گھر سے مسجد ہے بہت دور چلو یوں کر لیں
کسی روتے ہوئے بچے کو ہنسایا جائے
Language: Urdu; Script: Perso-Arabic Nastaliq
Author: Nida Fazli; Book: Safar mein dhoop to hogi
Romanized Transliteration:
Ghar se masjid hai bahut door, chalo yun kar lein,
kisi rote hue bachhe ko hasaaya jaaye.
Approximate Translation:
(If) The place of god’s worship is too far away (to go for the daily prayers), let’s do something else instead – making a child laugh.
Why I love it:
The poet reminds us that the true meaning of religion does not lie in performing prayers or other rituals. It lies in everyday acts of kindness and innocence! And after centuries and millennia of religious hatred and wars, we humans do need to be reminded of the true and simple underlying meaning of religions – being a nice human-being!