Meaning
A river of light.
Literally: river of light
How Iqbal uses it
The river of light is Iqbal's image of an outpouring radiance, the flood of divine illumination or of dawn spreading across the world; it joins his recurring fusion of water and light as twin emblems of life and revelation.
See it in the verse
Daria-e-Noor in Iqbal’s couplets
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
Dil-e-bina bhi kar khuda se talab
Aankh ka nuur dil ka nuur nahin
Aankh ka nuur dil ka nuur nahin
Ask also for a seeing heart; the light of the eye is not the light of the heart.
Self-Knowledge · Awakening
Qalb o nazar ki zindagi dasht mein subh ka samaan
Chashma-e-aftab se nuur ki naddiyan ravaan
Chashma-e-aftab se nuur ki naddiyan ravaan
The life of the heart and the eye is like daybreak in the desert; from the spring of the sun, rivers of light flow out.
Awakening · Hope · Self-Knowledge