خردمندوں سے کيا پوچھوں کہ ميري ابتدا کيا ہے
English title: Why should I ask wise men about my origin
خردمندوں سے کيا پوچھوں کہ ميري ابتدا کيا ہےکہ ميں اس فکر ميں رہتا ہوں ، ميري انتہا کيا ہے
What should I ask the sages about my origin: I am always wanting to know my goal.
خودي کو کر بلند اتنا کہ ہر تقدير سے پہلےخدا بندے سے خود پوچھے ، بتا تيري رضا کيا ہے
Develop the self so that before every decree God will ascertain from you: ‘What is your wish?’
مقام گفتگو کيا ہے اگر ميں کيميا گرہوں!يہي سوز نفس ہے ، اور ميري کيميا کيا ہے
It is nothing to talk about if I transform base selves into gold: The passion of my voice is the only alchemy I know!
نظر آئيں مجھے تقدير کي گہرائياں اس ميںنہ پوچھ اے ہم نشيں مجھ سے وہ چشم سرمہ سا کيا ہے
O Comrade, I beheld the secrets of Destiny in them: What should I tell you of those lustrous eyes!
اگر ہوتا وہ مجذوب فرنگي اس زمانے ميںتو اقبال اس کو سمجھاتا مقام کبريا کيا ہے
Only if that majzub* of the West were living in these times, Iqbal could have explained to him the ‘I am.’
نواے صبح گاہي نے جگر خوں کر ديا ميرا!خدايا جس خطا کي يہ سزا ہے ، وہ خطا کيا ہے
My heart bleeds from the song of the early morning: O Lord! What is the sin for which this is a punishment?
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Bal-e-Jibril — خردمندوں سے کيا پوچھوں کہ ميري ابتدا کيا ہے — 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 Syed Akbar Ali Shah; English Translation by: Syed Akbar Ali ShahSource