Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho Khudaya meri

My longing rises to my lips as a prayer — O Lord, let my life glow like a candle.

Jis khet se dehqaan ko mayassar nahin rozi
Us khet ke har khosha-e-gandum ko jala do

The field that denies the farmer his daily bread — burn every ear of wheat that it grows.

Ghulami mein na kaam aati hain shamsheerein na tadbeerein
Jo ho zauq-e-yaqeen paida to kaT jaati hain zanjeerein

In bondage neither swords nor stratagems avail; once the taste for conviction is born, the chains are cut away.

Yaqeen muhkam, amal paiham, mohabbat faateh-e-aalam
Jihaad-e-zindagaani mein hain ye mardon ki shamsheerein

Firm faith, ceaseless action, and world-conquering love — these are the swords of true men in the struggle of life.

Jamhuriat ik tarz-e-hukumat hai ke jis mein
Bandon ko gina karte hain, tola nahin karte

Democracy is a mode of rule in which men are merely counted, never weighed for their worth.

Jalaal-e-paadshaahi ho ke jamhoori tamaasha ho
Judaa ho deen siyaasat se to reh jaati hai Changezi

Be it royal splendour or the spectacle of democracy — once faith is torn from politics, only Genghis-like savagery remains.

Tamanna dard-e-dil ki ho to kar khidmat faqeeron ki
Nahin milta ye gauhar baadshaahon ke khazeenon mein

If you long for a feeling heart, then serve the poor; this pearl is not found in the treasuries of kings.

Yun to Syed bhi ho, Mirza bhi ho, Afghan bhi ho
Tum sabhi kuchh ho, batao to Musalmaan bhi ho

You are a Syed, a Mirza, an Afghan too — you are all of these; but tell me, are you a Muslim as well?

Sitaara kya meri taqdeer ki khabar de ga
Woh khud faraakhi-e-aflaak mein hai khwaar o zaboon

What can a star tell of my destiny? — lost in the vast heavens, it is itself wretched and helpless.

Har shai musafir, har cheez raahi
Kya chaand taare, kya murgh o maahi

Every thing is a traveller, all are wayfarers — the moon and the stars, the birds and the fish alike.

Utho meri duniya ke ghareebon ko jaga do
Kaakh-e-umaraa ke dar o deewaar hila do

Rise and awaken the poor of my world; shake the doors and walls of the mansions of the rich.

Aankh jo kuchh dekhti hai lab pe aa sakta nahin
Mahv-e-hairat hoon ke duniya kya se kya ho jayegi

What the eye beholds the lips cannot utter; I stand lost in wonder at what this world will become.

Mir-e-Arab ko aayi ThanDi hawa jahaan se
Mera watan wahi hai, mera watan wahi hai

From where the cool breeze once reached the Prophet of Arabia — that, and only that, is my homeland.

Hazaaron saal nargis apni be-noori pe roti hai
BaRi mushkil se hota hai chaman mein deedaawar paida

For a thousand years the narcissus weeps over its own blindness; only rarely is a truly seeing soul born in the garden.

Main tujh ko bataata hoon taqdeer-e-umam kya hai
Shamsheer o sanaan awwal, taaoos o rabaab aakhir

Let me tell you the destiny of nations: first the sword and the spear, then the peacock and the lute.

Koi qaabil ho to hum shaan-e-kai dete hain
DhoonDne waalon ko duniya bhi nayi dete hain

If one proves worthy, We grant the glory of kings; and to those who truly seek, We give even a new world.

Duniya ki mehfilon se ukta gaya hoon ya Rab
Kya lutf anjuman ka jab dil hi bujh gaya ho

I have grown weary of the world's gatherings, O Lord — what joy is there in company when the heart itself has gone dark?

Nahin tera nasheman qasr-e-sultaani ke gumbad par
Tu shaaheen hai basera kar pahaaron ki chaTaanon mein

Your nest is not on the dome of the sultan's palace — you are a falcon; make your home among the mountain crags.

Nahin hai naa-umeed Iqbal apni kisht-e-veeraan se
Zara nam ho to ye miTTi bahut zarkhez hai saaqi

Iqbal is not without hope from his barren field; let there be a little moisture, saaqi, and this soil is very fertile.

Aye taa'ir-e-laahooti us rizq se maut achhi
Jis rizq se aati ho parwaaz mein kotaahi

O celestial bird, better death than the sustenance that clips your flight.

Amal se zindagi banti hai jannat bhi jahannum bhi
Ye khaaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na naari hai

By its deeds life makes its own heaven and hell; this creature of dust is by nature neither of light nor of fire.

Na samjhoge to miT jaaoge aye Hindustan waalo
Tumhaari daastaan tak bhi na hogi daastaanon mein

If you will not understand, you will be wiped out, O people of the land — not even your tale will remain among the tales.

Uqaabi rooh jab bedaar hoti hai jawaanon mein
Nazar aati hai un ko apni manzil aasmaanon mein

When the eagle-spirit awakens in the young, they see their destination in the skies.

Buton se tujh ko umeedein, Khuda se naa-umeedi
Mujhe bata to sahi aur kaafiri kya hai

Hope from idols, and despair of God — tell me then, what else is disbelief?

Jo main sar-ba-sajda hua kabhi to zameen se aane lagi sada
Tera dil to hai sanam-aashna, tujhe kya milega namaaz mein

When once I bowed my head in prostration, a voice rose from the earth: your heart is in love with idols — what will you gain from prayer?

Zamaana aql ko samjha hua hai mash'al-e-raah
Kise khabar ke junoon bhi hai saahib-e-idraak

The age takes reason to be the torch of the path — who knows that passion, too, possesses insight?

Mai-khaana-e-Europe ke dastoor niraale hain
Laate hain suroor awwal dete hain sharaab aakhir

The customs of Europe's tavern are strange indeed: first they bring the intoxication, and serve the wine only at the end.

Apne man mein Doob kar pa ja suraagh-e-zindagi
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban

Dive into your own self and find the trace of life; if you will not be mine, so be it — but at least be your own.

Maana ke teri deed ke qaabil nahin hoon main
Tu mera shauq dekh, mera intezaar dekh

Granted that I am not worthy of beholding You — yet look at my longing, look at how I wait.

Wujood-e-zan se hai tasveer-e-kaainaat mein rang
Isi ke saaz se hai zindagi ka soz-e-daroon

From woman's being comes the colour in the picture of the universe; from her music comes the inner fire of life.

Nasha pila ke giraana to sab ko aata hai maza
To jab hai ke girton ko thaam le saaqi

Anyone can make others fall by pouring out wine; the true worth, saaqi, is to hold up the fallen.

Faqat nigaah se hota hai faisla dil ka
Na ho nigaah mein shokhi to dilbari kya hai

The heart is decided by a glance alone; if there is no spark in the eyes, what charm is there?

So so umeedein bandhti hai ik ik nigaah par
Mujh ko na aise pyaar se dekha kare koi

A hundred hopes hang upon each single glance; let no one look at me with such love.

Ishq bhi ho hijaab mein, husn bhi ho hijaab mein
Ya to khud aashkaar ho, ya mujhe aashkaar kar

Love is veiled and beauty is veiled too; either reveal Yourself, or make me manifest.

Maheene wasl ke ghaRiyon ki surat uRte jaate hain
Magar ghaRiyaan judaai ki guzarti hain maheenon mein

The months of union fly past like moments, yet the moments of parting pass like months.

Mohabbat ke liye dil DhoonDh koi ToTne waala
Ye woh mai hai jise rakhte hain naazuk aabgeenon mein

For love, seek out a heart that can break; this is the wine kept only in the most delicate of glasses.

Tere ishq ki inteha chaahta hoon
Meri saadgi dekh, kya chaahta hoon

I desire the very utmost of Your love — see my simplicity, see what it is I ask for.

Khudi woh bahr hai jis ka koi kinaara nahin
Tu aab-jo ise samjha, agar to chaara nahin

Selfhood is an ocean that has no shore; if you took it for a mere stream, there is no help for you.

Khirad-mandon se kya poochhoon ke meri ibtida kya hai
Ke main is fikr mein rehta hoon meri inteha kya hai

Why ask the wise what my beginning was — when I remain absorbed in the thought of what my end shall be?

