Persian · noun · Love & Longing
Sanam-Khaana
सनम-ख़ाना
said sa-nam-khaa-naa
also written: Sanam-khana
Meaning
An idol-house or temple of idols; a gallery of beautiful beloveds.
Literally: house of idols
How Iqbal uses it
The sanam-khana houses the beautiful idols/beloveds and stands against the harem of the One; Iqbal works the idol-temple contrast into his Tauhid versus idolatry imagery.
See it in the verse
Sanam-Khaana in Iqbal’s couplets
Main jo sar-ba-sajda hua kabhi to zameen se aane lagi sada
Tera dil to hai sanam-aashna tujhe kya milega namaz mein
Tera dil to hai sanam-aashna tujhe kya milega namaz mein
Whenever I bowed my head in prostration, a voice rose from the earth: your heart is in love with idols — what will you gain from prayer?
Self-Knowledge · Humility
Jinhen main dhundhta tha aasmanon mein zaminon mein
Wo nikle mere zulmat-khana-e-dil ke makinon mein
Wo nikle mere zulmat-khana-e-dil ke makinon mein
Those I searched for across the skies and the earth turned out to dwell in the darkened house of my own heart.
Self-Knowledge · Awakening · Selfhood
Related words
ARABIC
Sanam
Beloved, sweetheart; literally an idol, the beloved worshipped like one.
PERSIAN
Butkhaana
An idol-temple; in mystic verse the shrine of beauty where the lover worships the beloved's form.
ARABIC
Husn
Beauty, comeliness; the radiant loveliness of the beloved.
PERSIAN
But-khana
An idol-temple; a place full of beautiful faces, or the heart crowded with images of the beloved.