Couplets › Self-Knowledge
From Zarb-e-Kalim · originally composed in Urdu
Tujhe kitab se mumkin nahin faragh ki tu
Kitab-khwan hai magar sahib-e-kitab nahin
Kitab-khwan hai magar sahib-e-kitab nahin
“You cannot be free of the book, for you are a reader of books but not their master.”
Romanहिन्दी
तुझे किताब से मुमकिन नहीं फ़राग़ कि तू
किताब-ख़्वाँ है मगर साहिब-ए-किताब नहीं
किताब-ख़्वाँ है मगर साहिब-ए-किताब नहीं
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 draws a line between the one who consumes knowledge and the one who commands it. To merely read is to stay dependent on the page; to become its master is to absorb, judge and outgrow it. Learning is a stage, not a destination, and the goal is a self strong enough to use knowledge rather than be ruled by it.
For You, Today
Reading and collecting information is only the start. Push past being a consumer of other people's thinking until you can weigh it, argue with it, and produce your own.
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
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
Amal se zindagi banti hai jannat bhi jahannum bhi
Ye khaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na naari hai
Ye khaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na naari hai
By our deeds we make life a heaven or a hell. This creature of dust is, by nature, neither angel of light nor demon of fire.
Action · Courage