English Translations - International Iqbal Society - Allama Iqbal

2021-02-19T23:59:48+00:00

Majnun abandoned habitation, you should abandon wilderness also

If there be ambition for Sight, you should abandon Lailah also

O preacher! Perfection of abandonment attains the objective

As you have abandoned the world, abandon the Hereafter also

Suicide is better than the way of taqlid

Seek your own path, abandon the love of Khizar also

Like the pen the un-Islamic message is on your tongue

Abandon unjustified pride in the un-Islamic objects also

Theology is no pleasure if heart does not have Love’s pathos

If you are not the Wounded, you should abandon fluttering also

Weep like the dew on flowers and leave the garden

Abandon the desire of staying in this garden also

The custom of Love is abandonment of all

Abandon temple, mosque, and church also

This is not business, this is ‘ibadat of God !

O ignorant one, abandon the longing for reward also

It is good to guard Intuition with Intellect

But sometimes you should let it go alone also

What life is that which is dependent on others ?

Abandon dependence on the life of fame also

Repeated request is a kind of boldness ! O Kalim

The condition for approbation is to abandon urging also

As the preacher brought proof in support of wine

Iqbal insists that he should abandon drinking also

Majnun abandoned habitation, you should abandon wilderness also

If there be ambition for Sight, you should abandon Lailah also

O preacher! Perfection of abandonment attains the objective

As you have abandoned the world, abandon the Hereafter also

Suicide is better than the way of taqlid

Seek your own path, abandon the love of Khizar also

Like the pen the un-Islamic message is on your tongue

Abandon unjustified pride in the un-Islamic objects also

Theology is no pleasure if heart does not have Love’s pathos

If you are not the Wounded, you should abandon fluttering also

Weep like the dew on flowers and leave the garden

Abandon the desire of staying in this garden also

The custom of Love is abandonment of all

Abandon temple, mosque, and church also

This is not business, this is ‘ibadat of God !

O ignorant one, abandon the longing for reward also

It is good to guard Intuition with Intellect

But sometimes you should let it go alone also

What life is that which is dependent on others ?

Abandon dependence on the life of fame also

Repeated request is a kind of boldness ! O Kalim

The condition for approbation is to abandon urging also

As the preacher brought proof in support of wine

Iqbal insists that he should abandon drinking also

2021-02-19T23:59:48+00:00

I bear hardships on myself, I am unconcerned with others

Alas! How strange, I am the oppressor, I am the ignorant

I existed only till the time Thy Splendor appeared

I am the falsehood which is annihilated by the Truth

From the knowledge’s sea divers came out with pearls in hand

Alas, O deprivation! A mere pebble collector on the sea shore I am

My disgrace itself is the demonstration of my nobility

I am the negligence which the angels ardently desire

O the existence’ assemblage! Be not proud of your beauty

You are a mere picture of the assemblage, I am the assemblage

O Iqbal! I am in constant search for myself

I am the traveler as well as the destination

I bear hardships on myself, I am unconcerned with others

Alas! How strange, I am the oppressor, I am the ignorant

I existed only till the time Thy Splendor appeared

I am the falsehood which is annihilated by the Truth

From the knowledge’s sea divers came out with pearls in hand

Alas, O deprivation! A mere pebble collector on the sea shore I am

My disgrace itself is the demonstration of my nobility

I am the negligence which the angels ardently desire

O the existence’ assemblage! Be not proud of your beauty

You are a mere picture of the assemblage, I am the assemblage

O Iqbal! I am in constant search for myself

I am the traveler as well as the destination

2021-02-19T23:59:48+00:00

When that Beniaz opens His Graceful Hand

Why should the niazmand be not proud of his humility

You have confined Him to the ‘Arsh, O preacher !

What kind of God would keep away from His people?

In my view he is not a rind at all, O cup-bearer

Who would distinguish between ecstasy and lack of it

Always remain very attentive to the heart, this orchestra is such

If broken, it would produce the music of the Secret

Somebody should ask how it hurts the preacher

If God shows His Grace even to the sinner

O God! From where does poetry acquire its heat?

