Persian · noun · Love & Longing
Naqsh-o-Nigaar-e-Husn
नक़्श
said naqsh-e-rukh
also written: Naqsh-e-rukh
Meaning
The lineaments of the face; the design traced on the countenance.
Literally: the imprint of the face
How Iqbal uses it
The face read as a wrought design, a naqsh, lets Iqbal fold the beloved's features into his larger meditation on form, the maker, and the picture of the world.
See it in the verse
Naqsh-o-Nigaar-e-Husn in Iqbal’s couplets
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
Ishq bhi ho hijab mein husn bhi ho hijab mein
Ya to khud aashkar ho ya mujhe aashkar kar
Ya to khud aashkar ho ya mujhe aashkar kar
Love is veiled and beauty too is veiled; either reveal yourself, or make me one who can be revealed.
Love · Self-Knowledge · Restlessness
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
Miri mashshatgi ki kya zarurat husn-e-mani ko
Ki fitrat khud-ba-khud karti hai laale ki hina-bandi
Ki fitrat khud-ba-khud karti hai laale ki hina-bandi
What need has true beauty of meaning for my adorning hand? Nature, all on its own, paints the tulip red.
Self-Knowledge · Humility · Action