Jab ishq sikhaata hai aadaab-e-khud-aagaahi
Khulte hain ghulaamon par asraar-e-shahanshaahi

When love teaches the manners of self-awareness, the secrets of kingship are unveiled even to slaves.

Zaahir ki aankh se na tamaasha kare koi
Ho dekhna to deeda-e-dil wa kare koi

Let none watch the spectacle with the outward eye; if you would truly see, open the eye of the heart.

Be-khatar kood paRa aatish-e-Namrood mein ishq
Aql hai mahv-e-tamaashaa-e-lab-e-baam abhi

Fearless, love leapt into the fire of Nimrod, while reason still stands watching from the edge of the roof.

Bhari bazm mein raaz ki baat kah di
BaRa be-adab hoon, saza chaahta hoon

In the crowded gathering I spoke the secret aloud — I am most unmannerly; I deserve to be punished.

Kabhi hum se, kabhi ghairon se shanaasaai hai
Baat kahne ki nahin, tu bhi to harjaai hai

Sometimes You befriend us, sometimes strangers — it is not to be said aloud, but You too are fickle.

Kabhi chhoRi hui manzil bhi yaad aati hai raahi ko
KhaTak si hai jo seene mein, gham-e-manzil na ban jaaye

Sometimes the traveller recalls the destination he left behind; there is a prick in the breast — may it not become the grief of the goal.

Andaaz-e-bayaan garche bahut shokh nahin hai
Shaayad ke utar jaaye tere dil mein meri baat

Though my manner of speech is not very lively, perhaps my words may yet sink into your heart.

Chaman-zaar-e-mohabbat mein khamoshi maut hai bulbul
Yahaan ki zindagi paaband-e-rasm-e-faghaan tak hai

In love's garden, silence is death, O nightingale; here life is bound to the ritual of lament.

Hairat hai ke taaleem o taraqqi mein hai peechhe
Jis qaum ka aaghaaz hi 'Iqra' se hua tha

It is astonishing that they lag in learning and progress — the very people whose beginning was with the word 'Read!'

Tu shaaheen hai, parwaaz hai kaam tera
Tere saamne aasmaan aur bhi hain

You are a falcon; flight is your calling — there are yet other skies before you.

Nahin tera nasheman qasr-e-sultaani ke gumbad par
Tu shaaheen hai basera kar pahaaron ki chaTaanon mein

Your nest is not on the dome of the sultan's palace — you are a falcon; make your home in the mountain crags.

Sitaaron se aage jahaan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihaan aur bhi hain

There are worlds beyond the stars; there are still more trials of love yet to come.

Dil se jo baat nikalti hai asar rakhti hai
Par nahin taaqat-e-parwaaz magar rakhti hai

Words that come from the heart carry effect; they have no power of flight, and yet they have wings.

DhoonDta phirta hoon main Iqbal apne aap ko
Aap hi goya musafir, aap hi manzil hoon main

I wander searching for my own self, O Iqbal — it is as though I am both the traveller and the destination.

Tujhe kitaab se mumkin nahin faraagh
Ke tu kitaab-khwaan hai magar saahib-e-kitaab nahin

You cannot be free of the Book — for you are a reader of books, but not the master of the Book.

Jinhein main DhoonDhta tha aasmaanon mein zameenon mein
Woh nikle mere zulmat-khaana-e-dil ke makeenon mein

Those I was seeking in the heavens and the earth turned out to dwell in the dark chamber of my own heart.

Milega manzil-e-maqsood ka usi ko suraagh
Andheri shab mein hai cheete ki aankh jis ka chiraagh

Only he will find the trace of the destined goal whose lamp, in the dark of night, is the eye of a leopard.

Mujhe rokega tu aye naakhuda kya gharq hone se
Ke jin ko Doobna hai Doob jaate hain safeenon mein

How will you stop me from drowning, O boatman? — those destined to drown, drown even aboard the ships.

Iqbal Lucknow se na Dilli se hai gharaz
Hum to aseer hain kham-e-zulf-e-kamaal ke

Iqbal cares nothing for Lucknow or Delhi — I am captive to the curl of perfection's tress.

Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqdeer se pehle
Khuda bande se khud poochhe, bata teri raza kya hai

Raise your selfhood so high that, before every decree, God Himself asks the servant: tell Me, what is your wish?