Meaning
A perilous ordeal that must be braved.
Literally: a river of fire
See it in the verse
Aag ka dariya in Iqbal’s couplets
Aaj bhi ho jo Baraheem ka iman paida
Aag kar sakti hai andaz-e-gulistan paida
Aag kar sakti hai andaz-e-gulistan paida
Even today, if the faith of Abraham were born again, the fire itself could be made to bloom like a garden.
Courage · Adversity · Hope
Aag bujhi hui idhar TuuTi hui tanab udhar
Kya khabar is maqam se guzre hain kitne kaarvaan
Kya khabar is maqam se guzre hain kitne kaarvaan
A dead fire on one side, a snapped tent-rope on the other; who knows how many caravans have passed through this place.
Restlessness · Humility · Self-Knowledge
Banaya ishq ne dariya-e-na-paida-karan mujh ko
Ye meri khud-nigah-dari mera sahil na ban jae
Ye meri khud-nigah-dari mera sahil na ban jae
Love has made me a river with no visible shore; I fear my own self-guarding may become the bank that hems me in.
Love · Restlessness · Freedom
Nigah paida kar ai ghafil tajalli ain-e-fitrat hai
Ki apni mauj se begana rah sakta nahin dariya
Ki apni mauj se begana rah sakta nahin dariya
Cultivate vision, O heedless one, for radiance is the very nature of things; a river cannot stay a stranger to its own wave.
Awakening · Self-Knowledge · Selfhood
Safina-e-barg-e-gul bana lega qafila mor-e-na-tawan ka
Hazar maujon ki ho kashakash magar ye dariya se par hoga
Hazar maujon ki ho kashakash magar ye dariya se par hoga
The caravan of feeble ants will make a boat of a rose petal; though a thousand waves clash against it, this boat will cross the river.
Hope · Courage · Unity