Arabic · noun · Time, Fate & the Cosmos
Hayat / Zindagi
हयात / ज़िंदगी
said ha-YAAT / zin-da-GEE
also written: zindagi, zindgi
Meaning
Life.
How Iqbal uses it
Ceaseless motion, burning and self-creation — stillness is death. Life is made by deeds; “beyond every stage is another stage; life is nothing but the relish of the journey.” What blood in the veins is worth, he says, is only the burning of the heart it carries.
See it in the verse
Hayat / Zindagi in Iqbal’s couplets
Khudi kya hai raaz-e-darun-e-hayat
Khudi kya hai bedaari-e-kaayenat
Khudi kya hai bedaari-e-kaayenat
What is selfhood? The secret hidden inside life. What is selfhood? The waking-up of the whole universe.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge · Awakening
Zindagi insaan ki ik dam ke siva kuch bhi nahin
Dam hawa ki mauj hai ram ke siva kuch bhi nahin
Dam hawa ki mauj hai ram ke siva kuch bhi nahin
A human life is nothing more than a single breath — and that breath is a wave of air, nothing but a fleeting movement.
Humility · Awakening · Action
Amal se zindagi banti hai jannat bhi jahannum bhi
Ye khaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na naari hai
Ye khaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na naari hai
By our deeds we make life a heaven or a hell. This creature of dust is, by nature, neither angel of light nor demon of fire.
Action · Courage
Har ek maqam se aage maqam hai tera
Hayat zauq-e-safar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
Hayat zauq-e-safar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
Beyond every station lies a station that is yours; life is nothing but the joy of the journey.
Restlessness · Aspiration · Action