ايک خط کے جواب ميں
English title: IN RESPONSE TO A LETTER
Even if I have greed I do not have the strength for exertion | Acquiring position is connected with the taste for search
A thousand thanks to God that my nature is contentment | A thousand thanks to God that my mind is not mischievous
Cultivations of human hearts flourish with my writings | In the world I am creative like the ocean feeding cloud
Congratulations to you on these secrets of politics | As my finger nail by Love’s grace is breast-excoriating
Desire for audience with kings is a sign of lifelessness; this secret has been exposed by Hafiz of elegant poetry.
‘If you desire that you elevated to Khizar* be: Hidden from Sikandar’s eye as immortality’s water be.’
اگر تجھے یہ خواہش ہے کہ تو خضر کے ساتھ بیٹھے یعنی محبوب حقیقی کا قُرب حاصل ہو تو سکند ریعنی حاکمانِ دنیا کی نظروں سے اسی طرح چھپا ہوا رہ جس طرح آب حیات سکندر سے دور، چھپا ہوا رہا ۔
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Bang-e-Dara — ايک خط کے جواب ميں — 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
- Reviewed exact Persian line-language classifications for the digital Urdu collectionsSource
- Bang-e-Dara English translation at allama-iqbal.com — In Response To A Letter — 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
- Bang-e-Dara: published Urdu rendering at Iqbal Rahber — Public published source page; pinned snapshot rahber-mixed-ek-khat-tail.txt.Translation by Not separately identified; Published Urdu rendering from Iqbal Rahber; no translator is separately identified.Source
- English translations in the Bang-e-Dara digital anthology excerpt — Recovered Urdu poetry anthology PDF excerpt; publication title and year are not established by the preserved source packet (bang-english.pdf, 105 PDF pages).Translation by M.A.K. Khalil; Passages are individually credited in the recovered PDF as “Translated by M.A.K. Khalil”; exact source and credit PDF page locators are stored with each imported passage.Source