Arabic · noun · Mind & Knowledge

Ilm-e-Huzuri

इल्म-ए-हुज़ूरी

said ILM-e-hu-ZOO-ree

also written: ilm-e-huzoori

Meaning

'Knowledge by presence' — immediate, intuitive knowing in which the knower and the known are directly present, as opposed to mediated conceptual knowledge.

Literally: presential knowledge

How Iqbal uses it

Iqbal grounds mystic intuition in knowledge-by-presence, the heart's direct grasp of reality that complements the indirect knowledge of reason.

See it in the verse

Ilm-e-Huzuri in Iqbal’s couplets

Zindagi ho meri parwane ki surat ya-rab
Ilm ki shama se ho mujh ko mohabbat ya-rab

Let my life be like the moth's, O Lord; let me love the lamp of knowledge.

Love · Aspiration · Youth

Ye ilm ye hikmat ye tadabbur ye hukoomat
Peete hain lahoo dete hain taleem-e-masawat

This science, this philosophy, this statecraft, this government — they drink men's blood and preach the lesson of equality.

Justice · Awakening

Na ho naumeed, naumeedi zawal-e-ilm-o-irfan hai
Umeed-e-mard-e-momin hai Khuda ke razdanon mein

Do not despair — despair is the downfall of knowledge and insight. The hope of a person of conviction stands among those who know the deepest secrets.

Hope · Youth · Courage

Khudi ho ilm se mohkam to ghairat-e-Jibril
Agar ho ishq se mohkam to soor-e-Israfil

A selfhood made firm by knowledge can rival the angel of revelation; a selfhood made firm by love can rival the trumpet that wakes the world.

Selfhood · Love · Action

Ilm mein bhi suroor hai lekin
Ye wo jannat hai jis mein hoor nahin

There is a certain delight in knowledge too — but it is a paradise without companions.

Self-Knowledge · Love · Humility

Be-huzuri hai teri maut ka raaz
Zinda ho tu to be-huzur nahin

Absence from the present is the secret of your death; if you are truly alive, you are never absent.

Awakening · Self-Knowledge

Related words

ARABIC

Ilm-e-Husuli

'Acquired knowledge' — mediated, conceptual knowing through forms and ideas, contrasted with knowledge by presence.

ARABIC

Irfaan

Gnosis, mystical knowledge of the divine.

ARABIC

Mushahada

Direct spiritual witnessing or contemplative vision of the Divine reality.

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