مردان خدا
English title: GODʹS MEN
وہي ہے بندئہ حر جس کي ضرب ہے کارينہ وہ کہ حرب ہے جس کي تمام عياري
That man alone is brave and free, whose stroke is full of main and might that man is coward through and through who leans on guile and tricks in fight.
ازل سے فطرت احرار ميں ہيں دوش بدوشقلندري و قبا پوشي و کلہ داري
From creation's Immemorial Dawn free born men own a bent of mind, Qalandar's traits donning cloak and crown, such distinctive marks in them we find.
زمانہ لے کے جسے آفتاب کرتا ہےانھي کي خاک ميں پوشيدہ ہے وہ چنگاري
The spark lies hid within their clay which the world to itself takes transforms it as if by a smell and world – illuming sun it makes.
وجود انھي کا طواف بتاں سے ہے آزاد!يہ تيرے مومن و کافر ، تمام زناري
This life is free from ugly taint that makes men round the fane to tread O God! The faithful and pagan all have worn on shoulders sacred thread.
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Zarb-e-Kalim — مردان خدا — 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 — God's Men — 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