Persian · noun · Time, Fate & the Cosmos
Taira-e-Falak
ताइर-ए-फ़लक
said taa-i-r-e-fa-lak
also written: Tair-e-Falak
Meaning
The bird of the sky; the spirit that flies through the heavens.
Literally: bird of the sky
How Iqbal uses it
The sky-bird is Iqbal's soaring ego made wing, the spirit that does not gaze at heaven but flies into and beyond it.
See it in the verse
Taira-e-Falak in Iqbal’s couplets
Ai tair-e-lahooti us rizq se maut achhi
Jis rizq se aati ho parvaaz mein kotahi
Jis rizq se aati ho parvaaz mein kotahi
O celestial bird, better death than the sustenance that brings any shortfall to your flight.
Freedom · The Falcon
Khol aankh, zameen dekh, falak dekh, fiza dekh
Mashriq se ubharte hue suraj ko zara dekh
Mashriq se ubharte hue suraj ko zara dekh
Open your eyes — look at the earth, the sky, the open air; just look at the sun rising in the east.
Awakening · Hope
Khudi ka nasheman tere dil mein hai
Falak jis tarah aankh ke til mein hai
Falak jis tarah aankh ke til mein hai
The nest of your selfhood is inside your own heart — the way the whole sky lives inside the pupil of an eye.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge
Napaid tere bahr-e-takhayyul ke kinare
Pahunchenge falak tak teri aahon ke sharare
Pahunchenge falak tak teri aahon ke sharare
The shores of your sea of imagination are nowhere to be found; the sparks of your longing will reach all the way to the sky.
Aspiration · Restlessness · Hope