Couplets › Love
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
Kabhi ae aa mein
Ki rahe hain meri mein
Ki rahe hain meri mein
“O long-awaited Truth, show Yourself once in the garb of the visible — for a thousand prostrations quiver in this humble, waiting brow.”
कभी ऐ आ में
के सज्दे रहे हैं मेरी में
के सज्दे रहे हैं मेरी में
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
کبھی اے حقیقت منتظر نظر آ لباس مجاز میں
کہ ہزاروں سجدے تڑپ رہے ہیں مری جبین نیاز میں
کہ ہزاروں سجدے تڑپ رہے ہیں مری جبین نیاز میں
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal begs the hidden Reality to appear, just once, in tangible form — because his devotion is straining to express itself and cannot while the Beloved stays invisible. The waiting brow is loaded with prostrations it has no chance to make. The longing is almost physical.
For You, Today
Some devotion has nowhere to land because what we love stays abstract. Iqbal's ache is for the invisible to become touchable. Give your highest longing something concrete to bow to.
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