زندگي انساں کي اک دم کے سوا کچھ بھي نہيں
English title: THE LIFE OF MAN IS NO MORE THAN A BREATH!
زندگي انساں کي اک دم کے سوا کچھ بھي نہيںدم ہوا کي موج ہے ، رم کے سوا کچھ بھي نہيں
The life of Man is no more than a breath! Breath is a wave of air; it is no more than a flow!
گل تبسم کہہ رہا تھا زندگاني کو مگرشمع بولي ، گريہء غم کے سوا کچھ بھي نہيں
The flower was depicting life as a smile, but the candle said that it is no more than a cry of grief!
راز ہستي راز ہے جب تک کوئي محرم نہ ہوکھل گيا جس دم تو محرم کے سوا کچھ بھي نہيں
The secret of life is a secret till there is a confidante; when it is open, it is nothing more than the confidante!
زائران کعبہ سے اقبال يہ پوچھے کوئي!کيا حرم کا تحفہ زمزم کے سوا کچھ بھي نہيں
Somebody should ask the pilgrims of Ka'bah, O Iqbal: Is the gift of the Haram nothing more than Zamzam?
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Bang-e-Dara — زندگي انساں کي اک دم کے سوا کچھ بھي نہيں — 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
- Bang-e-Dara English translation at allama-iqbal.com — — 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