Couplets › Action
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Nahin is mein koi
Ye hai na na
Ye hai na na
“In this open expanse there is no corner of idle rest; this is a strange world, neither a cage nor a nest.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
नहीं इस खुली में कोई
ये अजब है न न
ये अजब है न न
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
نہیں اس کھلی فضا میں کوئی گوشۂ فراغت
یہ جہاں عجب جہاں ہے نہ قفس نہ آشیانہ
یہ جہاں عجب جہاں ہے نہ قفس نہ آشیانہ
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal describes life as wide-open space that offers no easy resting spot. It is not a cage that traps you, so you cannot blame circumstance; nor is it a nest that shelters you, so you cannot expect comfort. It is a field for effort, and nothing else.
For You, Today
Stop waiting for life to either trap you or cradle you. It will do neither. The open space is yours to cross under your own power, so plan for work, not for rest, and the strangeness becomes freedom.
In the same spirit
Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Beyond the stars there are worlds yet — there are still more trials of love to come.
Aspiration · Love · Restlessness
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
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