Couplets › Action
From Zarb-e-Kalim, 1936 — 'Takhleeq' · originally composed in Urdu
Jahan-e-taza ki afkar-e-taza se hai numood
Ki sang-o-khisht se hote nahin jahan paida
Ki sang-o-khisht se hote nahin jahan paida
“A new world comes into being from new thoughts — for worlds are not built out of stone and brick.”
Romanहिन्दी
जहान-ए-ताज़ा की अफ़्कार-ए-ताज़ा से है नुमूद
कि संग-ओ-ख़िश्त से होते नहीं जहाँ पैदा
कि संग-ओ-ख़िश्त से होते नहीं जहाँ पैदा
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 locates the origin of any new world in the mind, not the quarry. Stone and brick can raise a structure, but a world — a genuinely new order of things — begins as fresh thought. The material follows the idea; it never precedes it.
For You, Today
Before you can build something genuinely new, you have to think something genuinely new. Iqbal's order is strict: the idea first, the construction second. Stone never leads.
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
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
Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
My longing rises to my lips as a prayer: O God, may my life be like a candle's flame.
Hope · Aspiration