Persian · noun · Nature & the Garden
Aab-e-Rawan
आब-ए-रवाँ
said AAB-e-ra-VAAN
also written: ab-e-rawan, flowing water
Meaning
Running water; the flowing stream of the garden, an emblem of life's ceaseless movement.
Literally: flowing water
See it in the verse
Aab-e-Rawan in Iqbal’s couplets
Yunan-o-Misr-o-Roma sab mit gaye jahan se
Ab tak magar hai baqi naam-o-nishan hamara
Ab tak magar hai baqi naam-o-nishan hamara
Greece, Egypt and Rome have all been erased from the world — yet our name and our mark still remain.
Hope · Unity
Ai aab-e-rud-e-Ganga wo din hai yaad tujh ko
Utra tere kinare jab karwan hamara
Utra tere kinare jab karwan hamara
O waters of the river Ganga, do you remember those days — when our caravan first halted upon your banks?
Unity · Love
Baagh-e-bahisht se mujhe hukm-e-safar diya tha kyun
Kaar-e-jahan daraaz hai ab mera intezaar kar
Kaar-e-jahan daraaz hai ab mera intezaar kar
Why was I given the command to depart the garden of paradise? The work of the world is long now — so wait for me.
Action · Aspiration · Restlessness
Qalb o nazar ki zindagi dasht mein subh ka samaan
Chashma-e-aftab se nuur ki naddiyan ravaan
Chashma-e-aftab se nuur ki naddiyan ravaan
The life of the heart and the eye is like daybreak in the desert; from the spring of the sun, rivers of light flow out.
Awakening · Hope · Self-Knowledge
Giran-baha hai to hifz-e-khudi se hai warna
Guhar mein aab-e-guhar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
Guhar mein aab-e-guhar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
If you are precious, it is from guarding your selfhood; otherwise a pearl is nothing but the lustre of a pearl.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge · Humility