Couplets › Freedom
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
Nigah-e-faqr mein shaan-e-sikandari kya hai
Khiraaj ki jo gada ho wo qaisari kya hai
Khiraaj ki jo gada ho wo qaisari kya hai
“In the eyes of true inner wealth, what is the grandeur of an Alexander? What is an emperor who must beg for tribute?”
Romanहिन्दी
निगाह-ए-फ़क़्र में शान-ए-सिकंदरी क्या है
ख़िराज की जो गदा हो वो क़ैसरी क्या है
ख़िराज की जो गदा हो वो क़ैसरी क्या है
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 weighs worldly power and finds it light. The conqueror, the emperor — measured against a self rich on the inside — is exposed as dependent: he must extract tribute, must be fed by others. Real wealth is the self that needs nothing.
For You, Today
Status that depends entirely on what others give you — money, applause, position — is, by Iqbal's measure, a kind of begging. The only standing that cannot be revoked is an inwardly rich self.
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