Meaning
Dew.
How Iqbal uses it
The image of the small, cool and fleeting. To a heart thirsting for the sea, a drop of dew is meanness dressed as generosity — “that is miserliness, not the bounty of the Provider.” Dew is for the petal; the great self wants the ocean.
See it in the verse
Shabnam in Iqbal’s couplets
Jis se jigar-e-laala mein thandak ho wo shabnam
Daryaon ke dil jis se dahal jaayein wo toofan
Daryaon ke dil jis se dahal jaayein wo toofan
To the tulip's heart he is the dew that cools it; to mighty rivers he is the storm that makes their hearts tremble.
Courage · Justice · Selfhood
Samundar se mile pyaase ko shabnam
Bakhili hai ye razzaqi nahin hai
Bakhili hai ye razzaqi nahin hai
To give a thirsty soul a single drop of dew from a whole ocean — that is stinginess, not generosity.
Justice · Humility