Meaning
A message, a tiding; the love-message carried to the beloved.
How Iqbal uses it
Iqbal titled a collection Payam-e-Mashriq, the Message of the East, a reply to Goethe's West.
See it in the verse
Payaam in Iqbal’s couplets
Mujhe aah-o-fughan-e-nim-shab ka phir payam aaya
Tham ai rah-rau ki shayad phir koi mushkil maqam aaya
Tham ai rah-rau ki shayad phir koi mushkil maqam aaya
The cry of the midnight again brought me its message: pause, traveller, for perhaps another hard pass has arrived.
Adversity · Courage · Awakening
Ye payam de gai hai mujhe baad-e-subh-gahi
Ki khudi ke aarifon ka hai maqam padshahi
Ki khudi ke aarifon ka hai maqam padshahi
The morning breeze brought me this message: the station of those who truly know selfhood is sovereignty.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge · Leadership