Meaning
One slain by love, the heart half-killed and writhing in the agony of passion.
Literally: the love-slaughtered one
How Iqbal uses it
Bismil-e-ishq is the lover pictured as a sacrificial victim of love, fluttering in sweet agony. It marks love's wound as a consecration, the self gladly offered up, which Iqbal reads as the supreme passion of a living heart.
See it in the verse
Bismil-e-ishq in Iqbal’s couplets
Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Beyond the stars there are worlds yet — there are still more trials of love to come.
Aspiration · Love · Restlessness
Dayar-e-ishq mein apna maqam paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
In the realm of love, create your own standing — bring a new age into being, new mornings and new evenings of your own.
Aspiration · Action · Love
Tere ishq ki intiha chahta hun
Meri sadgi dekh kya chahta hun
Meri sadgi dekh kya chahta hun
I long for the very limit of Your love — look at my simplicity, see what I dare to ask.
Love · Aspiration · Restlessness
Ishq dam-e-Jibreel ishq dam-e-Mustafa
Ishq Khuda ka Rasool ishq Khuda ka kalaam
Ishq Khuda ka Rasool ishq Khuda ka kalaam
Love is the breath of Gabriel, love the breath of the Prophet; love is the messenger of God, love is the Word of God.
Love · Aspiration
Mard-e-Khuda ka amal ishq se sahib-e-firogh
Ishq hai asl-e-hayat maut hai is par haraam
Ishq hai asl-e-hayat maut hai is par haraam
The deeds of the man of God shine with love; love is the essence of life, and death is forbidden to touch it.
Love · Aspiration · Action
Tere ishq ki inteha chahta hoon
Meri sadgi dekh, kya chahta hoon
Meri sadgi dekh, kya chahta hoon
I long for the very furthest reach of your love — look at my simplicity, look at what I dare to ask for.
Love · Aspiration