Meaning
The breast, the chest — where breath and inner fire dwell.
How Iqbal uses it
The hearth of life's warmth. “There is breath in your breast, but not a heart; your breath lacks the warmth of the gathering.” A breast lit from within makes speech the essence of life; unlit, it makes speech a lasting death.
See it in the verse
Seena in Iqbal’s couplets
Tere seene mein dam hai, dil nahin hai
Tera dam garmi-e-mahfil nahin hai
Tera dam garmi-e-mahfil nahin hai
There is breath in your chest, but no heart. Your breath carries none of the warmth that lights up a gathering.
Awakening · Selfhood · Love
Siina raushan ho to hai soz-e-sukhan ain-e-hayat
Ho na raushan to sukhan marg-e-davam ai saqi
Ho na raushan to sukhan marg-e-davam ai saqi
If the heart is lit within, the fire in one's words is life itself; if it is unlit, those words are a lasting death.
Self-Knowledge · Action · Love