📜 Lyrics
I am weary of the world's gatherings, O Lord!
What pleasure is there in assembly when the heart itself has dimmed?
I flee from tumult, yet my heart seeks
Such silence that even eloquence would sacrifice itself to it.
I am enamored with quietude, this is my desire—
A small hut in the lap of a mountain in solitude.
Let me spend my days in free thought, in isolation,
May the thorn of the world's sorrow be drawn from my heart.
Let the pleasure of songs be in the chirping of birds,
In the murmur of springs, let there be music playing.
Let a flower's bud burst and convey someone's message,
Let the cup grant me a glimpse of the world.
Let there be the comfort of hands, the bed of grass,
That grace of which even seclusion would be shy in solitude.
So familiar should the nightingale be with my face
That nothing of mine would trouble that tender heart.
Let green saplings stand in rows on both sides,
The river's clear water reflecting images.
Let the view of the mountain be so heart-deceiving
That even water, becoming waves, rises up to behold it.
May the greenery lie sleeping in the earth's embrace,
While water gleams again and again in the bushes.
The flower's branch bending down, touching the water,
As if some beauty were gazing in a mirror.
When the sun adorns the evening bride with henna,
Every flower's garment glows with crimson and gold.
Those who travel through the nights, let them rest exhausted—
May my broken lamp be their hope.
Let lightning flash and show them my humble cottage
When clouds gather on all sides of the sky.
The nightingale of the last watch, the muezzin of dawn—
I am its echo, and it is mine.
Let there fall no obligation of temple or mosque upon my ears,
Let the window of my hut itself be my dawn light.
When dew comes to perform ablution for the flowers,
May my weeping be ablution, my lament my prayer.
In this silence, let my cries rise so high
That the caravans of stars are stopped by my voice.
Let my weeping make every aching heart weep,
And perhaps awaken those who lie senseless.
💡 Meaning & story
Allama Iqbal's famous poem "One Desire" is truly a beautiful expression of weariness with the material and tumultuous life of the world, and a yearning for spiritual peace in proximity to nature. In this poem, the poet pleads before his Lord that he be granted a small, solitary hut nestled in the bosom of mountains, where a deep and tranquil silence prevails, far from the sorrows and anxieties of the world. He wishes that instead of material comforts, verdant grass be his bed and his own arm his pillow, while the gentle murmur of flowing springs and the chirping of birds soothe his soul like music. His bond with nature's enchanting vistas is so profound that even birds like the nightingale would lose their fear of him. Alongside the peace of his own being, such is the compassion for humanity that dwells in Iqbal's heart that he desires his broken lamp in the hut to become a ray of hope and guidance for weary and wandering travelers lost in the darkness of night and storms. Rising above the constraints of convention and ritual, the poet seeks his spiritual connection in the very manifestations of nature itself; he wishes that the cuckoo's song at dawn serve as the call to prayer for him, that dewdrops be the ablution of flowers, and that his own tears flowing before God become his true prayer and worship. At the conclusion of the poem, Iqbal's greatest desire is that this voice of sorrow and anguish arising from solitude should become so loud and impactful that it awakens the nation slumbering in the sleep of negligence, and kindle a new yearning for awakening and feeling in the heart of every suffering human being.
Lyrics & Meaning