Couplets › Self-Knowledge
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
ki se sakta hai ka
par
par
“A diamond's heart can be cut by the petal of a flower — yet on a foolish man, soft and gentle words have no effect.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
फूल की से कट सकता है हीरे का
पर
पर
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
پھول کی پتی سے کٹ سکتا ہے ہیرے کا جگر
مرد ناداں پر کلام نرم و نازک بے اثر
مرد ناداں پر کلام نرم و نازک بے اثر
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal sets up a startling contrast. The hardest thing in nature, the diamond, can yield to the softest, a flower's petal. But the closed mind of a fool is harder than diamond — gentleness simply bounces off it.
For You, Today
Gentleness is genuinely powerful — it can open what force cannot. But Iqbal is honest: there are minds it will not reach. Know which you are dealing with before you spend your softness.
In the same spirit
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
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
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