قوت اور دين
English title: AUTHORITY AND FAITH
اسکندر و چنگيز کے ہاتھوں سے جہاں ميںسو بار ہوئي حضرت انساں کي قبا چاک
Autocrats like Alexander and Changez, have trampled men beneath their feet; not once but hundred times so far, they brought man down from honoured seat.
تاريخ امم کا يہ پيام ازلي ہے'،صاحب نظراں! نشہ قوت ہے خطرناک
The annals right from historic dawn the message eternal bear as such: ‘O man, with insight great endowed, the wine of might is dangerous much.’
اس سيل سبک سير و زميں گير کے آگےعقل و نظر و علم و ہنر ہيں خس و خاشاک
Before this quickly flowing flood that spreads to all the tracts with speed art, insight, intellect and science; are carried along like straw and reed.
لا ديں ہو تو ہے زہر ہلاہل سے بھي بڑھ کرہو ديں کي حفاظت ميں تو ہر زہر کا ترياک
Divorced from Faith, a poison strong, when propped by Faith and true belief, 'gainst poison works with speed, and proves a source of much relief.
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Zarb-e-Kalim — قوت اور دين — 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 — Authority And Faith — 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