Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Wahi hai tera ko tu kare
Ye nahin jo teri mein hai
Ye nahin jo teri mein hai
“Yours alone is the world you yourself create; not this one of stone and brick that lies before your eyes.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
वही है तिरा को तू करे
ये नहीं जो तिरी में है
ये नहीं जो तिरी में है
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
وہی جہاں ہے ترا جس کو تو کرے پیدا
یہ سنگ و خشت نہیں جو تری نگاہ میں ہے
یہ سنگ و خشت نہیں جو تری نگاہ میں ہے
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal pushes selfhood to its furthest reach. The given world, the one made of stone and brick, the inherited circumstances, is not truly yours. The world that belongs to you is the one you bring into being through your own will and vision. A person of khudi does not inherit a world; they make one.
For You, Today
The situation you were handed is not your real world. Your world is the one you build. Stop treating inherited circumstances as fixed, and start creating.
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