Meaning
Reason and wisdom; the rational and discerning faculties together.
Literally: lit. intellect and wisdom
How Iqbal uses it
Iqbal repeatedly sets cold aql-o-khirad against the warm intuition of ishq (love), arguing that reason alone cannot grasp ultimate reality.
See it in the verse
Aql-o-Khirad in Iqbal’s couplets
Khirad ke paas khabar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
Tera ilaj nazar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
Tera ilaj nazar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
Reason has nothing to offer but information; your cure lies in nothing but vision.
Self-Knowledge · Awakening
Gesu-e-tabdar ko aur bhi tabdar kar
Hosh-o-khirad shikar kar qalb-o-nazar shikar kar
Hosh-o-khirad shikar kar qalb-o-nazar shikar kar
Make the radiant tresses more radiant still — capture sense and reason, hunt down the heart and the eye.
Love · Aspiration · Restlessness
Khirad ko ghulami se azad kar
Jawanon ko peeron ka ustad kar
Jawanon ko peeron ka ustad kar
Free the intellect from slavery; make the young the teachers of the old.
Youth · Freedom · Awakening
Khirad-mandon se kya poochun ki meri ibtida kya hai
Ki main is fikr mein rahta hoon, meri inteha kya hai
Ki main is fikr mein rahta hoon, meri inteha kya hai
Why should I ask the wise where I began? The question that occupies me is: what is the end I am headed toward?
Self-Knowledge · Aspiration · Selfhood
Aql-o-dil-o-nigah ka murshid-e-awwaleen hai ishq
Ishq na ho to shar-o-deen butkada-e-tasavvurat
Ishq na ho to shar-o-deen butkada-e-tasavvurat
Love is the first teacher of intellect, heart and sight. Without love, even law and faith become only a temple of empty ideas.
Love · Self-Knowledge
Guzar ja aql se aage ki ye noor
Charagh-e-raah hai, manzil nahin hai
Charagh-e-raah hai, manzil nahin hai
Move on past the intellect — for this light is a lamp for the road, not the destination itself.
Self-Knowledge · Aspiration · Love