Persian · noun · Nation, Faith & Society
Tehzeeb-e-Maghrib
तहज़ीब-ए-मग़रिब
said tah-ZEEB-e-MAGH-rib
also written: tehzeeb e maghrib, western civilization, tahzeeb-e-maghrib
Meaning
'Western civilization' — the culture of the Occident. Iqbal's verdict: glittering and powerful but a 'mirage', having severed knowledge from faith and life from the spirit.
See it in the verse
Tehzeeb-e-Maghrib in Iqbal’s couplets
Bahut dekhe hain maine mashriq-o-maghrib ke maikhane
Yahan saaqi nahin paida, wahan be-zauq hai sahba
Yahan saaqi nahin paida, wahan be-zauq hai sahba
I have seen many a tavern of the East and the West — here no cup-bearer is born, and there the wine itself is without relish.
Awakening · Self-Knowledge
Tumhari tahzib apne khanjar se aap hi khud-kushi karegi
Jo shakh-e-nazuk pe aashiyana banega na-paedar hoga
Jo shakh-e-nazuk pe aashiyana banega na-paedar hoga
Your civilisation will take its own life with its own dagger; a nest built on a fragile branch will never last.
Adversity · Self-Knowledge · Justice
Related words
PERSIAN
Firang / Maghrib
The West, Europe — literally “the Franks.”
PERSIAN
Tahzeeb-e-Hazir
'Modern / present-day civilization' — the contemporary Western order. Iqbal's standing critique: brilliant in science and machinery, hollow at the centre, having lost God and the soul.
ARABIC
Maddiyat
Materialism; the doctrine that matter is all. Iqbal held it the root malady of modern Western civilization — vast in power over things, blind to spirit and the self.