Couplets › Humility
From Bang-e-Dra, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
ki ik ke siva kuch bhi nahin
ki hai ke siva kuch bhi nahin
ki hai ke siva kuch bhi nahin
“A human life is nothing more than a single breath — and that breath is a wave of air, nothing but a fleeting movement.”
Romanहिन्दी
ज़िंदगी इंसाँ की इक के कुछ भी नहीं
की है रम के कुछ भी नहीं
की है रम के कुछ भी नहीं
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
Iqbal compresses a whole life into one breath, and that breath into a passing ripple of air. It is a humbling image, but not a despairing one — naming how brief and light existence is, is his way of asking what you will do with the wave while it lasts.
For You, Today
Holding the brevity of life clearly in mind is not morbid; it is clarifying. When a breath is all you have, you spend it on what truly matters and stop wasting it on what does not.
In the same spirit
Ho mere dam se yunhi watan ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman 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
Ho mera kaam ghareebon ki himayat karna
Dard-mandon se zaeefon se mohabbat karna
Dard-mandon se zaeefon se mohabbat karna
Let my work be to defend the poor — to love the suffering and the weak.
Justice · Humility · Love
Mere Allah burai se bachana mujh ko
Nek jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujh ko
Nek jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujh ko
My God, save me from evil; set me on the path that is good.
Humility · Self-Knowledge