Couplets › Hope
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 — 'Tarana-e-Hindi' · originally composed in Urdu
Kuch baat hai ki hasti mitti nahin hamari
Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara
Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara
“There is something about us that refuses to be erased — for centuries the turning of the age itself has been our enemy.”
कुछ बात है कि हस्ती मिटती नहीं हमारी
सदियों रहा है दुश्मन दौर-ए-ज़माँ हमारा
सदियों रहा है दुश्मन दौर-ए-ज़माँ हमारा
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 answers the puzzle of survival. Time has worked against this people for centuries, and still they remain — so there must be 'something', some inner quality, that explains the endurance. He leaves that something unnamed, an invitation to find it.
For You, Today
If you have come through years of pressure and are still standing, that is not luck — it is evidence of 'something' in you. Iqbal asks you to identify it, because that is what will carry you on.
In the same spirit
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
Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
My longing rises to my lips as a prayer: O God, may my life be like a candle's flame.
Hope · Aspiration
Parwaz hai dono ki isi ek faza mein
Kargas ka jahan aur hai, shaheen ka jahan aur
Kargas ka jahan aur hai, shaheen ka jahan aur
Both take flight in this very same sky — yet the vulture's world is one thing, and the falcon's another.
The Falcon · Self-Knowledge