Meaning
Reason and heart; intellect set against intuition, a recurring Iqbalian tension.
Literally: 'intellect and heart'
How Iqbal uses it
Iqbal often pits aql (reason) against ishq/dil.
See it in the verse
Aql-o-dil in Iqbal’s couplets
Khuda agar dil-e-fitrat-shanaas de tujh ko
Sukoot-e-laala-o-gul se kalaam paida kar
Sukoot-e-laala-o-gul se kalaam paida kar
If God gives you a heart that can read Nature, then draw speech out of the silence of the tulip and the rose.
Self-Knowledge · Aspiration · Awakening
Main jo sar-ba-sajda hua kabhi to zameen se aane lagi sada
Tera dil to hai sanam-aashna tujhe kya milega namaz mein
Tera dil to hai sanam-aashna tujhe kya milega namaz mein
Whenever I bowed my head in prostration, a voice rose from the earth: your heart is in love with idols — what will you gain from prayer?
Self-Knowledge · Humility
Jis se jigar-e-laala mein thandak ho wo shabnam
Daryaon ke dil jis se dahel jaayein wo toofan
Daryaon ke dil jis se dahel jaayein wo toofan
To the tulip's heart he is the dew that cools it; to mighty rivers he is the storm that makes their hearts tremble.
Courage · Justice · Selfhood
Dil se jo baat nikalti hai asar rakhti hai
Par nahin taaqat-e-parvaaz magar rakhti hai
Par nahin taaqat-e-parvaaz magar rakhti hai
What comes from the heart carries power; it has no wings, and yet it has the strength to fly.
Love · Awakening · Self-Knowledge
Suni padi hui hai muddat se dil ki basti
Aa ik naya shiwala is des mein bana den
Aa ik naya shiwala is des mein bana den
The dwelling of the heart has lain desolate for ages — come, let us build a new temple in this land.
Unity · Hope · Love
Keh raha hai mujh se ae joya-e-asrar-e-azal
Chashm-e-dil wa ho to hai taqdeer-e-aalam be-hijab
Chashm-e-dil wa ho to hai taqdeer-e-aalam be-hijab
He says to me: O seeker of the secrets of eternity, if the eye of the heart opens, the destiny of the world stands unveiled.
Self-Knowledge · Awakening · Aspiration