Ho na to ai
“If the heart is lit within, the fire in one's words is life itself; if it is unlit, those words are a lasting death.”
हो न तो ऐ
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
ہو نہ روشن تو سخن مرگ دوام اے ساقی
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
Iqbal ties the worth of speech and expression to the inner state of the speaker. Words that come from a lit, living heart carry warmth and become a form of life. Words from a cold, unlit heart, however clever, are deadening. The same is true of any work: its value depends on whether something real is burning behind it.
Speak and create from a lit heart, or not at all. Words without inner fire do not just fall flat; they drain the room. Tend the flame before you open your mouth.
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat