Kabhi Ae Haqiqat-e-Muntazir! Nazar Aa Libas-e-Majaz Mein
Ke Hazar Sajde Tarap Rahe Hain Meri Jabeen-e-Niaz Mein
For once, O awaited Reality, reveal Yourself in a form material,
For a thousand prostrations are quivering eagerly in my submissive brow.
I want to know the context for first line of this shair, anyone?
p.s1. Mods could move this thread if they think it should be moved to poetry forum.
p.s2. mods can you please correct the title, change ‘share’ to ‘shair’
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
probably something related to day of judgement. word 'muntazir' leads so to this interpretation.
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
hmm, i have a another guess but not sure if true. Maybe Iqbal wanting a mystical access?
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
may be. But there are stages in Iqbal's life. At one point, he was pro-Sufism and as per some researchers, he abandoned Sufism in his last years. Don't know, at which stage this beautiful piece was written. The whole Ghazal is beautiful.
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
At very first reading, it seemed he's talking about unseen future. But closer inspection of the words coupled with some background knowledge about Iqbal's poetic tradition and philosophical thoughts, it seems he's referring to God. The whole shair, in my humble opinion, reminds me of Mosses plea to see God. I say this because of his reference to prostration and the use of word haqiqat e muntazir. *For a Muslim, Allah talah is haqiqat and meeting him after our death is our *haqiqat e muntazir, yet this *haqiqat *never appears in our life in material form, no matter how many times we prostrate.
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
I think thats quite appropriate interpretation.
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
I also kind of agreed to what jolie said. Only one thing left is word 'kabhi' which implies Iqbal wanted to see 'something' in material form in his life.
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
Yes muqa , that whole ghazal is superb.
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
BTW this discussion reminds me a shair of Mirza Ghalib (just read few days back):
Kiya Farz hai ke sab ko mille ek sa jawaab
Aao na hum bhi sair karen koh e Toor ki
At first instance, it looks blasphemous.
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
Sawab aur koh e toor, kuch sae samjh nae aae
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
I do not understand Iqbal’s these ones:
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
Sawab aur koh e toor, kuch sae samjh nae aae
sawaab nahin jawaab
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
Muslims got different values than western nations
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
lolz, 
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
Kabhi Ae Haqiqat-e-Muntazir! Nazar Aa Libas-e-Majaz Mein
Ke Hazar Sajde Tarap Rahe Hain Meri Jabeen-e-Niaz Mein
Would that time arrive, O Anticipated Reality, Come to sight in ephemeral dress
As yearning are a thousand prostrations from my yielding crest
Commentary:
The request is one which is teaching us Tawheed through the diametric condition. A request is being made for the materialisation of Allah (SWT) in to the world, knowing this cannot happen. It is used to stress the impatience of the seeker, rather than being a statement of possibility.
Two references in hadith and Qur’an regarding the Ihsan dimension of the Deen and the Beatific Vision, both are invoked in this couplet.
‘Tell me about al-Ihsaan (goodness).’ He [the Prophet (s)] answered, ‘It is that you worship Allah as if you see Him. And even though you do not see Him, [you know] He sees you.’
Hadith Jibreel
[Some] faces, that Day, will be radiant,
Looking at their Lord.
Surat Al-Qiyamah [75:22-23] - The Noble Qur’an - ??? ???
The prostrations are as if they are a burden that must be poured forth in a relief of the pressure from being absent and veiled from the All-Mighty. They are also being presented as an offering of the seeker who refers to his forehead as submitting/gift giving that has been depicted as “yielding”.
This couplet recognises the true condition of humanity which is one of yearning to be back with our Creator.
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
Considering Iqbal was pro sufism when he wrote that shair, “impatience of the seeker” is answer of ‘why’ then.
I am not denying the message in hadith but I would like to know what autority has made Ihsaan a dimension of Islam?
I am also unable to understand how could you imply unity of being from the verse and the hadith and/or the shair?
I wanted to reply your example of closer than jugular vein in another thread but that thread was closed dont know for what reason.
That verse refers to all-encompassing knowledge of Allah (s.w.t.) and does not imply physical closeness.
Although Iqbal remained pro sufism for some part of his life, but he was not one of proponents of unity of the being. He categorically declared that this idea is deadly poison for Ummah.
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
What is the difference between Wahdat ul Wajood and Wahdat ul Shahood in simple words?
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
may be. But there are stages in Iqbal's life. At one point, he was pro-Sufism and as per some researchers, he abandoned Sufism in his last years. Don't know, at which stage this beautiful piece was written. The whole Ghazal is beautiful.
Yes, he was pro-sufism at some point, but he remained strong opponent of unity of the being consistently. He was young when he criticized sufi Hafiz for the same reason. Maybe that was the reason he left sufism.
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
Peace bro ajazali
I am not really well equipped to answer the concept of "unity of being" as you present it. It was Sh. Ibn Arabi (RA) who presented the term ... I studied aqeedah before going in to any of this and for me that is my rope ... The aqeedah teaches me that Creation and Creator are exclusive ... There is no physical connection between us and God ... But that does not infer we have no connection ... In our spiritual genetics is the Name of Allah (SWT) that keeps us sustained in transient existence ... Without constant "Will" of Allah (SWT) we could not move, articulate thought or even have essence ... We are from Allah (SWT) in the sense that He Conceived us in His Divine Wisdom and that because Allah (SWT) is Unchanging and Manifest ... So His
Wisdom and Thought had no time when we were not Conceived. Our unity with Him is like that condition before time when we were part of Divine Conception.
It it is a different axis of thought ... We cannot conflate our separation in this material world with our connection with Him in the spiritual sense. When any sense of unity is inferred it has to be taken in context with the aqeedah not the other way round ... so rest assured your understanding and mine is the same ... In the matter of nature of Divine Being and the nature of transient life ... As our own.
Re: Why Iqbal is craving in this shair?
I also kind of agreed to what jolie said. Only one thing left is word 'kabhi' which implies Iqbal wanted to see 'something' in material form in his life.
I'd interpret the word 'kabhi' as 'for once' in this shair.