Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Sitara kya meri taqdir ki khabar dega
Wo khud farakhi-e-aflak mein hai khwar o zubun
Wo khud farakhi-e-aflak mein hai khwar o zubun
“What can a star tell me of my destiny? It is itself helpless and lowly in the vast reach of the skies.”
Romanहिन्दी
सितारा क्या मिरी तक़दीर की ख़बर देगा
वो ख़ुद फ़राख़ी-ए-अफ़्लाक में है ख़्वार ओ ज़ुबूँ
वो ख़ुद फ़राख़ी-ए-अफ़्लाक में है ख़्वार ओ ज़ुबूँ
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 rejects astrology and every form of fatalism. A star, drifting and powerless in its own orbit, cannot govern a human life. He places destiny inside the person, in the choosing, striving self, not in the cold machinery of the heavens.
For You, Today
Stop outsourcing your future to omens, predictions or other people's forecasts about you. Nothing out there decides your fate. The power that shapes your life sits with you and your choices.
In the same spirit
Khudi ko kar buland itna ki har taqdeer se pehle
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Raise your selfhood so high that, before issuing every decree of destiny, God Himself asks you: tell me, what is your wish?
Selfhood · Courage
Nahin tera nasheman qasr-e-sultani ke gumbad par
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Your nest is not on the dome of a royal palace. You are a falcon — make your dwelling on the rocks of the mountains.
The Falcon · Freedom · Courage
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