Urdu Dictionary
Arabic · noun, masculine/feminine · The Tavern & the Cup

Saaqi

साक़ी
said saa-qee
also written: Saqi
Meaning

The cup-bearer who pours the wine; in Sufi verse, the beloved, the spiritual guide, or God as the giver of the wine of love.

Literally: one who gives drink

How Iqbal uses it

The saqi is the giver of the awakening draught, and Iqbal often summons a new saqi to pour a wine that will stir a slumbering nation to life. His Saqi-Nama is a sustained plea for the cup-bearer of a new age.

See it in the verse

Saaqi in Iqbal’s couplets

Nahin hai naumeed Iqbal apni kisht-e-veeran se
Zara nam ho to ye mitti badi zarkhez hai saqi
Iqbal is not without hope, even from his barren field — let there be a little moisture, cupbearer, and this soil is wonderfully fertile.
Hope · Aspiration
Bahut dekhe hain maine mashriq-o-maghrib ke maikhane
Yahan saaqi nahin paida, wahan be-zauq hai sahba
I have seen many a tavern of the East and the West — here no cup-bearer is born, and there the wine itself is without relish.
Awakening · Self-Knowledge
Nasha pila ke girana to sab ko aata hai
Maza to jab hai ki girton ko thaam le saqi
Anyone can pour the wine and let people fall — the real worth is when the cup-bearer catches those who are falling.
Leadership · Humility · Action
Digar-gun hai jahan taron ki gardish tez hai saqi
Dil-e-har-zarra mein ghaugha-e-rusta-khez hai saqi
The world is changing, the wheeling of the stars is swift; in the heart of every atom there is the tumult of a rising.
Awakening · Hope · Restlessness
Faqir-e-rah ko bakhshe gae asrar-e-sultani
Baha meri nava ki daulat-e-parvez hai saqi
To the wayfaring beggar were granted the secrets of kingship; the price of my song is the whole treasure of Parvez.
Self-Knowledge · Humility · Selfhood
Ishq ki tegh-e-jigar-dar uda li kis ne
Ilm ke haath mein khali hai niyam ai saqi
Who has carried off love's brave, heart-piercing sword? Knowledge holds only an empty scabbard now.
Love · Action · Courage
Related words
PERSIAN

Mai

Wine; in Sufi poetry, a symbol for the intoxicating love and ecstatic knowledge of the Divine.

PERSIAN

Jaam

A wine-cup or goblet; the vessel that holds the wine of divine love.

PERSIAN

Saaqi-naama

A 'Book of the Cup-bearer'; a poetic genre addressed to the saqi, calling for wine and reflecting on life, fate, and the spirit.

PERSIAN

Pir-e-mughaan

The 'Elder of the Magians', the old Zoroastrian wine-seller and master of the tavern; in Sufi symbolism the true spiritual guide who dispenses the wine of love.

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