By Nida Fazli
ghar se masjid hai bahut dur chalo yun kar len
kisi rote hue bachche ko hansaya jaae
kisi rote hue bachche ko hansaya jaae
“The mosque is very far from home — so let us do this instead: make some crying child laugh.”
Romanहिन्दीNida Fazli
घर से मस्जिद है बहुत दूर चलो यूँ कर लें
किसी रोते हुए बच्चे को हँसाया जाए
किसी रोते हुए बच्चे को हँसाया जाए
The verse 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
Fazli takes a literal distance — the mosque too far to reach — and converts it into a redirection of devotion. The crying child becomes the altar, and laughter the prayer. It is a quiet, radical argument that the sacred is wherever a person is comforted.
For You, Today
If the formal act of worship is out of reach, turn the impulse toward an actual person who is suffering nearby — that, too, is devotion.
This couplet is among the clearest statements of Fazli's faith, which placed human kindness at the centre of the sacred.
Themes:DevotionFaith & Doubt
More from Nida Fazli
The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →