Persian · noun · The Heart & the Body
Naala
नाला
said NAA-la
also written: Nala, nala, naalah, nala-o-faryaad, naalon
Meaning
A lament, wail, or plaintive cry.
Literally: wailing, lament, plaintive cry
How Iqbal uses it
Naala is the plaintive wail — the drawn-out cry of the lover's grief, often paired with the nightingale's lament for the rose. Louder and more musical than the sigh, it is sorrow that sings. The ghazal links the lover's naala to the bulbul's, both pouring out a beautiful pain; Iqbal too prizes the lament of the longing heart, the cry that is itself a kind of music and a sign of life unwilling to fall silent.
See it in the verse
Naala in Iqbal’s couplets
Asar kare na kare, sun to le miri faryad
Nahin hai daad ka talib ye banda-e-azad
Nahin hai daad ka talib ye banda-e-azad
Whether it has an effect or not — at least hear my plea. This free soul is not asking for any applause.
Freedom · Courage · Selfhood
Aflaak se aata hai naalon ka javaab aakhir
Karte hain khitaab aakhir uThte hain hijaab aakhir
Karte hain khitaab aakhir uThte hain hijaab aakhir
At last the skies answer the cries that rise to them; at last the veils lift and the silence breaks into speech.
Hope · Action · Aspiration
Related words
PERSIAN
Aah
A sigh; a groan of pain or longing.
PERSIAN
Faryaad
A cry for help; a complaint or appeal.
PERSIAN
Fughaan
A loud lament, wailing, or outcry.
PERSIAN
Bulbul
The nightingale, the songbird that pours out its longing for the rose in the classical garden lyric.
PERSIAN
Soz
Burning; inner fire, fervour, pathos.