Persian · noun · Nation, Faith & Society
Sultani / Sikandari
सुल्तानी / सिकंदरी
said sul-TAA-nee
also written: sikandari, qaisari, sultan
Meaning
Kingship, sovereignty, empire (sikandari = Alexander's might; qaisari = Caesar's).
How Iqbal uses it
Hollow beside the freedom of faqr — “in the gaze of the dervish, what is the splendour of Alexander? A king who begs for tribute, what is his Caesarhood?” True sovereignty is the dervish's now, and in the age to come it passes to the people.
See it in the verse
Sultani / Sikandari in Iqbal’s couplets
Nigah-e-faqr mein shan-e-sikandari kya hai
Khiraj ki jo gada ho wo qaisari kya hai
Khiraj ki jo gada ho wo qaisari kya hai
In the eyes of a free spirit, what is the splendour of an Alexander? An empire that begs for tribute is no empire at all.
Selfhood · Freedom · Self-Knowledge
Faqir-e-rah ko bakhshe gae asrar-e-sultani
Baha meri nava ki daulat-e-parvez hai saqi
Baha meri nava ki daulat-e-parvez hai saqi
To the wayfaring beggar were granted the secrets of kingship; the price of my song is the whole treasure of Parvez.
Self-Knowledge · Humility · Selfhood
Sultani-e-jamhur ka aata hai zamana
Jo naqsh-e-kuhan tum ko nazar aae miTa do
Jo naqsh-e-kuhan tum ko nazar aae miTa do
The age of the people's rule is arriving; whatever old patterns you still see, wipe them away.
Freedom · Awakening · Justice
Kise nahin hai tamanna-e-sarwari lekin
Khudi ki maut ho jis mein wo sarwari kya hai
Khudi ki maut ho jis mein wo sarwari kya hai
Who does not long for leadership? But what kind of leadership is it, if reaching it kills the self?
Leadership · Selfhood · Self-Knowledge