Persian · noun · Faith & Sacred History
Aaina-saz
आईना-साज़
also written: Aina-saz, Aaina-gar
Meaning
The mirror-maker; one who fashions mirrors.
Literally: Aaina (mirror) plus saz (maker).
How Iqbal uses it
Iqbal argues that a broken mirror is dearer in the eye of the aaina-saz, the Maker who fashioned it, suggesting that the shattered, striving self is more beloved to its Creator than the smug and intact one.
See it in the verse
Aaina-saz in Iqbal’s couplets
Yaqeen afrad ka sarmaya-e-tameer-e-millat hai
Yahi quvvat hai jo surat-gar-e-taqdeer-e-millat hai
Yahi quvvat hai jo surat-gar-e-taqdeer-e-millat hai
The conviction of individuals is the capital that builds a community — this is the very force that sculpts a people's destiny.
Unity · Selfhood · Leadership
Silsila-e-roz-o-shab, naqsh-gar-e-haadsat
Silsila-e-roz-o-shab, asl-e-hayat-o-mamat
Silsila-e-roz-o-shab, asl-e-hayat-o-mamat
The chain of day and night is the sculptor of all events; the chain of day and night is the root of life and of death.
Action · Self-Knowledge
Wajud-e-zan se hai tasveer-e-kaenat mein rang
Isi ke saaz se hai zindagi ka soz-e-darun
Isi ke saaz se hai zindagi ka soz-e-darun
It is the presence of woman that gives colour to the portrait of the universe — from her instrument comes the inner fire of life itself.
Love · Unity · Humility
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
Khudi ke saaz mein hai umr-e-javidan ka suragh
Khudi ke soz se roshan hain ummaton ke charagh
Khudi ke soz se roshan hain ummaton ke charagh
Within the music of selfhood lies the trace of an everlasting life — and it is by the burning of selfhood that the lamps of whole peoples are lit.
Selfhood · Leadership · Hope