Widely considered one of the greatest Muslim poet of the 20th century, Muhammad Iqbal was a lawyer, philosopher, poet, and politician. In addition to his Urdu and Persian poetry, Iqbal was a political philosopher and delivered a series of English lectures later compiled in a book entitled “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam.” The following is one of his most famous poems. Entitled, “A Child’s Prayer”, it is a poem from the point of view of a child making du’a to Allah ﷻ‎:

لب پہ آتی ہے دعا بن کے تمنا میری

زندگی شمع کی صورت ہو خدایا میری

My inner longing manifests on my lips as a prayer.

O Lord! May my life glow like the flame of a candle.

دور دنیا کا مرے دم سے اندھیرا ہو جائے

ہر جگہ میرے چمکنے سے اجالا ہو جائے

Let my breath disperse the dark that holds the world in thrall.

Let my radiance result in brightness everywhere.

ہو مرے دم سے یونہی میرے وطن کی زینت

جس طرح پھول سے ہوتی ہے چمن کی زینت

With each breath, may I bring beauty to my land.

Like the blossoms that bring beauty to the meadow.

زندگی ہو مری پروانے کی صورت یا رب

علم کی شمع سے ہو مجھ کو محبت یا رب

O Lord! May my life be like the moth.

O Lord! May I always have a love for the flame of knowledge.

ہو مرا کام غریبوں کی حمایت کرنا

درد مندوں سے ضعیفوں سے محبت کرنا

May my exertions and my life’s work, the support of the poor be.

To the elderly and the afflicted, may I always loving be.

مرے اللہ! برائی سے بچانا مجھ کو

نیک جو راہ ہو اس رہ پہ چلانا مجھ کو

Allah! Preserve me from all the evil in the world.

Lead me down that path that is the path of righteousness.

Like this: Like Loading...