Persian · noun · Love & Longing

Gham-e-ishq

ग़म-ए-इश्क़
said GHAM-e-ISHQ
also written: gham-e-ishq, gham-e-eshq
Meaning

The sorrow of love; the sweet grief that love brings, cherished by the lover.

Literally: the sorrow of love

How Iqbal uses it

Gham-e-ishq is the sorrow of love — the particular grief that comes only from loving, prized in the ghazal as a sacred wealth no other joy can rival. The lover would not trade this sorrow for any happiness, because it is the sign and substance of love itself. For Iqbal this sorrow is creative and ennobling: the pain of love is what enlarges the heart and lifts the lover above the comfortable, contented crowd.