Meaning
The wild tulip of the desert or wilderness.
Literally: tulip of the wild
How Iqbal uses it
The wild tulip that blooms unsown in the desert, with no gardener to tend it, is one of Iqbal's most beloved emblems of self-grown beauty and self-reliant existence; it stands for the soul that flowers by its own inner fire, asking nothing from the cultivated garden.
See it in the verse
Lala-e-Sahra in Iqbal’s couplets
Jis se jigar-e-lala mein thandak ho wo shabnam
Dariyaon ke dil jis se dahal jayen wo toofan
Dariyaon ke dil jis se dahal jayen wo toofan
To be the dew that cools the heart of the tulip — and the storm that makes the hearts of rivers tremble.
Courage · Leadership · Love
Zameer-e-laala mein roshan charagh-e-aarzu kar de
Chaman ke zarre zarre ko shaheed-e-justuju kar de
Chaman ke zarre zarre ko shaheed-e-justuju kar de
Light the lamp of longing in the heart of the tulip — and make every grain of the garden a martyr to the search.
Aspiration · Hope · Restlessness
Main shakh-e-tak hun meri ghazal hai mera samar
Mere samar se mai-e-lala-fam paida kar
Mere samar se mai-e-lala-fam paida kar
I am a branch of the vine, my song is my fruit; from that fruit press out the tulip-red wine.
Action · Aspiration · Youth
Sama sakta nahin pahna-e-fitrat mein mera sauda
Ghalat tha ai junun shayad tera andaza-e-sahra
Ghalat tha ai junun shayad tera andaza-e-sahra
My passion cannot be contained even in the vastness of nature; O madness, perhaps your measure of the desert was wrong.
Restlessness · Aspiration · Selfhood