Persian · noun · Struggle & the Sword

Lashkar

लश्कर

said LASH-kar

Meaning

An army or armed host; a military camp.

Literally: army; military host

How Iqbal uses it

Lashkar is a military host or army. Iqbal sometimes summons the image of the marshalled host to figure a people gathered and resolved for a sacred struggle. As with all his martial imagery, the host is honourable only when its banner is justice and truth.

See it in the verse

Lashkar in Iqbal’s couplets

Na takht-o-taj mein ne lashkar-o-sipah mein hai
Jo baat mard-e-qalandar ki bargah mein hai

Not in throne and crown, nor in armies and soldiers, lies the power that belongs to the court of the free-spirited man.

Freedom · Selfhood · Leadership

Related words

ARABIC

Fauj

An army or a body of troops.

PERSIAN

Sipah

An army; a host of soldiers.

ARABIC

Ghazi

A warrior for the faith; a victorious champion in holy war.

ARABIC

Jihad

Struggle or striving, especially in the way of God; effort against evil, within or without.

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