Meaning
The mythical, never-seen bird of Arabic lore, a byword for something so rare it borders on non-existent.
Literally: the long-necked one
Usage & notes
The anqa figures the unattainable and the sublimely rare, the ideal that one seeks though it seems beyond reach. In Iqbal's symbolic world it can mark both the loftiness of the goal and the danger of chasing a beautiful phantom.