ke mein hai ai
“Who has carried off love's brave, heart-piercing sword? Knowledge holds only an empty scabbard now.”
के में है ऐ
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
علم کے ہاتھ میں خالی ہے نیام اے ساقی
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
One of Iqbal's clearest statements of his core contrast. Ilm, cold knowledge and intellect, is the scabbard; ishq, passionate love and conviction, is the blade. Knowledge without the courage and fire of love is a sheath with nothing inside it: it looks like a weapon but cannot cut. Real force in life comes from heart, not analysis alone.
Information and analysis are only the casing. Without passion and conviction to drive them, they cannot move anything. Make sure your knowledge still carries a blade.
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein