Couplets › Hope
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 — 'Ek Naujawan Ke Naam' · originally composed in Urdu
Na ho , hai
hai ke mein
hai ke mein
“Do not despair — despair is the downfall of knowledge and insight. The hope of a person of conviction stands among those who know the deepest secrets.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
न हो नौमीद नौमीदी है
है के -दानों में
है के -दानों में
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
نہ ہو نومید نومیدی زوال علم و عرفاں ہے
امید مرد مومن ہے خدا کے راز دانوں میں
امید مرد مومن ہے خدا کے راز دانوں میں
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal makes a striking claim: despair is not a mood but a kind of intellectual collapse. To lose hope is to lose the very faculty that keeps knowledge and insight alive. Hope, in his view, is not naivety — it is a form of deep understanding.
For You, Today
Iqbal reframes hope as competence, not wishful thinking. When you give in to despair, something in your ability to see clearly shuts down with it. Holding hope is part of staying sharp.
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
Nahin tera nasheman qasr-e-sultani ke gumbad par
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Your nest is not on the dome of a royal palace. You are a falcon — make your dwelling on the rocks of the mountains.
The Falcon · Freedom · Courage
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