Arabic · noun · Time, Fate & the Cosmos
Zamana / Daur
ज़माना / दौर
said za-MAA-na / daur
also written: daur, zamane
Meaning
The age, the times; the turning era or fortune.
How Iqbal uses it
Both an adversary and a witness. The age has long been the enemy of those with “something” undying in them — yet the same zamana will one day read the signals in a visionary's eyes and the stars will watch him from afar.
See it in the verse
Zamana / Daur in Iqbal’s couplets
Aata hai yaad mujh ko guzra hua zamana
Wo bagh ki baharen, wo sab ka chahchahana
Wo bagh ki baharen, wo sab ka chahchahana
I remember the time that has passed — those springtimes of the garden, that chorus of every bird singing.
Freedom · Restlessness
Samjhega zamana teri aankhon ke ishaare
Dekhenge tujhe dur se gardun ke sitare
Dekhenge tujhe dur se gardun ke sitare
The age itself will read the signals of your eyes; the stars of the sky will watch you from afar.
Aspiration · Selfhood · Hope
Kuch baat hai ki hasti mitti nahin hamari
Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara
Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara
There is something about us that refuses to be erased — for centuries the turning of the age itself has been our enemy.
Hope · Adversity · Self-Knowledge