Couplets › Aspiration
From Bang-e-Dra, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
Uruj-e-adam-e-khaki se anjum sahme jaate hain
Ki ye toota hua tara mah-e-kamil na ban jaaye
Ki ye toota hua tara mah-e-kamil na ban jaaye
“The stars take fright at the rise of the human being of dust — afraid that this broken star may yet become a full moon.”
Romanहिन्दी
उरूज-ए-आदम-ए-ख़ाकी से अंजुम सहमे जाते हैं
कि ये टूटा हुआ तारा मह-ए-कामिल न बन जाए
कि ये टूटा हुआ तारा मह-ए-कामिल न बन जाए
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 casts the human being as a fallen, fractured star — and exactly that is what alarms the heavens. The fear is not that the broken thing will stay broken, but that it will rise into a full moon. Potential, not perfection, is what makes the human formidable.
For You, Today
Do not let your present brokenness convince you of your ceiling. Iqbal says even the sky watches a struggling person warily — because what looks like a ruined fragment today can complete itself into something luminous.
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
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