Urdu Dictionary
Arabic · noun · Character & Virtue

Qanaat

क़नाअत
said qa-naa-AT
also written: qanaat, qana'at, qanat
Meaning

Contentment with little; the satisfaction that frees the heart from greed and want.

Literally: contentment, being satisfied with one's portion

How Iqbal uses it

Qanaat is the inner sufficiency that frees a person from grasping after more than they need. Iqbal values it as the contentment that underwrites self-respect and faqr — the man who needs little cannot be bought — yet he sharply rejects any contentment that becomes complacency about one's condition or surrender of ambition. Contentment of want, not of will: he wants the self satisfied in means but never satisfied in striving.

See it in the verse

Qanaat in Iqbal’s couplets

Qanaat na kar aalam-e-rang-o-bu par
Chaman aur bhi, aashiyan aur bhi hain
Do not be content with this world of colour and scent — there are other gardens, and other nests, too.
Aspiration · Restlessness
Related words
ARABIC

Istighna

Contented independence and freedom from need, the heart's dignified self-sufficiency.

ARABIC

Sabr

Patient endurance; steadfast forbearance in hardship as a spiritual virtue.

ARABIC

Faqr

Spiritual poverty; the dervish's chosen detachment from wealth and power.

PERSIAN

Be-niyaazi

Indifference and freedom from need, the proud heart's serene aloofness from want or supplication.

ARABIC

Shukr

Gratitude; thankfulness to God for His blessings, counted among the stations of the path.

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