Ghazal from Allama Iqbal, translated by M. Shahid Alam

I encountered another version of this by the same person, the words are somewhat different


Ghazal - DigarguN hai jahaN taroN ki gardish tez hai Saqi
Contributed by Shahid Alam
Saturday, 24 November 2007
Translation of Muhammad Iqbal by M. Shahid Alam






Sir Muhammad Iqbal (Urdu: E-E/ 'B('D) born (November 9, 1877 – April 21, 1938) was a Muslim poet, philosopher and
politician born in Sialkot, British India (now in Pakistan), whose poetry in Urdu and Persian is considered to be among the
greatest of the modern era.








Ghazal



The world changes utterly: the stars spin faster, O Saqi.


In every heart I hear the cry of surrender, O Saqi.




God’s journeymen have lost their arts, their certainty.


Whose artifice deceives them, who has this power, O Saqi.




Weak-willed, weak-hearted, dimly they mope about.


Deep is their need for that life-enhancing elixir, O Saqi.




The Muslim lacks the fire that can ignite his heart.


Why is the birth of spirit so hard to deliver, O Saqi.




There rises none like Rumi from the gardens of ‘Ajam.


Persia is the same, unchanged her sky and water, O Saqi.




Iqbal will not walk away from his fields laid waste.


A little dew and sweat will revive its power, O Saqi.




This dervish is privy to the rites, the rigors of power.


His words are rare, he ignites visions of splendor, O Saqi.




M. Shahid Alam is a professor of economics at Northeastern University,

Boston.

Atlantic Free Press - Hard Truths for Hard Times
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His writings have appeared in leading economic journals, including

Economic Development and Cultural Change, Southern Economic Journal,

Journal of Development Economics, American Economic Review, Cambridge

Journal of Economics, Studies in Contemporary Islam and Kyklos; in

popular newspapers and web sites including Dissident Voice.org,

Counterpunch, Al Ahram, Commondreams.org, Dawn, Holiday, Asia Times,

Scoop, and Outlook India; in literary journals, including Chicago

Review, Marlboro Review and Beloit Poetry Journal.




He has published many books including Poverty from the Wealth of

Nations (Macmillan, 2000), Governments and Markets in Economic

Development Strategies (Praeger: 1989), and Is There An Islamic Problem

(Kuala Lumpur: The Other Press, 2004).

Professor Alam was born in Bangladesh. He holds a BA from the

University of Dhaka, MA from the University of Karachi, and Ph.D. from

the University of Western Ontario.

He lives in a suburb of Boston.
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Enjoyed the translation. Yes, the urdu part included would have been much more enjoyable; plus, is the writer Professor Alam from Boston?

Nice attempt at translating the inimitable and great, untranslatable, Urdu of Iqbal alayhirahmat. It would 've been helpful if you'd also added the Urdu transliteration though.

Thank you!