تراشیدم صنم بر صورت خویش
English title: All idols that I make resemble me
تراشیدم صنم بر صورت خویشبہ شکل خود خدا را نقش بستم
An idol I carved in my own form’s grace —
In my own likeness, God’s image I did trace.
میں بت کو اپنی صورت پر تراشتا ہوں —
میں اپنا معبود اپنی ہی صورت پر بناتا ہوں۔
مرا از خود برون رفتن محال استبہر رنگی کہ ہستم خود پرستم
To transcend myself is a futile quest —
In every guise I wear, self-worship is my crest (without divine revelation, every concept of God is a product of one's own mind)
میرے لیے اپنے آپ سے باہر نکلنا محال ہے —
ہر رنگ میں اپنی ہی پرستش کرتا ہوں۔ (معرفت وحی کے بغیر خدا کی ہر شکل انسانی ذہن کی ایک تخلیق ہے)
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Payam-e-Mashriq — تراشیدم صنم بر صورت خویش — 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: Payam-e-Mashriq — 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
- payam-e-mashriq: published English translation by مخدوم حسان — Published digital poem page (c2jtxypr.json); retrieved 2026-10-05.Translation by مخدوم حسان; Published English translation credited on the Zinderood digital poem page; the exact source unit is recorded with each imported passage.Source
- payam-e-mashriq: published Urdu translation by مخدوم حسان — Published digital poem page (c2jtxypr.json); retrieved 2026-10-05.Translation by مخدوم حسان; Published Urdu translation credited on the Zinderood digital poem page; the exact source unit is recorded with each imported passage.Source