Meaning
The wave of breath; the rise and fall of the breath.
Literally: wave of breath
See it in the verse
Mauj-e-Nafas in Iqbal’s couplets
Zindagi insaan ki ik dam ke siva kuch bhi nahin
Dam hawa ki mauj hai ram ke siva kuch bhi nahin
Dam hawa ki mauj hai ram ke siva kuch bhi nahin
A human life is nothing more than a single breath — and that breath is a wave of air, nothing but a fleeting movement.
Humility · Awakening · Action
Jina wo kya jo ho nafas-e-ghair par madar
Shohrat ki zindagi ka bharosa bhi chhod de
Shohrat ki zindagi ka bharosa bhi chhod de
What kind of living is it that hangs on another's breath? Give up even your reliance on a life of fame.
Selfhood · Freedom · Self-Knowledge
Nigah paida kar ai ghafil tajalli ain-e-fitrat hai
Ki apni mauj se begana rah sakta nahin dariya
Ki apni mauj se begana rah sakta nahin dariya
Cultivate vision, O heedless one, for radiance is the very nature of things; a river cannot stay a stranger to its own wave.
Awakening · Self-Knowledge · Selfhood