Persian · proper noun · Poetry, Speech & Art

Jibril-o-Iblis

जिब्रील-ओ-इबलीस

said jib-REEL-o-ib-LEES

also written: jibril o iblis, gabriel and satan, jibreel o iblees

Meaning

Iqbal's dialogue-poem in which Gabriel and Satan debate; Iblis prizes his role as the goad of free struggle and risk over Gabriel's serene obedience — a meditation on will, freedom and the modern self.

See it in the verse

Jibril-o-Iblis in Iqbal’s couplets

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

Related words

ARABIC

Iblis

The fallen angel who refused to bow to Adam and became the tempter; in Iqbal a complex emblem of pride, defiance and the testing of the self.

ARABIC

Jibril

The angel Gabriel; title-figure of Iqbal's 'Bal-e-Jibril' (Gabriel's Wing). In 'Jibril-o-Iblis' the obedient angel and the defiant Satan debate the worth of free, risk-taking struggle.

PERSIAN

Khudi

Selfhood; the self, the ego — in the philosophical, not the vain, sense.

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