Persian · phrase · Love & Longing
Junoon-e-ishq
जुनून-ए-इश्क़
said ju-NOON-e-ISHQ
also written: Junun-e-ishq, junun-e-ishq, junoon-e-eshq
Meaning
The madness of love; love's frenzy that overturns reason.
Literally: the madness of love
How Iqbal uses it
Junoon-e-ishq is the madness of love — the divine derangement in which the lover, like Majnun, abandons reason, home, and reputation for the beloved. The ghazal honors this madness as a higher sanity: the wise are merely cautious, but the mad lover sees and dares what they cannot. Iqbal embraces junoon as a creative, world-shaking force — the holy frenzy that breaks the chains of timid convention and drives the self toward the impossible.
See it in the verse
Junoon-e-ishq 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
Dayar-e-ishq mein apna maqam paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
In the realm of love, create your own standing — bring a new age into being, new mornings and new evenings of your own.
Aspiration · Action · Love
Tere ishq ki intiha chahta hun
Meri sadgi dekh kya chahta hun
Meri sadgi dekh kya chahta hun
I long for the very limit of Your love — look at my simplicity, see what I dare to ask.
Love · Aspiration · Restlessness
Ishq dam-e-Jibreel ishq dam-e-Mustafa
Ishq Khuda ka Rasool ishq Khuda ka kalaam
Ishq Khuda ka Rasool ishq Khuda ka kalaam
Love is the breath of Gabriel, love the breath of the Prophet; love is the messenger of God, love is the Word of God.
Love · Aspiration
Mard-e-Khuda ka amal ishq se sahib-e-firogh
Ishq hai asl-e-hayat maut hai is par haraam
Ishq hai asl-e-hayat maut hai is par haraam
The deeds of the man of God shine with love; love is the essence of life, and death is forbidden to touch it.
Love · Aspiration · Action
Tere ishq ki inteha chahta hoon
Meri sadgi dekh, kya chahta hoon
Meri sadgi dekh, kya chahta hoon
I long for the very furthest reach of your love — look at my simplicity, look at what I dare to ask for.
Love · Aspiration