دام تہذيب
English title: CIVILIZATION’S CLUTCHES
اقبال کو شک اس کي شرافت ميں نہيں ہےہر ملت مظلوم کا يورپ ہے خريدار
Iqbal hasn't doubt of Europe's noble aim, to every oppressed nation lays a claim.
يہ پير کليسا کي کرامت ہے کہ اس نےبجلي کے چراغوں سے منور کيے افکار
Her reverend churchmen furnish her liberally | With wiring and bulbs for moral illumination.
جلتا ہے مگر شام و فلسطيں پہ مرا دلتدبير سے کھلتا نہيں يہ عقدہ دشوار
And yet, my heart burns for Syria and Palestine, | And finds for this knotty puzzle no explanation—
ترکان 'جفا پيشہ' کے پنجے سے نکل کربيچارے ہيں تہذيب کے پھندے ميں گرفتار
Of cruel Turkish hold they have got rid; in culture's snare they too soon have slid!
Sources and translator credits
- Original text transcription: Zarb-e-Kalim — دام تہذيب — 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 — Culture's Snare — 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