Persian · noun · The Tavern & the Cup
Sabu-e-Mai
सबू-ए-मय
said sa-BOO-e-mai
also written: sabu-e-mai, saboo-e-mai
Meaning
The wine-flagon; the earthen jar that holds the drink.
Literally: the jar of wine
How Iqbal uses it
Sabu-e-mai, 'the jar of wine', names the brimming clay vessel of the tavern — the store of grace from which cup after cup is filled. As a set phrase it foregrounds abundance: not a single draught but a whole jar of love. It is the inexhaustible supply against which the seeker's thirst is small.
See it in the verse
Sabu-e-Mai in Iqbal’s couplets
Main shakh-e-taak hun meri ghazal hai mera samar
Mire samar se mai-e-laala-faam paida kar
Mire samar se mai-e-laala-faam paida kar
I am the vine-branch; my ghazal is my fruit — from my fruit, press out the rose-red wine.
Aspiration · Action · Youth
Kya dabdaba-e-nadir kya shaukat-e-taimuri
Ho jaate hain sab daftar gharq-e-mai-e-naab aakhir
Ho jaate hain sab daftar gharq-e-mai-e-naab aakhir
What of Nadir's dread power, what of Timur's splendour? In the end every such record is drowned in the pure wine of time.
Humility · Self-Knowledge · Adversity
Main shakh-e-tak hun meri ghazal hai mera samar
Mere samar se mai-e-lala-fam paida kar
Mere samar se mai-e-lala-fam paida kar
I am a branch of the vine, my song is my fruit; from that fruit press out the tulip-red wine.
Action · Aspiration · Youth
Related words
PERSIAN
Sabu
An earthen wine-jar or pitcher; a common image in Persian and Urdu poetry.
PERSIAN
Mina
A flask or decanter of wine, often of glass or enamelled ware.
PERSIAN
Khum
A large wine-vat or jar in which wine is aged; emblem of the source of endless intoxication.
PERSIAN
Mai
Wine; emblem of divine love, ecstasy, and the annihilation of the ego.