Couplets › Love
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 — 'Masjid-e-Qurtaba' · originally composed in Urdu
ka se sahib-e-firogh
hai asl-e-hayat maut hai is par
hai asl-e-hayat maut hai is par
“The deeds of the man of God shine with love; love is the essence of life, and death is forbidden to touch it.”
Romanहिन्दी
का से साहिब-ए-फ़िरोग़
है अस्ल-ए-हयात मौत है इस पर
है अस्ल-ए-हयात मौत है इस पर
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 completes the thought: what gives a godly person's work its radiance is love, and love is life's very essence — so deathless that death has no permission over it. Acts done in love do not die with the doer.
For You, Today
Work done out of love carries a glow that outlives you — death has no claim on it. Iqbal's measure of a deed is how much love went into it. That is what makes it deathless, not its scale.
In the same spirit
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
Mohabbat mujhe un jawanon se hai
Sitaron pe jo dalte hain kamand
Sitaron pe jo dalte hain kamand
My love is for those young ones who cast their lasso upon the stars.
Youth · Aspiration
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