Meaning
The hunter of the sky; the heavens figured as a fowler who snares lives.
Literally: hunter of the firmament
How Iqbal uses it
The sky-as-hunter conceit appears where Iqbal laments fate's snares upon the free spirit.
See it in the verse
Sayyaad-e-Falak in Iqbal’s couplets
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
Khudi ka nasheman tere dil mein hai
Falak jis tarah aankh ke til mein hai
Falak jis tarah aankh ke til mein hai
The nest of your selfhood is inside your own heart — the way the whole sky lives inside the pupil of an eye.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge
Khatar-pasand tabiyat ko saazgar nahin
Wo gulsitan ki jahan ghaat mein na ho sayyad
Wo gulsitan ki jahan ghaat mein na ho sayyad
A nature that loves danger finds no comfort in a garden where no hunter lies in wait.
Courage · Restlessness · Adversity
Napaid tere bahr-e-takhayyul ke kinare
Pahunchenge falak tak teri aahon ke sharare
Pahunchenge falak tak teri aahon ke sharare
The shores of your sea of imagination are nowhere to be found; the sparks of your longing will reach all the way to the sky.
Aspiration · Restlessness · Hope