Couplets › Awakening
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
Tere seene mein dam hai, dil nahin hai
Tera dam garmi-e-mahfil nahin hai
Tera dam garmi-e-mahfil nahin hai
“There is breath in your chest, but no heart. Your breath carries none of the warmth that lights up a gathering.”
Romanहिन्दी
तिरे सीने में दम है दिल नहीं है
तिरा दम गर्मी-ए-महफ़िल नहीं है
तिरा दम गर्मी-ए-महफ़िल नहीं 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
Iqbal draws a hard line between merely being alive and being truly alive. Breath alone is not a heart; mere survival is not warmth. A life can keep going, biologically intact, and still bring no fire to the room it sits in.
For You, Today
Functioning is not the same as being alive. Iqbal's uncomfortable question: do you only have breath, or do you have a heart — something that actually warms the spaces and people around you?
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
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
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