Meaning
Veil, screen; that which conceals the Divine from the seeker.
How Iqbal uses it
Hijaab is the veil that hides the Beloved, often, in Sufi thought, the self itself standing between lover and God. Iqbal turns this on its head: the rightly fortified self is no veil but the very eye through which the Divine is seen.
See it in the verse
Hijaab in Iqbal’s couplets
Ishq bhi ho hijab mein husn bhi ho hijab mein
Ya to khud aashkar ho ya mujhe aashkar kar
Ya to khud aashkar ho ya mujhe aashkar kar
Love is veiled and beauty too is veiled; either reveal yourself, or make me one who can be revealed.
Love · Self-Knowledge · Restlessness
Aflaak se aata hai naalon ka javaab aakhir
Karte hain khitaab aakhir uThte hain hijaab aakhir
Karte hain khitaab aakhir uThte hain hijaab aakhir
At last the skies answer the cries that rise to them; at last the veils lift and the silence breaks into speech.
Hope · Action · Aspiration