Meaning
Soul-hunting; that which preys upon and captures the life or heart.
Literally: life-hunting
See it in the verse
Jaan-shikar in Iqbal’s couplets
Ae jaan-e-padar nahin hai mumkin
Shaheen se tadaro ki ghulami
Shaheen se tadaro ki ghulami
O life of your father, it cannot be — the falcon will never serve the partridge.
The Falcon · Freedom · Selfhood
Gesu-e-tabdar ko aur bhi tabdar kar
Hosh-o-khirad shikar kar qalb-o-nazar shikar kar
Hosh-o-khirad shikar kar qalb-o-nazar shikar kar
Make the radiant tresses more radiant still — capture sense and reason, hunt down the heart and the eye.
Love · Aspiration · Restlessness
Nigah buland, sukhan dilnawaz, jaan pur-soz
Yahi hai rakht-e-safar mir-e-karvan ke liye
Yahi hai rakht-e-safar mir-e-karvan ke liye
A lofty gaze, speech that wins the heart, a soul that burns with feeling — this alone is the travelling kit a caravan's leader needs.
Leadership · Aspiration
Nigah-e-ishq dil-e-zinda ki talash mein hai
Shikar-e-murda sazawar-e-shahbaz nahin
Shikar-e-murda sazawar-e-shahbaz nahin
The gaze of love is searching for a living heart — dead quarry is not worthy of the royal falcon.
Love · The Falcon · Awakening