Couplets › The Falcon
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Wo ki ho mein
Use kya ki kya hai
Use kya ki kya hai
“That deceived falcon, raised among vultures, what would it know of the ways and customs of the royal hawk?”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
वो शाहीं कि हो करगसों में
उसे क्या कि क्या है
उसे क्या कि क्या है
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
وہ فریب خوردہ شاہیں کہ پلا ہو کرگسوں میں
اسے کیا خبر کہ کیا ہے رہ و رسم شاہبازی
اسے کیا خبر کہ کیا ہے رہ و رسم شاہبازی
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
The falcon is Iqbal's emblem of the high, free, self-reliant spirit. Here he warns that a falcon brought up among scavengers forgets its own nature. Surroundings can deceive a noble self into living far below its true station; the loss is real even when unfelt.
For You, Today
Watch the company and the culture you grow inside. If everyone around you scavenges and settles, you may forget you were built to soar. Choose the environment that reminds you what you are.
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