Urdu Dictionary
Arabic · phrase · Character & Virtue

Khauf-o-raja

ख़ौफ़-ओ-रजा
said khauf-o-ra-JAA
also written: khauf o raja, khauf-o-raja, khawf wa raja, fear and hope
Meaning

Fear and hope together; the believer's balanced posture of dread of God's justice and hope in His mercy.

Literally: Arabic: fear (khauf) and hope (raja).

How Iqbal uses it

The balanced pair of fear of God's justice and hope in His mercy — the two wings on which the believer's heart should fly, neither despairing nor presumptuous. This classical devotional equilibrium shapes the inner temper of faith. Iqbal works within it while always turning the believer's gaze toward an energetic, hopeful relationship with God that fuels striving rather than paralysing dread.

See it in the verse

Khauf-o-raja in Iqbal’s couplets

Hazar khauf ho lekin zaban ho dil ki rafiq
Yahi raha hai azal se qalandaron ka tariq
Let there be a thousand fears, yet let the tongue stay true to the heart; this has been the way of free spirits since the beginning of time.
Courage · Selfhood · Self-Knowledge
Related words
ARABIC

Khauf

Fear; dread, apprehension.

ARABIC

Taqwa

God-consciousness; the reverent awareness of God that guards the soul from wrongdoing.

ARABIC

Tawakkul

Complete trust in and reliance upon God; the surrender of all outcomes to the divine will.

ARABIC

Rahmat

The mercy and compassion of God towards His creation.

ARABIC

Iman

Faith; the heart's assent to and trust in God, His prophets, and the unseen.

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