Jo ho bhi to nahin
“There is no arrogance or vanity in the spirited fierceness of selfhood — and any pride it does carry is never without the sweetness of humility.”
जो हो भी तो नहीं
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
جو ناز ہو بھی تو بے لذت نیاز نہیں
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
Iqbal answers the obvious objection to his philosophy of selfhood: is it not just ego? No, he insists. The fierce energy of a true self holds no arrogance, and whatever pride it has is always paired with humility — the two are inseparable in a healthy self.
A strong sense of self is not the same as conceit. Iqbal's test: real selfhood always carries humility alongside its confidence. If the pride has crowded the humility out, it has stopped being selfhood and become ego.
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban
Dard-mandon se zaeefon se mohabbat karna