Couplets › Awakening
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
ki kar , wali hai
Teri ke hain mein
Teri ke hain mein
“Think of your homeland, you fool — calamity is on its way; the plans for your ruin are already being drawn up in the skies.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
की कर नादाँ, आने वाली है
तेरी बर्बादियों के मशवरे हैं आसमानों में
तेरी बर्बादियों के मशवरे हैं आसमानों में
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
وطن کی فکر کر ناداں مصیبت آنے والی ہے
تری بربادیوں کے مشورے ہیں آسمانوں میں
تری بربادیوں کے مشورے ہیں آسمانوں میں
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
A poem of warning. Iqbal sees danger gathering while the people drift, unaware. The threat is not hypothetical — it is already in motion, already being arranged. Complacency, he says, is quietly being out-planned.
For You, Today
While you are comfortable, the conditions for your trouble are quietly assembling. Iqbal's hard gift is the early warning: pay attention now, because the problem is already moving.
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
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