Meaning
A lion or tiger; the emblem of royal courage and might. Also a couplet of verse.
Literally: a couplet; a verse
How Iqbal uses it
A sher is a single couplet, the indivisible unit of Urdu and Persian verse, complete in two lines. Iqbal is a master of the freestanding sher whose compressed force can hold an entire argument or a flash of vision. He uses the form to lodge ideas in memory as much as to please the ear.
See it in the verse
Sher in Iqbal’s couplets
Aaeen-e-jawan-mardan haq-goi-o-be-baaki
Allah ke sheron ko aati nahin rubaahi
Allah ke sheron ko aati nahin rubaahi
The code of the brave is to speak the truth and to be fearless — the lions of God do not know the ways of the fox.
Courage · Justice · Selfhood
Khush aa gai hai jahan ko qalandari meri
Wagarna sher mera kya hai shairi kya hai
Wagarna sher mera kya hai shairi kya hai
The world has warmed to the free, unbound spirit in me; otherwise, what is my verse, what is my poetry?
Freedom · Humility · Self-Knowledge
Related words
PERSIAN
Babar
A lion (also used for the tiger); the great maned predator.
ARABIC
Asad
A lion; a symbol of valour, and the zodiacal sign Leo.
ARABIC
Ghazal
A sung form of the Urdu-Persian love lyric, each couplet a self-contained thought.
ARABIC
Shaa'iri
The art and practice of composing poetry.
ARABIC
Lafz
A word, the utterance; the outward vessel of meaning in poetry.