افلاک سے آتا ہے نالوں کا جواب آخر
English title: From the heavens comes an answer to our long cries at last
From the heavens comes an answer to our long cries at last: the heavens break their silence, the curtains rise at last!
Little of change love’s fortunes inherit: born in anguish and fire, in fire and anguish its end it buys at last.
The destiny of nations I chart for you: At first the sword and spear; the zither’s, the lute’s soft sighs at last.
Outlandish are the customs that Europe’s tavern knows! It steeps men first in pleasure, the wine supplies at last.
Be it the awe of Nadir, be it the glory of a Tamerlane: At last all exploits are drowned in a barrel of wine.
The cloistered hour is over, the arena’s hour begins; the lightning comes to asunder those cloudy skies at last!
It was too hard to withhold the flood of these truths, at last the Qalandar revealed the secrets of the Book.
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Bal-e-Jibril — افلاک سے آتا ہے نالوں کا جواب آخر — 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 M.D. Taseer; English Translation by: M.D. TaseerSource