Urdu Dictionary
Persian · noun · Struggle & the Sword

Sipah

सिपाह
said si-PAAH
also written: Sipahi
Meaning

An army; a host of soldiers.

Literally: army; host; soldiery

How Iqbal uses it

Sipah is an army or host, and the sipahi the soldier within it. Iqbal can invoke the disciplined host as an image of a united, purposeful community, the millat ordered and on the march. The soldier's worth, in his verse, lies in the cause and conviction he serves, not in mere obedience.

See it in the verse

Sipah in Iqbal’s couplets

Na takht-o-taj mein ne lashkar-o-sipah mein hai
Jo baat mard-e-qalandar ki bargah mein hai
Not in throne and crown, nor in armies and soldiers, lies the power that belongs to the court of the free-spirited man.
Freedom · Selfhood · Leadership
Related words
PERSIAN

Sipahi

A soldier or footman; the root of the word 'sepoy'.

PERSIAN

Sipah-salaar

A commander-in-chief; the supreme leader of an army.

PERSIAN

Lashkar

An army or armed host; a military camp.

ARABIC

Ghazi

A warrior for the faith; a victorious champion in holy war.

ARABIC

Millat

The community of faith; a people understood as one spiritual body.

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