Couplets › The Falcon
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
hai dono ki isi ek mein
ka aur hai, ka aur
ka aur hai, ka aur
“Both take flight in this very same sky — yet the vulture's world is one thing, and the falcon's another.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
है दोनों की इसी एक में
का और है, का और
का और है, का और
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
پرواز ہے دونوں کی اسی ایک فضا میں
کرگس کا جہاں اور ہے شاہیں کا جہاں اور
کرگس کا جہاں اور ہے شاہیں کا جہاں اور
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
The vulture and the falcon share one sky — the same air, the same freedom to fly. What separates them is not ability but appetite: what they hunt, how high they go, what they will stoop to. Two creatures, one sky, entirely different worlds.
For You, Today
You and the people cutting corners around you occupy the same field. The difference is never the sky — it is what each of you is willing to feed on. Choose your altitude deliberately.
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
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
Mere Allah burai se bachana mujh ko
Nek jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujh ko
Nek jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujh ko
My God, save me from evil; set me on the path that is good.
Humility · Self-Knowledge