Meaning
A register, ledger or volume; also an office.
How Iqbal uses it
A bound record or volume; in classical usage a whole book of a long work, as the daftars of Rumi's Masnavi.
See it in the verse
Daftar in Iqbal’s couplets
Roz-e-hisab jab pesh ho mera daftar-e-amal
Aap bhi sharmsar ho mujh ko bhi sharmsar kar
Aap bhi sharmsar ho mujh ko bhi sharmsar kar
On the Day of Reckoning, when the ledger of my deeds is laid out, be Yourself abashed even as You make me ashamed.
Humility · Love · Courage
Kya dabdaba-e-nadir kya shaukat-e-taimuri
Ho jaate hain sab daftar gharq-e-mai-e-naab aakhir
Ho jaate hain sab daftar gharq-e-mai-e-naab aakhir
What of Nadir's dread power, what of Timur's splendour? In the end every such record is drowned in the pure wine of time.
Humility · Self-Knowledge · Adversity