Couplets › Love
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 — 'Jawab-e-Shikwa' · originally composed in Urdu
Ki Mohammad se tu ne to hum tere hain
Ye jahan hai kya tere hain
Ye jahan hai kya tere hain
“Be faithful to Muhammad, and We are yours; this world is nothing — the Tablet and the Pen themselves are yours.”
Romanहिन्दी
की मोहम्मद से तू ने तो हम तेरे हैं
ये जहान है क्या तेरे हैं
ये जहान है क्या तेरे हैं
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
The thunderous final answer to the complaint: loyalty to the Prophet's example wins not just the world but the very instruments of destiny — the Tablet and the Pen on which fate is written. Iqbal makes fidelity to a living ideal the key that unlocks everything, this world and the next.
For You, Today
Iqbal's climax stakes everything on wholehearted devotion to an ideal: get that right and the rest — even the pen that writes your fate — is yours. Half-commitment wins nothing; total fidelity wins everything.
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