Couplets › Freedom
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Na takht-o-taj mein ne lashkar-o-sipah mein hai
Jo baat mard-e-qalandar ki bargah mein hai
Jo baat mard-e-qalandar ki bargah mein hai
“Not in throne and crown, nor in armies and soldiers, lies the power that belongs to the court of the free-spirited man.”
Romanहिन्दी
न तख़्त-ओ-ताज में ने लश्कर-ओ-सिपाह में है
जो बात मर्द-ए-क़लंदर की बारगाह में है
जो बात मर्द-ए-क़लंदर की बारगाह में है
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 names where real authority lives. The qalandar, the person free of attachment and fear, holds something no throne or army can grant. Outward power rests on possessions and force; the qalandar's power rests on inner freedom. The first can be taken away; the second cannot.
For You, Today
Real authority does not come from your title, your budget or your headcount. It comes from an inner freedom that no one can confiscate. Build that first.
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
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