حرفی چند با امت عربیہ
کار خود را امتان بردند پیشتو ندانی قیمت صحرای خویش
English translation
The nations of the world are promoting their interests; you are unaware of the value of your desert.
(Value of the desert: Iqbal is referring to the strategic importance and the rich mineral resources of the Arabian deserts.)
Translated by Bashir Ahmad Dar
Urdu translation
قوموں نے اپنے کام کو آگے بڑھایا مگر تو اپنے صحرا کی قیمت سے بے خبر رہا۔
About this couplet
This is couplet 21 of 39 in “حرفی چند با امت عربیہ” (A Few Words to the Arab Nation), from Allama Muhammad Iqbal's Persian book Pas Chih Bayad Kard (پس چہ بائد کرد اے اقوامِ شرق), published in 1936.
Read it in the poem۲۱ / ۳۹