Persian · noun · Time, Fate & the Cosmos
Jahan / Aalam
जहाँ / आलम
said ja-HAAN / AA-lam
also written: aalam, jahaan
Meaning
World, realm, cosmos.
How Iqbal uses it
Always one of many, and yours to make. “Beyond the stars there are worlds yet”; and the world that counts is “the one you bring into being — not this stone and brick before your eyes.” You exist for the world, he says, not the world for you.
See it in the verse
Jahan / Aalam in Iqbal’s couplets
Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Beyond the stars there are worlds yet — there are still more trials of love to come.
Aspiration · Love · Restlessness
Wahi jahan hai tera jis ko tu kare paida
Ye sang-o-khisht nahin jo teri nigah mein hai
Ye sang-o-khisht nahin jo teri nigah mein hai
Yours alone is the world you yourself create; not this one of stone and brick that lies before your eyes.
Selfhood · Action · Aspiration
Agar kaj-rau hain anjum aasman tera hai ya mera
Mujhe fikr-e-jahan kyun ho jahan tera hai ya mera
Mujhe fikr-e-jahan kyun ho jahan tera hai ya mera
If the stars run crooked, is the sky yours or mine? Why should I fret over the world, when the world is yours and not my charge.
Selfhood · Freedom · Courage
Na tu zameen ke liye hai na aasman ke liye
Jahan hai tere liye tu nahin jahan ke liye
Jahan hai tere liye tu nahin jahan ke liye
You are not made for the earth, nor for the sky — the world is made for you, you are not made for the world.
Selfhood · Aspiration · Freedom