Amal se zindagi banti hai, jannat bhi jahannam bhi,
Yeh khaaki apni fitrat mai na noori hai na naari hai.
Your actions make your life either heaven or hell;
this creature of dust, in its nature, is neither of light nor of fire.
An Urdu poetry art print. This couplet from Allama Iqbal’s poem Tulu-e-Islam beautifully captures the essence of human accountability: our actions shape who we are and what we become. A powerful reminder that we are, in the end, the architects of our own soul.
Unlike the angels, created from nūr (light), or the devil, created from nār (fire), human beings are made of khāk (dust) - a substance that is humble, neutral and endlessly mouldable. Our nature is therefore not fixed; within us lies the potential for both greatness and ruin. Ultimately, it is our amal - our conscious actions and choices - that shape our path in this world and the next.