Couplets  ›  Courage
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
ki mein ja tu bhi
Ki is se ke

“Plunge, you too, into the depths of destiny; from that battlefield I emerged as a drawn, unsheathed sword.”

Romanहिन्दीاردو
की गहराइयों में जा तू भी
कि इस से मैं के आया

The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.

ذرا تقدیر کی گہرائیوں میں ڈوب جا تو بھی
کہ اس جنگاہ سے میں بن کے تیغ بے نیام آیا

The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).

♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation

Iqbal rejects fatalism completely. Destiny is not a verdict to be received passively; it is depths to be dived into and struggled with. He describes the struggle itself as a battlefield, and says he came out of it hardened into a sword stripped of its scabbard, ready for use. Fate is shaped by the one who wrestles with it.

For You, Today

Do not treat your circumstances as a sentence already passed. Dive in and wrestle with them. The struggle itself is what forges you into something sharp and ready.

Themes:CourageActionAdversity
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In the same spirit
Khudi ko kar buland itna ki har taqdeer se pehle
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
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
Ho mere dam se yunhi mere watan ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
Let my country be adorned by me, as a garden is adorned by its flowers.
Aspiration · Youth · Action