Meaning
A confidant of secrets; one trusted with the hidden mysteries of love or faith.
Literally: intimate of secrets
How Iqbal uses it
Only a mahram-e-asraar may be told the heart's true state, and the poet laments how few are fit to hold such a trust.
See it in the verse
Mahram-e-Asraar in Iqbal’s couplets
Jab ishq sikhata hai aadab-e-khud-aagahi
Khulte hain ghulamon par asrar-e-shahanshahi
Khulte hain ghulamon par asrar-e-shahanshahi
When love teaches the discipline of self-awareness, the secrets of sovereignty open up even to slaves.
Freedom · Self-Knowledge · Awakening
Tha zabt bahut mushkil is sail-e-maani ka
Kah Daale qalandar ne asrar-e-kitab aakhir
Kah Daale qalandar ne asrar-e-kitab aakhir
It was very hard to hold back this flood of meaning; at last the wandering sage spoke out the secrets of the book.
Courage · Self-Knowledge · Awakening
Faqir-e-rah ko bakhshe gae asrar-e-sultani
Baha meri nava ki daulat-e-parvez hai saqi
Baha meri nava ki daulat-e-parvez hai saqi
To the wayfaring beggar were granted the secrets of kingship; the price of my song is the whole treasure of Parvez.
Self-Knowledge · Humility · Selfhood