Arabic · noun · Time, Fate & the Cosmos
Taqdeer-e-Umam
तक़दीर-ए-उमम
said taq-deer-e-u-mam
Meaning
The destiny of nations; the fate of peoples.
Literally: the destiny of nations
How Iqbal uses it
The fate of nations is, in Iqbal, no fixed sentence but the sum of their deeds and resolve; a people that wakes and strives can rewrite its own destiny.
See it in the verse
Taqdeer-e-Umam in Iqbal’s couplets
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
Yaqeen afrad ka sarmaya-e-tameer-e-millat hai
Yahi quvvat hai jo surat-gar-e-taqdeer-e-millat hai
Yahi quvvat hai jo surat-gar-e-taqdeer-e-millat hai
The conviction of individuals is the capital that builds a community — this is the very force that sculpts a people's destiny.
Unity · Selfhood · Leadership
Afrad ke hathon mein hai aqwam ki taqdeer
Har fard hai millat ke muqaddar ka sitara
Har fard hai millat ke muqaddar ka sitara
The destiny of nations rests in the hands of individuals — every single person is a star in the fortune of the whole.
Action · Leadership · Selfhood
Main tujh ko batata hun taqdir-e-umam kya hai
Shamsheer-o-sinan avval taaus-o-rubab aakhir
Shamsheer-o-sinan avval taaus-o-rubab aakhir
Let me tell you the fate of nations: the sword and the spear come first, the peacock and the lute come last.
Action · Adversity · Leadership
Zara taqdir ki gahraiyon mein dub ja tu bhi
Ki is jangah se main ban ke tegh-e-be-niyam aaya
Ki is jangah se main ban ke tegh-e-be-niyam aaya
Plunge, you too, into the depths of destiny; from that battlefield I emerged as a drawn, unsheathed sword.
Courage · Action · Adversity
Sitara kya meri taqdir ki khabar dega
Wo khud farakhi-e-aflak mein hai khwar o zubun
Wo khud farakhi-e-aflak mein hai khwar o zubun
What can a star tell me of my destiny? It is itself helpless and lowly in the vast reach of the skies.
Selfhood · Freedom · Courage