Couplets › The Falcon
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
Nahin tera ke par
Tu hai, kar ki mein
Tu hai, kar ki 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.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
नहीं तेरा के पर
तू है, कर पहाड़ों की चट्टानों में
तू है, कर पहाड़ों की चट्टानों में
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
نہیں تیرا نشیمن قصر سلطانی کے گنبد پر
تو شاہیں ہے بسیرا کر پہاڑوں کی چٹانوں میں
تو شاہیں ہے بسیرا کر پہاڑوں کی چٹانوں میں
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
The falcon — Iqbal's favourite emblem — never nests in soft palaces. It chooses the bare mountain rock: exposed, difficult, but free. Comfort, Iqbal warns, is a gilded cage; the self is forged on hard ground, not cushioned on it.
For You, Today
When a safe, comfortable option tempts you, ask what it costs you in altitude. The falcon's home is uncomfortable on purpose — that discomfort is the price, and the proof, of freedom.
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
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
Ai tair-e-lahooti us rizq se maut achhi
Jis rizq se aati ho parvaaz mein kotahi
Jis rizq se aati ho parvaaz mein kotahi
O celestial bird, better death than the sustenance that brings any shortfall to your flight.
Freedom · The Falcon