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
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
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.
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
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
Door duniya ka mere dam se andhera ho jaye
Har jagah mere chamakne se ujala ho jaye
Har jagah mere chamakne se ujala ho jaye
May the world's darkness be dispelled by my being; may every place be lit by my shining.
Aspiration · Hope · Youth