اگر کج رو ہيں انجم ، آسماں تيرا ہے يا ميرا
English title: If the stars are astray
If the stars stray from their path, the sky is Yours, not mine. Why should I worry for the world? The world is Yours, not mine.
If the realm beyond space is empty of passion and longing, whose fault is it, my Lord? That world is Yours, not mine.
How did he dare to refuse You at the dawn of creation? How could I know? That secret was Yours, not mine.
Muhammad is Yours, Gabriel is Yours, the Qur’an is Yours. But these sweet words that explain it—are they Yours, or mine?
It is man’s light that brightens Your universe. If mankind falls into decline, is the loss Yours or mine?
Your cup holds no wine anymore. Tell me—are You still my Cupbearer, or not? To give a thirsty man a dewdrop while the ocean is full That is miserliness, not the generosity of a Sustainer.
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Bal-e-Jibril — اگر کج رو ہيں انجم ، آسماں تيرا ہے يا ميرا — Digital transcription file at commit 39d44fc0c2b8ca25769c4b36e6eac4d90cb42b35; the source dataset does not identify the underlying print edition.Verified against this pinned digital transcription file; not checked against a print edition.Source
- Iqbal Demystified source list: Bal-e-Jibril — Pinned digital dataset commit 39d44fc0c2b8ca25769c4b36e6eac4d90cb42b35; the underlying print edition is not identified by the dataset.Community dataset list; not reconciled against a print edition.Source
- Bal-e-Jibril English translation at allama-iqbal.com — — Public digital poem page, retrieved 2026-10-06; pinned to allama-iqbal.com commit 82547635bb6b758c45082084b2f152fc453a8056.Translation by Not identified by publisher; This page does not name a translator.Source