Couplets › Awakening
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 — 'Tasveer-e-Dard' · originally composed in Urdu
Na to jaoge ai walon
Tumhari tak bhi na hogi mein
Tumhari tak bhi na hogi mein
“If you will not understand, you will be erased, O people of Hindustan — not even your story will remain among the stories.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
न समझोगे तो जाओगे ऐ वालो
तुम्हारी दास्ताँ तक भी न होगी दास्तानों में
तुम्हारी दास्ताँ तक भी न होगी दास्तानों में
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
نہ سمجھوگے تو مٹ جاؤگے اے ہندوستاں والو
تمہاری داستاں تک بھی نہ ہوگی داستانوں میں
تمہاری داستاں تک بھی نہ ہوگی داستانوں میں
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
A warning, written for a people Iqbal loved. Refuse to understand your moment — refuse to adapt, to see clearly — and history will not merely defeat you; it will forget you. Not even your tale will survive to be told.
For You, Today
Complacency does not just cost you the win. Iqbal's warning is sharper: it costs you the memory of having played. Understand your moment, or be erased from it.
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
Amal se zindagi banti hai jannat bhi jahannum bhi
Ye khaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na naari hai
Ye khaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na naari hai
By our deeds we make life a heaven or a hell. This creature of dust is, by nature, neither angel of light nor demon of fire.
Action · Courage