This is a thing with which even stone would soften

Nightingale’s lament comes from discrimination between tulip and rose

No one in the world should open the discriminating eye

The arrogance of piety has taught the preacher

To use abusive language to the people of God

Such wind should blow from India, O Iqbal

Which would blow me as dust to Hijaz

When that Beniaz opens His Graceful Hand

Why should the niazmand be not proud of his humility

You have confined Him to the ‘Arsh, O preacher !

What kind of God would keep away from His people?

In my view he is not a rind at all, O cup-bearer

Who would distinguish between ecstasy and lack of it

Always remain very attentive to the heart, this orchestra is such

If broken, it would produce the music of the Secret

Somebody should ask how it hurts the preacher

If God shows His Grace even to the sinner

O God! From where does poetry acquire its heat?

This is a thing with which even stone would soften

Nightingale’s lament comes from discrimination between tulip and rose

No one in the world should open the discriminating eye

The arrogance of piety has taught the preacher

To use abusive language to the people of God

Such wind should blow from India, O Iqbal

Which would blow me as dust to Hijaz

2021-02-19T23:59:48+00:00

Completion of your Love is what I desire

Look at my sincerity what little I desire

It may be oppression or the promise of unveiling

Something testing my perseverance I desire

May the pious be happy with this Paradise

Only to see your Countenance I desire

Though I am but a tiny little heart I am so bold

To hear the same "Lan tarani" I desire

O assembly’s companions! I am existing only for a few moments

I am the dawn’s candle, I am about to be extinguished

I have divulged the secret in the full assembly

I am very insolent, punishment I desire

Completion of your Love is what I desire

Look at my sincerity what little I desire

It may be oppression or the promise of unveiling

Something testing my perseverance I desire

May the pious be happy with this Paradise

Only to see your Countenance I desire

Though I am but a tiny little heart I am so bold

To hear the same "Lan tarani" I desire

O assembly’s companions! I am existing only for a few moments

I am the dawn’s candle, I am about to be extinguished

I have divulged the secret in the full assembly

I am very insolent, punishment I desire

2021-02-19T23:59:48+00:00

The one I was searching for on the earth and in heaven

Appeared residing in the recesses of my own heart

When the reality of the self became evident to my eyes

The house appeared among residents of my own heart

If it were somewhat familiar with taste of rubbing foreheads

The stone of Ka‘bah’s threshold would have joined the foreheads

O Majnun! Have you ever glanced at yourself

That like Lailah 3 you are also sitting in the litter

The months of the union continue flying like moments

But the moments of separation linger for months!

O seaman, how will you protect me from being drowned

As those destined to drowning get drowned in the boats also

The one who concealed His Beauty from Kalam Allah

The same Beloved is manifest among beloveds

The breath of Lovers can light up the extinguished candle

O God! What is kept concealed in the breast of the Lovers?

Serve the faq rs if you have the longing for Love

This pearl is not available in the treasures of kings

Do not ask of these Devotees, if you have faith, you should look at them

They have the illuminated palm up their sleeves

The unsightful eye for whose spectacle is tantalized

That elegance of congregation is in these very recluses

Burn the produce of your heart with some such spark

That the Last Day’s sun may also be among your gleaners

For Love search for some heart which would become mortified

This is the wine which is not kept in delicate wine glasses

The Beauty itself becomes the Lover of whose Beauty

O Heart! Does someone among the beautiful has that beauty?

Someone became highly excited at your grace of Ma ‘arafna

Your rank remained among the most elegant of all the Lovers

Manifest Thyself and show them Thy Beauty some time

Talks have continued among the sagacious since long time

Silent, O Heart! Crying in the full assembly is not good

Decorum is the most important etiquette among the ways of Love

It is not possible for me to deem my critics bad

Because Iqb l, I am myself among my critics

The one I was searching for on the earth and in heaven

Appeared residing in the recesses of my own heart

When the reality of the self became evident to my eyes

The house appeared among residents of my own heart

If it were somewhat familiar with taste of rubbing foreheads

The stone of Ka‘bah’s threshold would have joined the foreheads

O Majnun! Have you ever glanced at yourself

That like Lailah 3 you are also sitting in the litter

The months of the union continue flying like moments

But the moments of separation linger for months!

