Couplets › Unity
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 — 'Naya Shawala' · originally composed in Urdu
Patthar ki mooraton mein samjha hai tu Khuda hai
Khaak-e-watan ka mujh ko har zarra devta hai
Khaak-e-watan ka mujh ko har zarra devta hai
“You have imagined that God dwells within stone idols — for me, every single speck of my homeland's dust is itself a deity.”
Romanहिन्दी
पत्थर की मूरतों में समझा है तू ख़ुदा है
ख़ाक-ए-वतन का मुझ को हर ज़र्रा देवता है
ख़ाक-ए-वतन का मुझ को हर ज़र्रा देवता 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
From 'Naya Shawala', written by a young Iqbal addressing a Hindu friend. Rather than disdain another's forms of worship, he answers with his own devotion — finding the sacred in the very dust of a shared land. It is a verse of reverence offered across the line of religion.
For You, Today
Iqbal models a rare move: meeting a different faith not with contempt but with his own wider reverence. The sacred, he suggests, is not the private property of any one form of worship.
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
Mazhab nahin sikhata aapas mein bair rakhna
Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindostan hamara
Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindostan hamara
Religion does not teach us to hold enmity among ourselves. We are of Hind, and Hindustan is our homeland.
Unity · Love
Dayar-e-ishq mein apna maqam paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
In the realm of love, create your own standing — bring a new age into being, new mornings and new evenings of your own.
Aspiration · Action · Love