Couplets › Justice
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
Uthho meri duniya ke ghareebon ko jaga do
Kakh-e-umara ke dar-o-deewar hila do
Kakh-e-umara ke dar-o-deewar hila do
“Rise, and awaken the poor of my world — shake the doors and the walls of the mansions of the privileged.”
उठ्ठो मेरी दुनिया के ग़रीबों को जगा दो
काख़-ए-उमरा के दर-ओ-दीवार हिला दो
काख़-ए-उमरा के दर-ओ-दीवार हिला दो
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
Spoken in the voice of God in Iqbal's poem, this is his most direct call for justice. The instruction is twofold: wake those who have been kept down, and unsettle the comfort of those who kept them there. Iqbal's spirituality is not a quiet one.
For You, Today
Iqbal's idea of a moral life is not private calm. It includes waking others and disturbing unjust comfort — including, when honesty requires it, your own.
In the same spirit
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
Jis khet se dehqan ko muyassar nahin rozi
Us khet ke har khosha-e-gandum ko jala do
Us khet ke har khosha-e-gandum ko jala do
The field that does not yield its farmer even his daily bread — burn every ear of wheat in that field.
Justice · Courage
Dayar-e-ishq mein apna maqam paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
In the realm of love, create your own standing — bring a new age into being, new mornings and new evenings of your own.
Aspiration · Action · Love