Meaning
The footprint pointing to the destination; a trace left on the path that guides the follower.
Literally: footprint of the destination
How Iqbal uses it
The seeker reads the naqsh-e-pa left by those who walked before, each print a faint assurance that the road has an end.
See it in the verse
Naqsh-e-Pa-e-Manzil in Iqbal’s couplets
Dhundta phirta hun ae Iqbal apne aap ko
Aap hi goya musafir aap hi manzil hun main
Aap hi goya musafir aap hi manzil hun main
I wander about searching for myself, O Iqbal — I am, it seems, at once the traveller and the destination.
Self-Knowledge · Selfhood
Hai magar is naqsh mein rang-e-sabaat-e-dawam
Jis ko kiya ho kisi mard-e-Khuda ne tamam
Jis ko kiya ho kisi mard-e-Khuda ne tamam
Only that work bears the colour of lasting permanence which a man of God has brought to completion.
Aspiration · Selfhood · Action
Aa ghairiyat ke parde ik baar phir utha den
Bichdon ko phir mila den naqsh-e-dui mita den
Bichdon ko phir mila den naqsh-e-dui mita den
Come, let us lift the veils of estrangement once more; reunite the separated, and erase the mark of duality.
Unity · Love · Hope
Aaeen-e-naw se darna, tarz-e-kuhan pe arna
Manzil yahi kathin hai qaumon ki zindagi mein
Manzil yahi kathin hai qaumon ki zindagi mein
To fear the new order, and to dig in stubbornly on the old way — this is the hardest pass in the life of a people.
Awakening · Courage
Uqabi rooh jab bedar hoti hai jawanon mein
Nazar aati hai un ko apni manzil aasmanon mein
Nazar aati hai un ko apni manzil aasmanon mein
When the eagle's spirit awakens in the young, they begin to see their destination up among the skies.
Youth · The Falcon · Awakening
Silsila-e-roz-o-shab, naqsh-gar-e-haadsat
Silsila-e-roz-o-shab, asl-e-hayat-o-mamat
Silsila-e-roz-o-shab, asl-e-hayat-o-mamat
The chain of day and night is the sculptor of all events; the chain of day and night is the root of life and of death.
Action · Self-Knowledge