مناصب
English title: GOVERNMENT JOBS
ہوا ہے بندئہ مومن فسوني افرنگاسي سبب سے قلندر کي آنکھ ہے نم ناک
One hermit’s eyes grew wet with watching how you fell, | Poor Muslim, under England’s spell.
ترے بلند مناصب کي خير ہو ياربکہ ان کے واسطے تو نے کيا خودي کو ہلاک
God give you joy of those high offices, to taste | Whose sweets you laid your own soul waste!
مگر يہ بات چھپائے سے چھپ نہيں سکتيسمجھ گئي ہے اسے ہر طبيعت چالاک
Though man may try his best, yet he can't hide the fact; this point is known to all who own a bit of tact.
شريک حکم غلاموں کو کر نہيں سکتے!خريدتے ہيں فقط ان کا جوہر ادراک
They don't consort with slaves in case of rule and might; they buy the wit of serfs to gain the ends, in sight.
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Zarb-e-Kalim — مناصب — 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 — High Offices — 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