Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 — 'Khudi' · originally composed in Urdu
Zabar-e-daram tund-o-badkhu mabash
Tu bayad ki bashi, daram go mabash
Tu bayad ki bashi, daram go mabash
“It is needful that you simply be — let the wealth go, never mind. Do not let gold and silver make you harsh and ill-natured.”
Romanहिन्दी
ज़बर-ए-दरम तुंद-ओ-बदख़ू मबाश
तू बायद कि बाशी, दरम गो मबाश
तू बायद कि बाशी, दरम गो मबाश
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 closes his poem 'Khudi' with a line of Persian he prizes. The instruction is austere and freeing: your task is to be, fully — possessions are optional. And he adds a warning: do not let the chase for wealth sour your very character.
For You, Today
Iqbal separates two things we tend to fuse — being someone, and having things. The first is the real assignment. And he flags the cost of the second: the pursuit of money can quietly make a person hard.
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
Nahin tera nasheman qasr-e-sultani ke gumbad par
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Your nest is not on the dome of a royal palace. You are a falcon — make your dwelling on the rocks of the mountains.
The Falcon · Freedom · 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