Couplets › Love
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Ragon mein gardish-e-khun hai agar to kya hasil
Hayat soz-e-jigar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
Hayat soz-e-jigar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
“If blood merely circulates in your veins, what of it? Life is nothing but the burning of the heart.”
Romanहिन्दी
रगों में गर्दिश-ए-ख़ूँ है अगर तो क्या हासिल
हयात सोज़-ए-जिगर के सिवा कुछ और नहीं
हयात सोज़-ए-जिगर के सिवा कुछ और नहीं
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 separates being biologically alive from being truly alive. Blood moving through the veins is not yet life in any meaningful sense. Real life is soz-e-jigar, the inner fire and passion of the heart. A person can be breathing and still, by Iqbal's measure, not living at all.
For You, Today
Merely getting through the day is not living. Life, as Iqbal means it, is the fire you feel for something. If that fire has gone out, the task is to relight it, not just keep going.
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
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