“Shabay Pesh e Khuda Bagristam Zaar” is a powerful Persian quatrain from Allama Iqbal’s final work, Armaghan-e-Hijaz. In these verses, Iqbal shares a visionary dialogue with the Divine, questioning why the Muslim Ummah has fallen into decline despite possessing the Truth.
The Weeping Before God
شبے پیش خدا بگریستم زار
مسلماناں چرا زارند و خوارند
Shabay Pesh e Khuda Bagristam Zaar
MusalamanaaN Chira Zaar-and-o-Khwaar-and?
One night, I wept bitterly before the Presence of God;
“Why are the Muslims so wretched and disgraced?” I asked.
The Divine Response
ندا آمد نمی دانی کہ ایں قوم
دلے دارند و محبوبے ندارند
Nida Aamad Nami Daani Ke Een Qaum
Dil-ay Daarand-o-Mahboob-ay Na-Daarand
A voice came: “Do you not know that this nation…
Possesses a heart, but possesses no Beloved (The Prophet ﷺ)?”
Lughat: Vocabulary Insights
- Bagristam (بگریستم): I wept / I cried.
- Zaar (زار): Bitterly / Miserably.
- Chira (چرا): Why?
- Nida (ندا): A call or a voice from the unseen.
- Mahboob (محبوب): The Beloved (Referring to the Holy Prophet ﷺ).
The Poet of the East:
Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal (علامہ محمد اقبال)
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