Meaning
To be erased, effaced, or wiped out.
How Iqbal uses it
Iqbal contrasts the empires that mit gae, were wiped from the world, with a people whose being mitti nahin, is never effaced; the verb carries his whole meditation on what survives time.
See it in the verse
Mit-na in Iqbal’s couplets
Na samjhoge to mit jaoge ai Hindostan walon
Tumhari dastan tak bhi na hogi dastanon mein
Tumhari dastan tak bhi na hogi dastanon mein
If you will not understand, you will be erased, O people of Hindustan — not even your story will remain among the stories.
Awakening · Courage
Nahin hai naumeed Iqbal apni kisht-e-veeran se
Zara nam ho to ye mitti badi zarkhez hai saqi
Zara nam ho to ye mitti badi zarkhez hai saqi
Iqbal is not without hope, even from his barren field — let there be a little moisture, cupbearer, and this soil is wonderfully fertile.
Hope · Aspiration
Yunan-o-Misr-o-Roma sab mit gaye jahan se
Ab tak magar hai baqi naam-o-nishan hamara
Ab tak magar hai baqi naam-o-nishan hamara
Greece, Egypt and Rome have all been erased from the world — yet our name and our mark still remain.
Hope · Unity
Kuch baat hai ki hasti mitti nahin hamari
Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara
Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara
There is something about us that refuses to be erased — for centuries the turning of the age itself has been our enemy.
Hope · Adversity · Self-Knowledge
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