Meaning
Intimate confidences and supplications exchanged between lovers or with the divine.
Literally: secrets and entreaties
See it in the verse
Raaz-o-Niyaaz in Iqbal’s couplets
Bhari bazm mein raaz ki baat keh di
Bada be-adab hun saza chahta hun
Bada be-adab hun saza chahta hun
In the crowded gathering I blurted out the secret — I am terribly insolent; I ask for my punishment.
Courage · Love
Kabhi ae haqeeqat-e-muntazar nazar aa libas-e-majaz mein
Ki hazaron sajde tadap rahe hain teri jabeen-e-niyaz mein
Ki hazaron sajde tadap rahe hain teri jabeen-e-niyaz mein
O long-awaited Truth, show Yourself once in the garb of the visible — for a thousand prostrations quiver in this humble, waiting brow.
Love · Aspiration · Restlessness
Is raaz ko ik mard-e-firangi ne kiya faash
Harchand ki dana ise khola nahin karte
Harchand ki dana ise khola nahin karte
A man of the West let this secret out — though the wise usually do not disclose it.
Justice · Awakening
Khudi kya hai raaz-e-daroon-e-hayat
Khudi kya hai baidari-e-kainat
Khudi kya hai baidari-e-kainat
What is the self? The secret hidden within life. What is the self? The awakening of the universe.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge · Awakening
Raaz-e-hasti ko tu samajhti hai
Aur aankhon se dekhta hun main
Aur aankhon se dekhta hun main
You, Reason, comprehend the secret of existence; but I, the Heart, see it with my own eyes.
Self-Knowledge · Love · Awakening
Zindagi ka raaz kya hai saltanat kya cheez hai
Aur ye sarmaya-o-mehnat mein hai kaisa kharosh
Aur ye sarmaya-o-mehnat mein hai kaisa kharosh
What is the secret of life? What is this thing called the State? And what is this clamour between capital and labour?
Justice · Awakening