Meaning
Subjects of a state; the common people governed by a ruler.
Literally: subjects; the common people; the governed
Usage & notes
Raiyyat is the body of subjects, the common people under a ruler. Iqbal turns a sympathetic and rousing eye on the raiyyat, urging the governed to throw off servility and recover the dignity that tyranny denies them. The worth of a state, in his thought, is told by how it treats its people, not by the splendour of its court.