Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Ye payam de gai hai mujhe baad-e-subh-gahi
Ki khudi ke aarifon ka hai maqam padshahi
Ki khudi ke aarifon ka hai maqam padshahi
“The morning breeze brought me this message: the station of those who truly know selfhood is sovereignty.”
Romanहिन्दी
ये पयाम दे गई है मुझे बाद-ए-सुब्ह-गाही
कि ख़ुदी के आरिफ़ों का है मक़ाम पादशाही
कि ख़ुदी के आरिफ़ों का है मक़ाम पादशाही
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 links Khudi directly to a kind of kingship. The person who has come to know and build the self does not need a throne to be sovereign; the mastery is inward. Self-knowledge is itself a form of rule, the only rule no one can take away.
For You, Today
Real authority over your life is not granted by a title or a position. It comes from knowing and governing yourself. Build that, and you carry your sovereignty into any room, with or without a crown.
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
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
Sabak phir parh sadaqat ka, adalat ka, shujaat ka
Liya jaega tujhse kaam duniya ki imamat ka
Liya jaega tujhse kaam duniya ki imamat ka
Learn once more the lesson of truth, of justice, of courage — for you will be called upon to lead the world.
Leadership · Courage