Persian · phrase · Love & Longing
Nigaah-e-naaz
निगाह-ए-नाज़
also written: Nigah-e-naz, Nigah-e-naaz
Meaning
The proud, coquettish glance of the beloved.
Literally: the glance of coquetry
How Iqbal uses it
The single look loaded with pride and allure that can lift the lover to heaven or cast him down; for Iqbal even one such divine glance creates worlds.
See it in the verse
Nigaah-e-naaz in Iqbal’s couplets
Tu bacha bacha ke na rakh ise tera aaina hai wo aaina
Ki shikasta ho to azeez-tar hai nigah-e-aaina-saaz mein
Ki shikasta ho to azeez-tar hai nigah-e-aaina-saaz mein
Do not hoard and shield your heart — it is the kind of mirror that, once broken, grows dearer in the eyes of the Mirror-maker.
Love · Courage · Adversity
Nigah buland, sukhan dilnawaz, jaan pur-soz
Yahi hai rakht-e-safar mir-e-karvan ke liye
Yahi hai rakht-e-safar mir-e-karvan ke liye
A lofty gaze, speech that wins the heart, a soul that burns with feeling — this alone is the travelling kit a caravan's leader needs.
Leadership · Aspiration
Aql-o-dil-o-nigah ka murshid-e-awwaleen hai ishq
Ishq na ho to shar-o-deen butkada-e-tasavvurat
Ishq na ho to shar-o-deen butkada-e-tasavvurat
Love is the first teacher of intellect, heart and sight. Without love, even law and faith become only a temple of empty ideas.
Love · Self-Knowledge
Nigah-e-ishq dil-e-zinda ki talash mein hai
Shikar-e-murda sazawar-e-shahbaz nahin
Shikar-e-murda sazawar-e-shahbaz nahin
The gaze of love is searching for a living heart — dead quarry is not worthy of the royal falcon.
Love · The Falcon · Awakening
Khudi ki shokhi-o-tundi mein kibr-o-naaz nahin
Jo naaz ho bhi to be-lazzat-e-niyaz nahin
Jo naaz ho bhi to be-lazzat-e-niyaz nahin
There is no arrogance or vanity in the spirited fierceness of selfhood — and any pride it does carry is never without the sweetness of humility.
Selfhood · Humility
Tu bacha bacha ke na rakh ise tera aaina hai wo aaina
ke shikasta ho to aziz-tar hai nigah-e-aaina-saaz mein
ke shikasta ho to aziz-tar hai nigah-e-aaina-saaz mein
Do not keep your mirror anxiously protected — yours is the kind of mirror that, even when shattered, is dearer in the eyes of its maker.
Courage · Selfhood · Adversity