Couplets › Awakening
From Bal-e-Jibril · originally composed in Urdu
Qalb o nazar ki zindagi dasht mein subh ka samaan
Chashma-e-aftab se nuur ki naddiyan ravaan
Chashma-e-aftab se nuur ki naddiyan ravaan
“The life of the heart and the eye is like daybreak in the desert; from the spring of the sun, rivers of light flow out.”
Romanहिन्दी
क़ल्ब ओ नज़र की ज़िंदगी दश्त में सुब्ह का समाँ
चश्मा-ए-आफ़्ताब से नूर की नद्दियाँ रवाँ
चश्मा-ए-आफ़्ताब से नूर की नद्दियाँ रवाँ
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 sets a fully alive inner life against the bare desert and finds it radiant, a sunrise pouring streams of light across the emptiness. The heart and the seeing eye, when awake, are their own source of brightness. Vitality is something a person carries within and sheds outward, not something the surroundings supply.
For You, Today
When your circumstances feel barren, remember that an awake heart brings its own light. Tend your inner life, and it will illuminate even the empty stretches.
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
Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
My longing rises to my lips as a prayer: O God, may my life be like a candle's flame.
Hope · Aspiration
Na samjhoge to mit jaoge ai Hindostan walon
Tumhari dastan tak bhi na hogi dastanon mein
Tumhari dastan tak bhi na hogi dastanon mein
If you will not understand, you will be erased, O people of Hindustan — not even your story will remain among the stories.
Awakening · Courage