Arabic · noun · The Heart & the Body

Hairat

हैरत

said hai-rat

Meaning

Wonder, astonishment, or bewilderment, the heart stilled and struck by the marvellous.

Literally: perplexity, being lost in wonder

How Iqbal uses it

In Sufi thought hairat is the awe-struck bafflement of the seeker before the boundless Divine, a station of dazzled wonder. Iqbal honours this wonder as the heart's response to the inexhaustible mystery of God and self.

See it in the verse

Hairat in Iqbal’s couplets

Aankh jo kuchh dekhti hai lab pe aa sakta nahin
Mahv-e-hairat hoon ki duniya kya se kya ho jaegi

What the eye sees cannot be brought to the lips; I am lost in wonder at what this world is about to become.

Awakening · Aspiration

Related words

PERSIAN

Hairaani

Astonishment, perplexity, or amazement, the lingering state of being bewildered.

ARABIC

Taajjub

Surprise, astonishment, or wonderment at something strange or unexpected.

PERSIAN

Hairat-zada

Struck with wonder; dumbfounded, lost in astonishment.

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