بچہ اور شمع
نور تیرا چھپ گیا زیر نقاب آگہیہے غبار دیدہء بینا حجاب آگہی
English translation
Your light has been concealed under the veil of Intellect! The veil of Cognition is a mere mist to the wise eye!
(This and the remaining verses mean that God (His Beauty) is present in the multitudes of worldly objects mentioned in those verses. He can be discerned by the discerning eye with the help of Khudi. The Holy Qur'an also teaches us to understand God from the objects of the universe and Man's own self, which is Khudi. The power of Khudi distinguishes Man from and makes him superior to the rest of the creation of God. However, Knowledge or Intellect conceals Khudi and with it the Light of God fades away from Man's eyes. This Light dawns only when Man throws away the earthly mantle of Intellect and activates the Love of God…)
Translated by Dr M.A.K. Khalil
About this couplet
This is couplet 6 of 15 in “بچہ اور شمع” (The Child And The Candle) in the section Part 1 -- Before 1905, from Allama Muhammad Iqbal's Urdu book Bang-e-Dara (بانگِ درا), published in 1924.
Read it in the poem۶ / ۱۵