Meaning
Wine; in Sufi poetry, a symbol for the intoxicating love and ecstatic knowledge of the Divine.
Literally: wine
How Iqbal uses it
For Iqbal wine is rarely literal; it stands for the spirit-quickening draught of divine love and self-awakening. He often asks for a 'mai' that does not dull but ignites the self into action.
See it in the verse
Mai in Iqbal’s couplets
Kya dabdaba-e-nadir kya shaukat-e-taimuri
Ho jaate hain sab daftar gharq-e-mai-e-naab aakhir
Ho jaate hain sab daftar gharq-e-mai-e-naab aakhir
What of Nadir's dread power, what of Timur's splendour? In the end every such record is drowned in the pure wine of time.
Humility · Self-Knowledge · Adversity
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
Related words
ARABIC
Sharaab
Wine or any intoxicating drink; in the mystical idiom, the rapture of divine love.
PERSIAN
Baadah
Wine; the classic Persian-poetic term for the intoxicant of divine love.
ARABIC
Saaqi
The cup-bearer who pours the wine; in Sufi verse, the beloved, the spiritual guide, or God as the giver of the wine of love.
PERSIAN
Jaam
A wine-cup or goblet; the vessel that holds the wine of divine love.