آفتاب صبح
Aftab-i-Subh
English title: THE MORNING SUN
Far from the ignoble strife of Man's tavern you are The wine-cup adorning the sky's assemblage you are
The jewel which should be the pearl of the morning's bride's ear you are The ornament which would be the pride of horizon's forehead you are
The blot of night's ink from time's page has been removed! The star from sky like a spurious picture has been removed!
When from the roof of the sky your beauty appears Effect of sleep's wine suddenly from eyes disappears
Perception's expanse gets filled with light Though opens only the material eye your light
The spectacle which the eyes seek is desired The effulgence which would open the insight is desired
The desires for freedom were not fulfilled in this life We remained imprisoned in chains of dependence all life
The high and the low are alike for your eye I too have longing for such a discerning eye
May my eye shedding tears in sympathy for others' woes be! May my heart free from the prejudice of nation and customs be!
May my tongue be not bound with discrimination of color May mankind be my nation, the whole world my country be
May secret of Nature's organization clear to my insight be May smoke of my imagination's candle rising to the sky be
May search for secrets of opposites not make me restless! May the Love-creating Beauty in everything appear to me!
If the rose petals get damaged by the breeze May its pain dropping from my eye as a tear be
May the heart contain that little spark of Love's fire The light of which may contain the secret of the Truth
May my heart not mine but the Beloved's mirror be! May no thought in my mind except human sympathy be!
If you cannot endure the hardships of the tumultuous world O the Great Luminary that is not the mark of greatness!
As you are not aware of your world-decorating beauty You cannot be equal to a speck of dust at the Man's door!
The light of Man eager for the Spectacle ever remained And you obligated to the tomorrow's morning ever remained
Longing for the Light of the Truth is only in our hearts Abode of Lailah of desire for search is only in this litter
Opening of the difficult knot, Oh what a pleasure it is! The pleasure of universal gain in our endless effort is!
Your bosom is unacquainted with the pain of investigation You are not familiar with searching of the secrets of Nature
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Bang-e-Dara — آفتاب صبح — 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: Bang-e-Dara — 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
- Iqbal Academy Pakistan Bang-i-Dara Audio Table of Contents — Official audio contents list; cited only for the displayed Urdu and Romanized title pairsPrimary source used to document this poem’s language or title.Source
- Pinned digital source list 001 (Bang-e-Dara section headings) — Pinned repository commit 39d44fc0c2b8ca25769c4b36e6eac4d90cb42b35; digital transcription, not a selected print edition.Verified against this pinned digital transcription file; not checked against a print edition.Source
- Bang-e-Dara English translation at allama-iqbal.com — Morning Sun — Public digital poem page, retrieved 2026-10-05; pinned to allama-iqbal.com commit 82547635bb6b758c45082084b2f152fc453a8056.Translation by Dr M.A.K. Khalil; English Translation by: Dr M.A.K. KhalilSource