Poetry in Translation

Learning and Love

by Mohammad Iqbal (1887-1935)

“Love is madness,” Learning said.
“Learning is suspicion and doubt,” Love said.

O Learning, do not a bookworm be, you are veiled
Love is radiant, steadfast, a pageant of life and death

Learning displays the divine essence logically; love illogically
“Question everything,” says Learning. “I am the answer,” says Love

Love is a king as well as an ascetic, dweller, and a dwelling, enslaves
Even royalty, champions life with certainty, throws open the gate of love

Laws of love forbid rest, allow tumult of storms, the joy of reaching a shore;
Forbid love’s harvest after all. Learning is Son of the Book; Love, the Mother.

***

Translated From the original Urdu by Rafiq Kathwari