Couplets › Self-Knowledge
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Miri mashshatgi ki kya husn-e-mani ko
Ki karti hai laale ki hina-bandi
Ki karti hai laale ki hina-bandi
“What need has true beauty of meaning for my adorning hand? Nature, all on its own, paints the tulip red.”
Romanहिन्दी
मिरी मश्शातगी की क्या हुस्न-ए-मअ'नी को
कि करती है लाले की हिना-बंदी
कि करती है लाले की हिना-बंदी
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 says real substance does not need decoration. Just as nature colours the tulip without any help, genuine meaning carries its own beauty and asks for no cosmetic dressing. When something is true and alive at its core, the urge to embellish it is unnecessary and even a distraction.
For You, Today
If your work has real substance, resist the urge to over-decorate it. What is genuinely good shows its colour on its own. Build the meaning; skip the gloss.
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
Ho mere dam se yunhi watan ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
Let my country be adorned by me, as a garden is adorned by its flowers.
Aspiration · Youth · Action
Ho mera kaam ghareebon ki himayat karna
Dard-mandon se zaeefon se mohabbat karna
Dard-mandon se zaeefon se mohabbat karna
Let my work be to defend the poor — to love the suffering and the weak.
Justice · Humility · Love