Arabic · noun · Time, Fate & the Cosmos
Anjum / Sitara
अंजुम / सितारा
said AN-jum / si-TAA-ra
also written: sitara, sitaron, anjom
Meaning
Stars (anjum) / a star (sitara).
How Iqbal uses it
Waystations of aspiration, not limits — and a measure of human worth. He loves the youths “who fling their lassos at the stars,” and tells each person, “every individual is a star in the destiny of the nation.”
See it in the verse
Anjum / Sitara in Iqbal’s couplets
Afrad ke hathon mein hai aqwam ki taqdeer
Har fard hai millat ke muqaddar ka sitara
Har fard hai millat ke muqaddar ka sitara
The destiny of nations rests in the hands of individuals — every single person is a star in the fortune of the whole.
Action · Leadership · Selfhood
Agar kaj-rau hain anjum aasman tera hai ya mera
Mujhe fikr-e-jahan kyun ho jahan tera hai ya mera
Mujhe fikr-e-jahan kyun ho jahan tera hai ya mera
If the stars run crooked, is the sky yours or mine? Why should I fret over the world, when the world is yours and not my charge.
Selfhood · Freedom · Courage
Sitara kya meri taqdir ki khabar dega
Wo khud farakhi-e-aflak mein hai khwar o zubun
Wo khud farakhi-e-aflak mein hai khwar o zubun
What can a star tell me of my destiny? It is itself helpless and lowly in the vast reach of the skies.
Selfhood · Freedom · Courage
Mohabbat mujhe un jawanon se hai
Sitaron pe jo dalte hain kamand
Sitaron pe jo dalte hain kamand
My love is for those young ones who cast their lasso upon the stars.
Youth · Aspiration