کيا عشق ايک زندگي مستعار کا
English title: What avails love when life is so ephemeral?
کيا عشق ايک زندگي مستعار کاکيا عشق پائدار سے ناپائدار کا
What is the worth of love in a life so short? What is the worth of mortal love for the Eternal?
وہ عشق جس کي شمع بجھا دے اجل کي پھونکاس ميں مزا نہيں تپش و انتظار کا
Love that dies with death’s first breath such love has no fire, no pain, no longing.
ميري بساط کيا ہے ، تب و تاب يک نفسشعلے سے بے محل ہے الجھنا شرار کا
I am only a spark, glowing for a moment. How can such a fleeting spark challenge an eternal flame?
کر پہلے مجھ کو زندگي جاوداں عطاپھر ذوق و شوق ديکھ دل بے قرار کا
First grant me eternal life, O Lord then watch the boundless passion of this restless heart.
کانٹا وہ دے کہ جس کي کھٹک لازوال ہو!يارب ، وہ درد جس کي کسک لازوال ہو
Give me a thorn whose sting never fades, a pain whose ache is everlasting, my Lord.
دلوں کو مرکز مہر و وفا کرحريم کبريا سے آشنا کر
Make hearts the center of love and loyalty; make them familiar with Your sacred presence.
جسے نان جويں بخشي ہے تو نےاسے بازوئے حيدر بھي عطا کر
To the one You’ve given mere bread of barley, also grant the arm and courage of Haider (Ali).
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Bal-e-Jibril — کيا عشق ايک زندگي مستعار کا — 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