متاع بے بہا ہے درد و سوز آرزو مندي
English title: Consuming fire for thee
Consuming fire for thee, O Lord! Is a gift I will not barter; I will not change my vassal’s rank with that of a master of men.
Neither this world nor the next is fit for the freedom-loving; they are forced to die in this, and forced to live in the other.
Thy tantalizing reticence inflames my passion more; concealment is an elixir for those who are lost in love.
The austere eagle lives in peace on hills and in wildernesses: It never doth demean its pride by building an abode for itself.
Who taught to young Isma’il (A.S.) the ways of filial obedience? Was it the blessing of a glance, or the miracle of tutelage?
My grave is like a shrine for men of thought and courage, for I have revealed truths sublime to mere specks of dust.
The beauty of meaning need riot be adorned by my craft, for nature does herself incarnadine the rose.
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Bal-e-Jibril — متاع بے بہا ہے درد و سوز آرزو مندي — 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 Victor Kiernan; English Translation by: Victor KiernanSource