Couplets › The Falcon
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
Tu shaheen hai parwaz hai kaam tera
Tere saamne aasman aur bhi hain
Tere saamne aasman aur bhi hain
“You are a falcon — flight is your work. There are still more skies in front of you.”
तू शाहीं है परवाज़ है काम तेरा
तेरे सामने आसमाँ और भी हैं
तेरे सामने आसमाँ और भी हैं
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 reminds the falcon what it is for. Its work is not perching, not resting, not arriving — its work is flight itself. And the moment one sky is crossed, another opens. The reaching is never finished, because that is the whole vocation.
For You, Today
If your job is movement, no single milestone is a stopping place. Iqbal's falcon does not measure success by how high it got, but by whether it is still flying.
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