جہاد
English title: JIHAD
It is the verdict of the Shaikh that pen is stronger than the sword: ‘The sword has lost its might and force, tile pen has gained a firmer hold’.
Has it not reached Our pious oracle’s ear, | That in the Mosque Such sermonizing nowadays has grown Rhymeless and reasonless?
Where, in a Muslim’s hand, Will he find dagger or rifle? | And if there were, Our hearts have lost all memory of delight In death.
To one whose nerves falter at even An infidel cut down, | who would exclaim ‘Die like a Muslim!’
Preach relinquishment Of such crusades | To him whose bloody fist Menaces earth!
Europe, swathed cap‐a‐pie In mail, | Mounts guard over her glittering reign Of falsehood;
We like to ask the holy Shaikh, who holds the shrine in high esteem; if war for West is heinous crime, how far in East can harmless seem?
And if your goal be truth, Is this the right road—Europe’s faults all glossed, | And all Islam’s held to so strict an audit?
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Zarb-e-Kalim — جہاد — 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: Zarb-e-Kalim — 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
- Zarb-e-Kalim English translation at allama-iqbal.com — Holy War — 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
- Poems from Iqbal — First edition, 1955Translation by V. G. Kiernan; Published English translations attributed to V. G. Kiernan; the 231 previously imported exact passages remain, with one additional independently reviewed final standalone line at PDF page 100. Each new locator names its exact passage scope.Source