Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Teri zindagi isi se teri aabru isi se
Jo rahi khudi to shahi na rahi to ru-siyahi
Jo rahi khudi to shahi na rahi to ru-siyahi
“Your life depends on this, your honour depends on this: if selfhood remains you reign like a king, if it is lost only disgrace remains.”
Romanहिन्दी
तिरी ज़िंदगी इसी से तिरी आबरू इसी से
जो रही ख़ुदी तो शाही न रही तो रू-सियाही
जो रही ख़ुदी तो शाही न रही तो रू-सियाही
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 puts everything on Khudi. Both the worth of your life and your honour rest on whether the self stays intact and strong. Keep it, and you live as a sovereign; lose it, and what is left is shame. There is no neutral middle ground.
For You, Today
Before any deal, any compromise, any pressure to fold, ask one question: does this keep my self intact or surrender it? Guarding Khudi is not pride. It is the line between a life of dignity and one of disgrace.
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