— Divan-e-Ghalib, from the ghazal "bazeecha-e-atfaal hai duniya"
About this quote
देवनागरी:
ईमान मुझे रोके है जो खींचे है मुझे कुफ़्र
काबा मेरे पीछे है कलीसा मेरे आगे
English: Faith holds me back while unbelief pulls me on — the Kaaba behind me, the church before me.
Meaning: A man suspended between belief and doubt, tradition and temptation — refusing to pretend the tug-of-war is settled. The honesty of the unresolved is the couplet’s faith.
अर्थ: ईमान पीछे खींचता है, शक आगे — काबा पीछे, कलीसा सामने। आस्था और संदेह के बीच खड़े हर इंसान का शेर।
An authentic couplet from the Divan-e-Ghalib, the collected Urdu ghazals of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797–1869), from the ghazal beginning “bazeecha-e-atfaal hai duniya”. Transliteration and English rendering are our own.
