradise without companions.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
में भी है
ये वो है में नहीं
ये वो है में नहीं
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
علم میں بھی سرور ہے لیکن
یہ وہ جنت ہے جس میں حور نہیں
یہ وہ جنت ہے جس میں حور نہیں
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal grants knowledge its real pleasure, then names its quiet cost. Pure intellect is a paradise, but a solitary one — it can dazzle without warming. He gently insists that learning, however joyful, is incomplete unless it is joined to love and human connection.
For You, Today
Mastery and expertise carry a genuine thrill, but a life of pure analysis can be lonely. Iqbal's reminder is to keep your knowledge company with love, or risk a brilliant, empty paradise.
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
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
Zindagi ho meri parwane ki surat ya-rab
Ilm ki shama se ho mujh ko mohabbat ya-rab
Ilm ki shama se ho mujh ko mohabbat ya-rab
Let my life be like the moth's, O Lord; let me love the lamp of knowledge.
Love · Aspiration · Youth