Urdu · proverb · Nation, Faith & Society
Jis Ki Laathi Us Ki Bhains
जिस की लाठी उस की भैंस
also written: jis ki lathi us ki bhains
Meaning
Might is right; the powerful claim what they please.
Literally: whoever holds the stick owns the buffalo
See it in the verse
Jis Ki Laathi Us Ki Bhains in Iqbal’s couplets
Ai tair-e-lahooti us rizq se maut achhi
Jis rizq se aati ho parvaaz mein kotahi
Jis rizq se aati ho parvaaz mein kotahi
O celestial bird, better death than the sustenance that brings any shortfall to your flight.
Freedom · The Falcon
Jis khet se dehqan ko muyassar nahin rozi
Us khet ke har khosha-e-gandum ko jala do
Us khet ke har khosha-e-gandum ko jala do
The field that does not yield its farmer even his daily bread — burn every ear of wheat in that field.
Justice · Courage
Jis se jigar-e-lala mein thandak ho wo shabnam
Dariyaon ke dil jis se dahal jayen wo toofan
Dariyaon ke dil jis se dahal jayen wo toofan
To be the dew that cools the heart of the tulip — and the storm that makes the hearts of rivers tremble.
Courage · Leadership · Love
Jamhuriyat ek tarz-e-hukumat hai ki jis mein
Bandon ko gina karte hain, tola nahin karte
Bandon ko gina karte hain, tola nahin karte
Democracy is a mode of governance in which people are counted, not weighed.
Justice · Awakening
Khudi ka nasheman tere dil mein hai
Falak jis tarah aankh ke til mein hai
Falak jis tarah aankh ke til mein hai
The nest of your selfhood is inside your own heart — the way the whole sky lives inside the pupil of an eye.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge
Khudi wo bahr hai jis ka koi kinara nahin
Tu aabjoo ise samjha agar to chaara nahin
Tu aabjoo ise samjha agar to chaara nahin
Selfhood is an ocean that has no shore. If you have taken it for a mere stream, there is no help for you.
Selfhood · Aspiration · Self-Knowledge