Persian · noun · Nature & the Garden
Qatra-e-Shabnam
क़तरा-ए-शबनम
said qat-ra-e-shab-NAM
Meaning
A dewdrop.
How Iqbal uses it
The single dewdrop, perfect and fleeting, that holds the whole sky in its tiny round before the sun draws it up, is one of Iqbal's loved figures for the individual self mirroring the infinite and then merging back into the greater light.
See it in the verse
Qatra-e-Shabnam in Iqbal’s couplets
Jis se jigar-e-laala mein thandak ho wo shabnam
Daryaon ke dil jis se dahel jaayein wo toofan
Daryaon ke dil jis se dahel jaayein wo toofan
To the tulip's heart he is the dew that cools it; to mighty rivers he is the storm that makes their hearts tremble.
Courage · Justice · Selfhood
Wo behar hai aadmi ke jis ka
Har qatra hai behar-e-baikrana
Har qatra hai behar-e-baikrana
Man is an ocean whose every drop is itself a boundless sea.
Self-Knowledge · Selfhood · Aspiration
Jis se jigar-e-lala mein thandak ho wo shabnam
Dariyaon ke dil jis se dahal jayen wo toofan
Dariyaon ke dil jis se dahal jayen wo toofan
To be the dew that cools the heart of the tulip — and the storm that makes the hearts of rivers tremble.
Courage · Leadership · Love
Samundar se mile pyaase ko shabnam
Bakhili hai ye razzaqi nahin hai
Bakhili hai ye razzaqi nahin hai
To give a thirsty soul a single drop of dew from a whole ocean — that is stinginess, not generosity.
Justice · Humility