Sanskrit · noun · The Heart & the Body
Aankh
आँख
said aankh
also written: ankh, chashm, deeda
Meaning
Eye.
How Iqbal uses it
The physical eye that must be taught to truly see. “Open your eyes — see the earth, the sky, the air”; but the light of the outer eye is not the light of the heart, so he prays for the “seeing heart” (dil-e-bina) as well as the open eye.
See it in the verse
Aankh in Iqbal’s couplets
Khol aankh, zameen dekh, falak dekh, fiza dekh
Mashriq se ubharte hue suraj ko zara dekh
Mashriq se ubharte hue suraj ko zara dekh
Open your eyes — look at the earth, the sky, the open air; just look at the sun rising in the east.
Awakening · Hope
Dil-e-bina bhi kar khuda se talab
Aankh ka nuur dil ka nuur nahin
Aankh ka nuur dil ka nuur nahin
Ask also for a seeing heart; the light of the eye is not the light of the heart.
Self-Knowledge · Awakening
Aankh jo kuchh dekhti hai lab pe aa sakta nahin
Mahv-e-hairat hoon ki duniya kya se kya ho jaegi
Mahv-e-hairat hoon ki duniya kya se kya ho jaegi
What the eye sees cannot be brought to the lips; I am lost in wonder at what this world is about to become.
Awakening · Aspiration