Persian · noun · Nation, Faith & Society
Rahrav / Rahi
रहरव / राही
said rah-RAV / RAA-hee
also written: rahi, rah-rau, rahrau
Meaning
Wayfarer, traveller, one on the road.
How Iqbal uses it
The soul as a perpetual traveller. He calls to the wayfarer to pause — “a hard stage may lie ahead” — and asks nature itself whether the traveller has truly reached the goal or merely lost the way. The road, not the inn, is home.
See it in the verse
Rahrav / Rahi in Iqbal’s couplets
Manzil-e-rahrawan door bhi hai dushwar bhi hai
Koi is qaafle mein qaafla-saalaar bhi hai
Koi is qaafle mein qaafla-saalaar bhi hai
The travellers' destination is both far away and hard to reach — yet somewhere in this caravan there is also a leader of the caravan.
Leadership · Hope · Aspiration
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
Puchh us se ki maqbul hai fitrat ki gawahi
Tu sahib-e-manzil hai ki bhatka hua rahi
Tu sahib-e-manzil hai ki bhatka hua rahi
Ask nature, for its testimony is accepted: are you the master of your destination, or a traveller who has lost his way?
Self-Knowledge · Aspiration · Awakening