Couplets › Love
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
Tere ishq ki intiha chahta hun
Meri sadgi dekh kya chahta hun
Meri sadgi dekh kya chahta hun
“I long for the very limit of Your love — look at my simplicity, see what I dare to ask.”
Romanहिन्दी
तेरे इश्क़ की इन्तहा चाहता हूँ
मेरी सादगी देख क्या चाहता हूँ
मेरी सादगी देख क्या चाहता हूँ
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
The Interpretation
Iqbal opens with a lover's audacious demand: not a taste of the divine love but its farthest extreme. Then he turns and smiles at his own nerve — 'look at my simplicity' — half apology, half boast. The longing is enormous, and the asker knows it.
For You, Today
Most of us ask for a manageable amount of what we want. Iqbal asks for the maximum and owns the cheek of it. Notice where you've shrunk your real desire just to seem reasonable.
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
Mohabbat mujhe un jawanon se hai
Sitaron pe jo dalte hain kamand
Sitaron pe jo dalte hain kamand
My love is for those young ones who cast their lasso upon the stars.
Youth · Aspiration
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