Meaning
An image-maker, painter, or engraver; figuratively the creator.
Literally: design-maker
How Iqbal uses it
The naqsh-gar who etches designs was for Iqbal a mirror of the creative will, ultimately the Divine Maker. He used the image-maker to figure the self that must shape, not merely receive, the world.
See it in the verse
Naqsh-gar in Iqbal’s couplets
Yaqeen afrad ka sarmaya-e-tameer-e-millat hai
Yahi quvvat hai jo surat-gar-e-taqdeer-e-millat hai
Yahi quvvat hai jo surat-gar-e-taqdeer-e-millat hai
The conviction of individuals is the capital that builds a community — this is the very force that sculpts a people's destiny.
Unity · Selfhood · Leadership
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
Sultani-e-jamhur ka aata hai zamana
Jo naqsh-e-kuhan tum ko nazar aae miTa do
Jo naqsh-e-kuhan tum ko nazar aae miTa do
The age of the people's rule is arriving; whatever old patterns you still see, wipe them away.
Freedom · Awakening · Justice