Couplets  ›  Love
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 — 'Naya Shawala' · originally composed in Urdu
Shakti bhi shanti bhi bhakton ke geet mein hai
Dharti ke wasiyon ki mukti preet mein hai

Both power and peace lie in the songs of the devoted; the salvation of the earth's people lies in love.

Romanहिन्दी
शक्ति भी शांति भी भक्तों के गीत में है
धरती के वासियों की मुक्ति प्रीत में 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

The closing of 'Naya Shiwala', written in deliberately Hindu-devotional vocabulary — shakti, shanti, bhakt, mukti, preet. Iqbal locates both strength and serenity in genuine devotion, and the world's deliverance in love alone. A Muslim poet writing in the idiom of bhakti to make a universal point.

For You, Today

Iqbal crosses every line to say it plainly: love is what saves people, and devotion holds both power and peace. The vocabulary is borrowed across faiths on purpose — the truth he points at belongs to none and to all.

Themes:LoveUnityHope
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