kisi bhi aaine mein der tak chehra nahin rahta
“Do not keep testing people — under scrutiny no one stays "yours"; in any mirror, a face does not linger long.”
किसी भी आइने में देर तक चेहरा नहीं रहता
The verse in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
Badr turns a quiet warning into an image you can feel — the mirror that holds a face only for a moment. The first line states the lesson plainly, that scrutiny corrodes intimacy; the second proves it with something everyone has watched happen, a reflection that will not stay. The pairing makes the abstract truth undeniable.
Resist the urge to audit the people close to you for proof of loyalty — constant testing is itself the thing that drives them away.
The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →