Meaning
A sweet preserve of rose petals in sugar, eaten as a cooling tonic.
Literally: rose sugar
See it in the verse
Gulqand in Iqbal’s couplets
Khuda agar dil-e-fitrat-shanaas de tujh ko
Sukoot-e-laala-o-gul se kalaam paida kar
Sukoot-e-laala-o-gul se kalaam paida kar
If God gives you a heart that can read Nature, then draw speech out of the silence of the tulip and the rose.
Self-Knowledge · Aspiration · Awakening
Shakh-e-gul par chahak wa-lekin
Kar apni khudi mein aashiyana
Kar apni khudi mein aashiyana
Sing, by all means, on the rose-branch — but build your nest within your own selfhood.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge
Safina-e-barg-e-gul bana lega qafila mor-e-na-tawan ka
Hazar maujon ki ho kashakash magar ye dariya se par hoga
Hazar maujon ki ho kashakash magar ye dariya se par hoga
The caravan of feeble ants will make a boat of a rose petal; though a thousand waves clash against it, this boat will cross the river.
Hope · Courage · Unity
Apne bhi khafa mujh se hain begane bhi na-khush
Main zahr-e-halahal ko kabhi kah na saka qand
Main zahr-e-halahal ko kabhi kah na saka qand
My own people are displeased with me and strangers are unhappy too; I could never bring myself to call deadly poison sugar.
Courage · Selfhood · Justice