Arabic · noun · Being & Non-Being

Zaat

ज़ात
said ZAAT
also written: zat, dhat, zaat-e-haq
Meaning

Essence, self, the intrinsic being of a thing; also person or individual.

Literally: the Essence (of God)

How Iqbal uses it

The Essence — God in His absolute Self (zaat), as distinct from His names (asma) and attributes (sifat) through which He is known. The Essence in itself is held to be beyond comprehension; God is known through His attributes and self-disclosures. This grammar of Essence and attributes underlies the metaphysical debates Iqbal engages about transcendence, manifestation and how the unknowable God relates to a real, knowing self.