Meaning
The life-bestowing lip; the lip whose word or breath gives life.
Literally: life-giving lip
How Iqbal uses it
The beloved's life-giving lip recalls the Messianic breath that revives the dead; Iqbal links this reviving power to the creative Word and the breath of the perfect Self.
See it in the verse
Lab-e-Jaanbakhsh in Iqbal’s couplets
Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
My longing rises to my lips as a prayer: O God, may my life be like a candle's flame.
Hope · Aspiration
Be-khatar kud pada aatish-e-Nimrood mein ishq
Aql hai mahv-e-tamasha-e-lab-e-baam abhi
Aql hai mahv-e-tamasha-e-lab-e-baam abhi
Love leapt fearlessly into the fire — while reason still stood on the rooftop's edge, lost in watching the spectacle.
Courage · Love · Action
Aankh jo kuchh dekhti hai lab pe aa sakta nahin
Mahv-e-hairat hoon ki duniya kya se kya ho jaegi
Mahv-e-hairat hoon ki duniya kya se kya ho jaegi
What the eye sees cannot be brought to the lips; I am lost in wonder at what this world is about to become.
Awakening · Aspiration