O Iqbal! Every breath of yours is veiled in sighs; your burning breast is filled with complaint.

The song of hope does not exist in the harp of your heart; we think this Lailah does not exist in your camel-litter.

Your ear is the seeker of the sound of bygone lyre and your heart is unconcerned with today’s affairs.

Your garden companions do not listen to the tale of roses; the assembly’s people do not listen to your old message.

O bell of the sleeping caravan! Be quiet your call is very frustrating! Be quiet.

That old assembly cannot be brought back to life. The yesternight cannot be illuminated with candle.

O Companion! I am a Muslim, I am the harbinger of Tawhid; since eternity I am the sincere testifier of this Truth.

The warmth in the pulse of the universe is from this and the courage in the Muslim’s thought is from this.

God created the universe for this Truth and created me for its guardianship. (Allusion to the Holy Qur’an 51:56. True service to God implies firm belief in His Tawhid and other attributes, not only in words but by affirmation with the heart and by deeds in His cause and in the service of humanity as is required by the Holy Qur’an.)

I became the destroyer of false worship in the world; the truth is that I became the protector of Existence’ honour.

My life is the cover for the world’s nakedness; my destruction is the disgrace of the human race. (Allamah Iqbal sincerely believed that the decline and fall of the Muslim world to its present abject state is the cause of the ethical and moral degeneration of the whole human race. This, in its turn, is the cause of the evils in the present day world.)

The Muslim is the shining star of the universe’s destiny; the spell of the morning by whose brilliance is shy. (These two verses show the supremacy of Man in the creation of God. According to Allamah Iqbal’s concept of Khudi Man reaches perfection and the zenith of his spiritual progress by complete submission to God, which is what Islam is.)

The secrets of life are open to my eyes; I cannot be considered lacking hope in the battle of life.

How can the transient scene of grief frighten me! Confidence in destiny of my Millat strengthens me.

My world is free of the component of despair; the zeal for battle gives the news of complete victory.

Yes, it is true I keep my eye on the old times; I relate the old story to the assembly’s audience.

Memory of the past age is the elixir for my life; my past is the interpretation of my future.

I keep that pleasurable period before me; I see the tomorrow in the mirror of today.