O seaman, how will you protect me from being drowned

As those destined to drowning get drowned in the boats also

The one who concealed His Beauty from Kalam Allah

The same Beloved is manifest among beloveds

The breath of Lovers can light up the extinguished candle

O God! What is kept concealed in the breast of the Lovers?

Serve the faq rs if you have the longing for Love

This pearl is not available in the treasures of kings

Do not ask of these Devotees, if you have faith, you should look at them

They have the illuminated palm up their sleeves

The unsightful eye for whose spectacle is tantalized

That elegance of congregation is in these very recluses

Burn the produce of your heart with some such spark

That the Last Day’s sun may also be among your gleaners

For Love search for some heart which would become mortified

This is the wine which is not kept in delicate wine glasses

The Beauty itself becomes the Lover of whose Beauty

O Heart! Does someone among the beautiful has that beauty?

Someone became highly excited at your grace of Ma ‘arafna

Your rank remained among the most elegant of all the Lovers

Manifest Thyself and show them Thy Beauty some time

Talks have continued among the sagacious since long time

Silent, O Heart! Crying in the full assembly is not good

Decorum is the most important etiquette among the ways of Love

It is not possible for me to deem my critics bad

Because Iqb l, I am myself among my critics

2021-02-19T23:59:48+00:00

What should I say how much Longing for dejection I have

The elegance of my market is only up to the ardent desire for losing

I am the sot who himself becomes garden by the Wine’s Light

Rose’s love is only up to the departure of the unkind cup bearer

Hunter’s enhancement of garden’s beauty is till start of my melodies

As for the thunderbolts’ restlessness, it is up to my nest

I am that handful of dust, which is changed to wilderness by distress’ grace

Do not ask me of my span, it is from the earth to the sky

I am the bell, complaint is asleep in my whole nature

The silence of mine only is up to the caravan’s departure

With a tranquil heart create means of attaining your aims

Because the whirlpool’s knot is only up to the water’s flow

Silence is death in the garden of Love, O nightingale

This life is only up to observance of the wailing’s custom

In youth, there is Sight’s zeal as well as Longing’s pleasure

The happiness of our house is only up to the guest’s presence

Disgraced though I am in the whole world but, O ignorance

I understand that my Love is known only to my confidante

2021-02-19T23:59:48+00:00

One should not see the Spectacle with the material eye

If one wants to see Him he should open the insight's eye

His talking lip was death's message to Mansur

How can anybody dare to claim Someone's Love now

Close your eyes if you want taste for the Sight

The real Seeing is that one should not try to see Him

I am the extreme Love, Thou art the extreme Beauty

One should see me or witness Thy Spectacle

The Beloved's Beauty is the creator of excuse for Love's crime

One need not create a new excuse on the Day of Judgment

O Companion! It is not possible to close this zealous eye!

In what other manner should one try to witness Him

With what thought did Kal m become insistent on the Tur?

One should request for the Sight if he has the power for the Sight

Even the eyebrow's movement is unwelcome to the Sight

With the eye of the narcissus should one see Thee

The pleasures of the Longings of Love will be manifest

If one has Longing like me for a few days

One should not see the Spectacle with the material eye

If one wants to see Him he should open the insight's eye

His talking lip was death's message to Mansur

How can anybody dare to claim Someone's Love now

Close your eyes if you want taste for the Sight

The real Seeing is that one should not try to see Him

I am the extreme Love, Thou art the extreme Beauty

One should see me or witness Thy Spectacle

The Beloved's Beauty is the creator of excuse for Love's crime

One need not create a new excuse on the Day of Judgment

O Companion! It is not possible to close this zealous eye!

In what other manner should one try to witness Him

With what thought did Kal m become insistent on the Tur?

One should request for the Sight if he has the power for the Sight

Even the eyebrow's movement is unwelcome to the Sight

With the eye of the narcissus should one see Thee

The pleasures of the Longings of Love will be manifest

If one has Longing like me for a few days

2021-02-19T23:59:48+00:00

Unusual in state, distinct from the whole world they are

O Lord! Inhabitants of which habitation these Lovers are?

