Meaning
The chessboard of existence; the spread or playing-board of life.
Literally: board of being
How Iqbal uses it
Life laid out like a game-board on which fate moves the pieces; the bisaat-e-hasti is folded up when the brief game is done.
See it in the verse
Bisaat-e-hasti in Iqbal’s couplets
Kuch baat hai ki hasti mitti nahin hamari
Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara
Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara
There is something about us that refuses to be erased — for centuries the turning of the age itself has been our enemy.
Hope · Adversity · Self-Knowledge
Aaya hai tu jahan mein misal-e-sharar dekh
Dam de na jaye hasti-na-paayedar dekh
Dam de na jaye hasti-na-paayedar dekh
You have come into the world like a spark — see that this fleeting existence does not slip away from you.
Action · Awakening · Aspiration