Couplets › Restlessness
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
Tu abhi rahguzar mein hai qaid-e-maqam se guzar
Misr-o-Hijaz se guzar, Paras-o-Shaam se guzar
Misr-o-Hijaz se guzar, Paras-o-Shaam se guzar
“You are still only on the road — break free of the prison of one fixed place. Pass beyond Egypt and Arabia, pass beyond Persia and Syria.”
Romanहिन्दी
तू अभी रहगुज़र में है क़ैद-ए-मक़ाम से गुज़र
मिस्र ओ हिजाज़ से गुज़र पारस ओ शाम से गुज़र
मिस्र ओ हिजाज़ से गुज़र पारस ओ शाम से गुज़र
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 tells the traveller they have not arrived; they are mid-journey. And the danger of the journey is attachment to a single stopping place. Even great and storied lands, he says, are meant to be passed through, not settled in. The self is made to keep moving.
For You, Today
Any place you have reached — a role, a level, a comfortable identity — is a stage on the road, not the destination. Iqbal's instruction is to honour it and then move past it.
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
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
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