Couplets › Courage
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
Tu ke na ise tera hai wo
ke ho to aziz-tar hai nigah-e-aaina-saaz mein
ke ho to aziz-tar hai nigah-e-aaina-saaz mein
“Do not keep your mirror anxiously protected — yours is the kind of mirror that, even when shattered, is dearer in the eyes of its maker.”
Romanहिन्दी
तू बचा बचा के न रख इसे तेरा है वो
कि हो तो अज़ीज़-तर है निगाह-ए-आईना-साज़ में
कि हो तो अज़ीज़-तर है निगाह-ए-आईना-साज़ में
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 speaks against a life lived in protective fear. The self is a mirror, and the maker prizes it more for having been used — even broken — than for being kept pristine and untested on a shelf. A scar is a sign the mirror reflected something real.
For You, Today
Guarding yourself too carefully — from risk, from effort, from being tested — keeps you intact and unused. Iqbal says a self with honest cracks is worth more than one preserved spotless. Let it be used.
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