Arabic · noun · Selfhood & Will

Sa'i

सई

said SA-ee

also written: sai, saee

Meaning

Striving, exertion, earnest effort toward a goal.

Literally: Arabic sa'y: to walk briskly, to run, to strive.

How Iqbal uses it

Iqbal makes sa'i a near-sacred act: relentless striving, the perpetual effort that keeps the self alive, is for him preferable to the stillness of arrival.

See it in the verse

Sa'i in Iqbal’s couplets

Sai-e-paiham hai taraazu-e-kam-o-kaif-e-hayat
Teri mizan hai shumar-e-sahar-o-sham abhi

Ceaseless striving is the true scale for the measure and quality of a life; you, so far, still weigh life by the count of mornings and evenings.

Action · Aspiration · Restlessness

Related words

PERSIAN

Koshish

Effort, endeavour, the act of trying and exerting oneself.

ARABIC

Jidd-o-jahd

Strenuous struggle, hard sustained effort against obstacles.

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