Even during pathos's cure I desperately love pathos

Blisters' thorns have been extracted with needle's point

O Lord, the garden of my hopes may remain prosperous

I have raised these plants watering them with my blood

The stars' silence at night makes me weep

Strange my Love is, strange my Laments are

Do not ask me of the pleasure of remaining destitute

Hundreds of nests have been made and destroyed by me

Being a stranger to the journey's companion is not good

O spark! Wait, after all we are also going to disappear

Expectation for the houri has taught everything to the preacher

Only in appearance simple and straight forward these people are

Why should not my verses be dear to me, O Iqbal

These the painful laments of my heart are

Unusual in state, distinct from the whole world they are

O Lord! Inhabitants of which habitation these Lovers are?

Even during pathos's cure I desperately love pathos

Blisters' thorns have been extracted with needle's point

O Lord, the garden of my hopes may remain prosperous

I have raised these plants watering them with my blood

The stars' silence at night makes me weep

Strange my Love is, strange my Laments are

Do not ask me of the pleasure of remaining destitute

Hundreds of nests have been made and destroyed by me

Being a stranger to the journey's companion is not good

O spark! Wait, after all we are also going to disappear

Expectation for the houri has taught everything to the preacher

Only in appearance simple and straight forward these people are

Why should not my verses be dear to me, O Iqbal

These the painful laments of my heart are

2021-02-19T23:59:48+00:00

What can I say how I got separated from my garden

And how I got imprisoned in the net of greed

It is strange that the whole world being against me

How the recipient of honor of respectability I have been

Some demand of showing and seeing was on the Tur

What do you know, O heart! How it was decided?

The desire to be without any desire is also a desire

How the heart's bird freed from the net of greed was

Those desirous of seeing You, see You here also

Then how the Last Day's promise a test of patience was

The Perfect Beauty itself may be the cause of this unveiling

How became self-apparent what concealed in curtains was

Death as a recipe still remains, O separation's pathos!

The physician is insane, how I deemed incurable was

O admonishing eye! Have you ever seen, how the rose

Having been born out of dust became colorful

The purpose of interrogation for deeds was to disgrace me

Otherwise all as to how and why it happened obvious was

My destruction was something worth witnessing

What can I say how l facing Him was

What can I say how I got separated from my garden

And how I got imprisoned in the net of greed

It is strange that the whole world being against me

How the recipient of honor of respectability I have been

Some demand of showing and seeing was on the Tur

What do you know, O heart! How it was decided?

The desire to be without any desire is also a desire

How the heart's bird freed from the net of greed was

Those desirous of seeing You, see You here also

Then how the Last Day's promise a test of patience was

The Perfect Beauty itself may be the cause of this unveiling

How became self-apparent what concealed in curtains was

Death as a recipe still remains, O separation's pathos!

The physician is insane, how I deemed incurable was

O admonishing eye! Have you ever seen, how the rose

Having been born out of dust became colorful

The purpose of interrogation for deeds was to disgrace me

Otherwise all as to how and why it happened obvious was

My destruction was something worth witnessing

What can I say how l facing Him was

2021-02-19T23:59:48+00:00

I should procure such straws for my nest from somewhere

For burning which the lightning may be restless

Alas! O despair! The sky broke it down intently

Whichever branch I selected for my nest

You are contending with the seventy two nations

One goblet of yours suits the whole world best

I should create some such longing in my heart

So the sky may turn around to annihilate me best

Collect your harvest first by picking it grain by grain

Some thunderbolt will surely come out to annihilate it

I had regard for the failure of the hunter, O friend

Otherwise, why could I come over flying for one grain ?

The heart should not sing freedom's song in this garden

Ah! This garden is not suitable for such odes!

I should procure such straws for my nest from somewhere

For burning which the lightning may be restless

Alas! O despair! The sky broke it down intently

Whichever branch I selected for my nest

You are contending with the seventy two nations

One goblet of yours suits the whole world best

I should create some such longing in my heart

So the sky may turn around to annihilate me best

Collect your harvest first by picking it grain by grain

Some thunderbolt will surely come out to annihilate it

I had regard for the failure of the hunter, O friend

Otherwise, why could I come over flying for one grain ?

The heart should not sing freedom's song in this garden

Ah! This garden is not suitable for such odes!