Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 — 'Javed Ke Naam' · originally composed in Urdu
Utha na sheeshagaran-e-farang ke ehsaan
Sifaal-e-Hind se meena o jaam paida kar
Sifaal-e-Hind se meena o jaam paida kar
“Do not accept the favours of the West's glassmakers — from the humble clay of India, fashion your own goblet and cup.”
Romanहिन्दी
उठा न शीशागरान-ए-फ़रंग के एहसाँ
सिफ़ाल-ए-हिन्द से मीना ओ जाम पैदा कर
सिफ़ाल-ए-हिन्द से मीना ओ जाम पैदा कर
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
The Interpretation
The glassmakers of Europe make dazzling crystal, but to live on their gift is to stay a debtor. Iqbal tells his son to take his own ordinary clay — his own soil, tradition, materials — and shape his own vessels. Self-reliance is worth more than borrowed brilliance.
For You, Today
Borrowing someone else's polished tools feels efficient, but it keeps you dependent and unoriginal. Build from what is yours, even when it starts as rough clay. Owned and homemade outlasts borrowed and brilliant.
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