Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 — 'Khudi' · originally composed in Urdu
ko na de ke
Nahin dete ke
Nahin dete ke
“Do not trade away your selfhood for silver and gold — no one hands over a blazing flame in exchange for a mere spark.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
को न दे के
नहीं देते के
नहीं देते के
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
خودی کو نہ دے سیم و زر کے عوض
نہیں شعلہ دیتے شرر کے عوض
نہیں شعلہ دیتے شرر کے عوض
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal puts a price-check on the self. To sell your selfhood for money is, he says, like surrendering a whole flame for a single spark — a ruinous bargain. The inner self is the greater fire; wealth is only the spark beside it.
For You, Today
Every offer that asks you to give up a piece of who you are for money or status is asking you to swap a flame for a spark. Iqbal's accounting is blunt: that trade always loses.
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