Couplets › The Falcon
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 — 'Shaheen' · originally composed in Urdu
Parindon ki duniya ka darvesh hoon main
Ki shaheen banata nahin aashiyana
Ki shaheen banata nahin aashiyana
“I am the dervish of the world of birds — for the falcon never builds itself a nest.”
Romanहिन्दी
परिंदों की दुनिया का दरवेश हूँ मैं
कि शाहीं बनाता नहीं आशियाना
कि शाहीं बनाता नहीं आशियाना
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's falcon calls itself a dervish: one who has renounced the comfort of a fixed home. Other birds build nests and settle; the falcon will not. To be free, in Iqbal's picture, is to refuse the weight of an attachment that would tie you down.
For You, Today
Every nest you build is also something you must defend and cannot easily leave. Iqbal's falcon points to the cost of settling — and the lightness of choosing not to.
In the same spirit
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
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
Parwaz hai dono ki isi ek faza mein
Kargas ka jahan aur hai, shaheen ka jahan aur
Kargas ka jahan aur hai, shaheen ka jahan aur
Both take flight in this very same sky — yet the vulture's world is one thing, and the falcon's another.
The Falcon · Self-Knowledge