Couplets › Love
From Bang-e-Dara (1924) · originally composed in Urdu
Pukhta hoti hai agar maslahat-andesh ho aql
Ishq ho maslahat-andesh to hai khaam abhi
Ishq ho maslahat-andesh to hai khaam abhi
“Reason ripens when it learns to calculate advantage; but love that calculates advantage is still unripe.”
Romanहिन्दी
पुख़्ता होती है अगर मस्लहत-अंदेश हो अक़्ल
इश्क़ हो मस्लहत-अंदेश तो है ख़ाम अभी
इश्क़ हो मस्लहत-अंदेश तो है ख़ाम अभी
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 grants that prudence is exactly what matures the intellect; weighing costs and benefits is reason doing its job well. But love works by an opposite law. Love that hedges, that protects itself and counts the return, has not yet come of age. True passion and commitment mature only when they stop calculating.
For You, Today
Use cool calculation for decisions of strategy; that is where it belongs. But the things you truly love, your work, your people, your purpose, ask for commitment that does not keep one eye on the exit.
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
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
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