Meaning
The mirror-bright face; the face clear and shining as a mirror.
Literally: mirror of the face
How Iqbal uses it
The face polished bright as a mirror reflects the beholder and, for Iqbal, becomes a surface in which the Divine Beauty may be glimpsed.
See it in the verse
Aaina-e-Rukh in Iqbal’s couplets
Tu bacha bacha ke na rakh ise tera aaina hai wo aaina
ke shikasta ho to aziz-tar hai nigah-e-aaina-saaz mein
ke shikasta ho to aziz-tar hai nigah-e-aaina-saaz mein
Do not keep your mirror anxiously protected — yours is the kind of mirror that, even when shattered, is dearer in the eyes of its maker.
Courage · Selfhood · Adversity
Khol kar aankhen mere aaeena-e-guftar mein dekh
Aane wale daur ki dhundli si ek tasveer dekh
Aane wale daur ki dhundli si ek tasveer dekh
Open your eyes and look into the mirror of my words — see the faint, blurred picture of the age that is coming.
Awakening · Hope · Leadership