Couplets › Self-Knowledge
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Miri ki kya ko
Ki karti hai ki
Ki karti hai ki
“What need has true beauty of meaning for my adorning hand? Nature, all on its own, paints the tulip red.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
मिरी की क्या को
कि करती है लाले की
कि करती है लाले की
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
مری مشاطگی کی کیا ضرورت حسن معنی کو
کہ فطرت خود بہ خود کرتی ہے لالے کی حنا بندی
کہ فطرت خود بہ خود کرتی ہے لالے کی حنا بندی
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ 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 mere 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