Meaning
Colour; hue; by extension manner, style, or festive mood.
Literally: colour, hue
How Iqbal uses it
Rang is colour — the hue of the flower and the world, classically the visible splendour of spring (the 'rang-o-boo,' colour-and-scent that together make the garden's beauty), and by extension manner, style, character, the 'colour' of a thing or a mood. It is appearance, variety and the dye that distinguishes. Iqbal uses colour for the manifold display of life and self, the many hues the one light takes, and the distinctive colour each living thing is called to show forth as its own.
See it in the verse
Rang in Iqbal’s couplets
Khud badalte nahin Quran ko badal dete hain
Hue kis darja faqeehan-e-haram be-taufeeq
Hue kis darja faqeehan-e-haram be-taufeeq
They will not change themselves, so they reinterpret the Quran instead — how utterly bereft of grace the jurists of the sanctuary have become.
Justice · Awakening · Courage
Hai magar is naqsh mein rang-e-sabaat-e-dawam
Jis ko kiya ho kisi mard-e-Khuda ne tamam
Jis ko kiya ho kisi mard-e-Khuda ne tamam
Only that work bears the colour of lasting permanence which a man of God has brought to completion.
Aspiration · Selfhood · Action
Khol aankh, zameen dekh, falak dekh, fiza dekh
Mashriq se ubharte hue suraj ko zara dekh
Mashriq se ubharte hue suraj ko zara dekh
Open your eyes — look at the earth, the sky, the open air; just look at the sun rising in the east.
Awakening · Hope
Qanaat na kar aalam-e-rang-o-bu par
Chaman aur bhi, aashiyan aur bhi hain
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
Wajud-e-zan se hai tasveer-e-kaenat mein rang
Isi ke saaz se hai zindagi ka soz-e-darun
Isi ke saaz se hai zindagi ka soz-e-darun
It is the presence of woman that gives colour to the portrait of the universe — from her instrument comes the inner fire of life itself.
Love · Unity · Humility
Khudi ke zor se duniya pe chha ja
Maqam-e-rang-o-bu ka raaz pa ja
Maqam-e-rang-o-bu ka raaz pa ja
By the force of your selfhood, rise and overspread the world — and seize the secret of this realm of colour and scent.
Selfhood · Action · Aspiration
Related words