masjid-e qurt̤ubah
*stanza four*

  ....  
1) your beauty and grandeur,
proof of the man of the Lord
  
terā jamāl-o-jalāl , mard-e ḳhudā kī dalīl
he too, grand and beautiful,
you too, grand and beautiful		  
vuh bhī jalīl-o-jamīl , tū bhī jalīl-o-jamīl
     
2) your foundation firm,
your pillars innumerable
  
terī binā pāʾedār , tere sutūñ be-shumār
as would be, in the desert of Syria,
a grove of date-palms		  
shām ke ṣaḥrā meñ ho jaise hujūm-e naḳhīl !
     
3) on your door and roof
the light of the Auspicious Valley
  
tire dar-o-bām par vādī-e aiman kā nūr
your lofty minaret
the manifestation-place of Gabriel		  
terā minār-e buland jalvah-gah-e jibraʾīl
= The 'Auspicious Valley' is where the Prophet had
his first divine revelation from the angel Gabriel		    
     
4) [he] can never become erased,
the Muslim man, for
  
miṭ nahīñ saktā kabhī mard-e musalmāñ , kih hai
from his calls to prayer is revealed
the mystery of Moses and Abraham		  
us kī ażānoñ se fāsh sirr-e kalīm-o-ḳhalīl !

= The mard-e musalmān is definitely masculine;
unlike insān or (in traditional usage) ādmī ,
mard doesn't include women. Iqbal had very little
to say about women, and literally nothing to say
to them (or to non-Muslims, for that matter).

= kalīmullâh , the 'Speaker with God', is Moses;
and ḳhalīlullâh , the 'Friend of God', is Abraham.

  
  ....  
5) his land without boundaries,
his horizon without borders
  
us kī zamīñ be-ḥudūd , us kā afaq be-ṡuġhūr
the waves of his ocean,
the Tigris and the Danube and the Nile		  
us ke samundar kī mauj , dajlah-o-danyūb-o-nīl !
     
6) his times are extraordinary,
his stories strange
  
us ke zamāne ʿajīb , us ke fasāne ġharīb
to the old era he gave
the message of departure		  
ʿahd-e kuhan ko diyā us ne payām-e raḥīl !
     
7) cupbearer of the possessors of taste,
horseman of the field of ardor
  
sāqī-e arbāb-e żauq , fāris-e maidān-e shauq
his wine is pure,
his sword is well-made		  
bādah hai us kā raḥīq , teġh hai us kī aṣīl !
     
8) he is a soldier,
his every atom is 'la-ilah'
  
mard-e sipāhī hai vuh , us kī zarah lā-ilâh
in the shadow of the sword
his refuge is 'la-ilah'		  
sāyah-e shamshīr meñ us kī panah lā-ilâh
= 'la-ilah' is the beginning of the Muslim
confession of faith, 'There is no God but God,
and Muhammad is the Prophet of God'.		    
   

*On to stanza five* -- *Masjid-e Qurtubah index page*

 
 
 

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