Allama Iqbal wrote this poem in a letter to his son Javed Iqbal while he was studying in London. Its quite insightful (if understood)
Dyar-e-Ishq main apna naam peda ker!
Naya zamana naye subha shaam peda ker!
Khuda agar dil-e-fitro-shanas de tujh ko
Sukoot-e-Lalah-o-gul se klam peda ker!
Utha na sheesha giran-e- ferang ke ihsaan
Sifal-e-hind se mina-o-jaam peda ker!
Main shakh-e-tak hun meri ghazl ha mera samr
Miray samr se mae lalahfam peda ker!
Mira tareeq ameeri nahin faqiri ha!
Khudi na beich gharibi main naam peda ker!
English Translation:
Create a place for thyself in the world of love;
Create a new age, new days, and new nights.
If God grant thee an eye for nature’s beauty,
Converse with the silence of flowers; respond to their love.
or (alternative version)
If god grants you a heart that can understand nature (fitrah),
Create poetry(talking Kalaam) from the silence of Tulips and roses.
Do not be beholden to the West’s artisans,
Seek thy sustenance in what thy land affords.
My ghazal is the essence of my life-blood,
Create thy elixir of life out ‘of this essence.
My way of life is poverty, not the pursuit of wealth;
Barter not thy Selfhood; win a name in adversity.
Nusrat Fateh Ali sung a longer version of the same poem which is from Iqbal's Shikwa. Quite deep it is...:)
Amazing!
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