Couplets › Love
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
Tu bacha bacha ke na rakh ise tera aaina hai wo aaina
Ki shikasta ho to azeez-tar hai nigah-e-aaina-saaz mein
Ki shikasta ho to azeez-tar hai nigah-e-aaina-saaz mein
“Do not hoard and shield your heart — it is the kind of mirror that, once broken, grows dearer in the eyes of the Mirror-maker.”
Romanहिन्दी
तू बचा बचा के न रख इसे तेरा आईना है वो आईना
के शिकस्ता हो तो अज़ीज़तर है निगाह-ए-आईना-साज़ में
के शिकस्ता हो तो अज़ीज़तर है निगाह-ए-आईना-साज़ में
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
The Interpretation
The heart is a mirror, and Iqbal tells us not to protect it from breaking. In the gaze of the One who made it, a shattered mirror is more beloved than an intact one, because it has been used, risked, broken in love. Wholeness kept safe is worth less than something spent.
For You, Today
We guard our hearts to keep them from breaking and end up keeping them unused. Iqbal says the broken one is dearer to its Maker. A life risked and cracked beats one kept pristine on a shelf.
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
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