Meaning
Morning, dawn, the first light of day.
Literally: Arabic subh: the daybreak.
How Iqbal uses it
Dawn is Iqbal's most cherished hour, the time of prayer, awakening, and renewal; subh signals the rebirth of effort and the soul rising from the night of slumber into striving.
See it in the verse
Subh in Iqbal’s couplets
Dayar-e-ishq mein apna maqam paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
In the realm of love, create your own standing — bring a new age into being, new mornings and new evenings of your own.
Aspiration · Action · Love
Use subh-e-azal inkar ki jurat hui kyunkar
Mujhe malum kya wo raaz-dan tera hai ya mera
Mujhe malum kya wo raaz-dan tera hai ya mera
How did he find the daring to refuse at the dawn of time? How would I know whose confidant he is, yours or mine.
Courage · Selfhood
Qalb o nazar ki zindagi dasht mein subh ka samaan
Chashma-e-aftab se nuur ki naddiyan ravaan
Chashma-e-aftab se nuur ki naddiyan ravaan
The life of the heart and the eye is like daybreak in the desert; from the spring of the sun, rivers of light flow out.
Awakening · Hope · Self-Knowledge
Ye payam de gai hai mujhe baad-e-subh-gahi
Ki khudi ke aarifon ka hai maqam padshahi
Ki khudi ke aarifon ka hai maqam padshahi
The morning breeze brought me this message: the station of those who truly know selfhood is sovereignty.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge · Leadership