Meaning
Existence, being, life; also a self or personage.
How Iqbal uses it
Hasti is existence as lived and felt, the very fact of being that the self must affirm. Iqbal urges the self not to dissolve its hasti into the Infinite but to deepen it into an enduring centre of will.
See it in the verse
Hasti in Iqbal’s couplets
Kuch baat hai ki hasti mitti nahin hamari
Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara
Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara
There is something about us that refuses to be erased — for centuries the turning of the age itself has been our enemy.
Hope · Adversity · Self-Knowledge
Aaya hai tu jahan mein misal-e-sharar dekh
Dam de na jaye hasti-na-paayedar dekh
Dam de na jaye hasti-na-paayedar dekh
You have come into the world like a spark — see that this fleeting existence does not slip away from you.
Action · Awakening · Aspiration