Zillat

Humiliation, disgrace, abjection, abasement.

Literally: disgrace, humiliation, abjection

Zillat is disgrace — the state of being abased, humiliated, brought low. Iqbal treats it as the condition the self with ghairat cannot endure: he holds that a dignified soul would choose hardship over the comfort that comes wrapped in humiliation. He reads a people's acceptance of zillat as a sign that their inner honour has died, and summons them to reclaim dignity through self-affirmation.