Persian · noun · Character & Virtue
Faqr-e-Mohammadi
फ़क़्र-ए-मुहम्मदी
said FAQR-e-mu-HAM-ma-dee
also written: faqr-e-muhammadi
Meaning
The 'poverty of Muhammad'; the kingly, self-possessed poverty modelled on the Prophet, owning nothing yet sovereign.
Literally: the Muhammadan poverty
How Iqbal uses it
Iqbal's reformed faqr is this Muhammadan poverty — fierce, dignified, the poverty of one who rules the world by needing none of it.
See it in the verse
Faqr-e-Mohammadi in Iqbal’s couplets
Nigah-e-faqr mein shaan-e-sikandari kya hai
Khiraaj ki jo gada ho wo qaisari kya hai
Khiraaj ki jo gada ho wo qaisari kya hai
In the eyes of true inner wealth, what is the grandeur of an Alexander? What is an emperor who must beg for tribute?
Freedom · Selfhood · Humility
Nigah-e-faqr mein shan-e-sikandari kya hai
Khiraj ki jo gada ho wo qaisari kya hai
Khiraj ki jo gada ho wo qaisari kya hai
In the eyes of a free spirit, what is the splendour of an Alexander? An empire that begs for tribute is no empire at all.
Selfhood · Freedom · Self-Knowledge