Meaning
Light, especially radiant or sacred light.
Literally: Arabic nur: pure, luminous light.
How Iqbal uses it
Light, and pre-eminently the Divine Light by which God is named in the Quran ("God is the Light of the heavens and the earth"). In Sufi metaphysics noor is the medium of all manifestation and guidance. Iqbal uses it both for the radiance of revelation and prophetic guidance and for the inner illumination that strengthens, rather than dissolves, the seeking self.
See it in the verse
Noor in Iqbal’s couplets
Guzar ja aql se aage ki ye noor
Charagh-e-raah hai, manzil nahin hai
Charagh-e-raah hai, manzil nahin hai
Move on past the intellect — for this light is a lamp for the road, not the destination itself.
Self-Knowledge · Aspiration · Love
Dil-e-bina bhi kar khuda se talab
Aankh ka nuur dil ka nuur nahin
Aankh ka nuur dil ka nuur nahin
Ask also for a seeing heart; the light of the eye is not the light of the heart.
Self-Knowledge · Awakening
Qalb o nazar ki zindagi dasht mein subh ka samaan
Chashma-e-aftab se nuur ki naddiyan ravaan
Chashma-e-aftab se nuur ki naddiyan ravaan
The life of the heart and the eye is like daybreak in the desert; from the spring of the sun, rivers of light flow out.
Awakening · Hope · Self-Knowledge
Related words
ARABIC
Ziya
Light, radiance, brilliant shining.
PERSIAN
Roshni
Light, brightness, illumination.
ARABIC
Tajalli
Divine self-manifestation; a radiant disclosure or theophany.
PERSIAN
Deedar
The sight or vision of the beloved's face; the blessing of beholding the loved one.
ARABIC
Zulmat
Darkness, gloom; figuratively ignorance and spiritual blindness.