Meaning
God; the Lord (rab is the Arabic equivalent).
How Iqbal uses it
The God of Iqbal is intimate and dynamic — He asks the realised self what it wishes, and His creative “Be!” is still sounding. Iqbal addresses Him familiarly, even arguing with Him about the hard lot of the worker and the poor.
See it in the verse
Khuda in Iqbal’s couplets
Khudi ko kar buland itna ki har taqdeer se pehle
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Raise your selfhood so high that, before issuing every decree of destiny, God Himself asks you: tell me, what is your wish?
Selfhood · Courage
Dil-e-bina bhi kar khuda se talab
Aankh ka nuur dil ka nuur nahin
Aankh ka nuur dil ka nuur nahin
Ask also for a seeing heart; the light of the eye is not the light of the heart.
Self-Knowledge · Awakening
Tu qadir o adil hai magar tere jahan mein
Hain talkh bahut banda-e-mazdoor ke auqaat
Hain talkh bahut banda-e-mazdoor ke auqaat
You are all-powerful and just, yet in this world of yours the hours of the labouring worker are very bitter.
Justice
Patthar ki mooraton mein samjha hai tu Khuda hai
Khaak-e-watan ka mujh ko har zarra devta hai
Khaak-e-watan ka mujh ko har zarra devta hai
You have imagined that God dwells within stone idols — for me, every single speck of my homeland's dust is itself a deity.
Unity · Love