Couplets › Self-Knowledge
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
se kya ki meri kya hai
Ki is mein hoon, meri kya hai
Ki is mein hoon, meri kya hai
“Why should I ask the wise where I began? The question that occupies me is: what is the end I am headed toward?”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
-मंदों से क्या पूछूँ कि मेरी क्या है
कि मैं इस में रहता हूँ मेरी क्या है
कि मैं इस में रहता हूँ मेरी क्या है
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
خرد مندوں سے کیا پوچھوں کہ میری ابتدا کیا ہے
کہ میں اس فکر میں رہتا ہوں میری انتہا کیا ہے
کہ میں اس فکر میں رہتا ہوں میری انتہا کیا ہے
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal sets aside the question of origins — where he came from, what he was made of — as a matter for scholars. His own concern points the other way: not the starting line but the destination. A life, for him, is defined by where it is going.
For You, Today
It is easy to spend energy on where you came from — background, history, the hand you were dealt. Iqbal redirects the attention forward: the more useful question is what you are becoming.
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
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