Meaning
Sorrow, grief.
How Iqbal uses it
Gham is exalted in Iqbal as the productive sorrow that keeps a heart awake, the grief of love and of larger purpose that he sets above dull contentment; he distinguishes the ennobling sorrow that drives one onward from mere misery.
See it in the verse
Gham in Iqbal’s couplets
Agar kho gaya ek nasheman to kya gham
Maqamat-e-aah-o-faghan aur bhi hain
Maqamat-e-aah-o-faghan aur bhi hain
If one nest has been lost — what is there to grieve? There are other stations of sighing and lament still ahead.
Adversity · Hope · Restlessness
Kabhi chhodi hui manzil bhi yaad aati hai rahi ko
Khatak si hai jo sine mein gham-e-manzil na ban jae
Khatak si hai jo sine mein gham-e-manzil na ban jae
Sometimes the traveller remembers even the destination he left behind; I fear this faint ache in my chest may grow into grief for a settled place.
Restlessness · Aspiration