Word Meaning
अज़-ख़्वाब
az-khwaab
Meaning
From sleep; out of slumber or dreaming.
Detailed Meaning
In Persianized classical Urdu, 'az-khwaab' is a prepositional phrase meaning 'out of sleep' or 'from slumber'. In the cited couplet, it functions within a complex Persian izafat compound ('chashm-e-az-khwaab-e-adam-nakushaada') describing eyes that have not yet opened from the sleep of non-existence. It underscores a metaphysical detachment, viewing worldly life through eyes still drowsy with the void of pre-creation.
Etymology
Persian: preposition 'az' (from, out of) + noun 'khwāb' (sleep, dream).
Usage
In classical ghazal, Persian phrases formed with the preposition 'az' are often woven directly into izafat constructions to express layered metaphysical states.
Examples
Arising az-khwaab into the dawn of awareness.
An eye not yet open az-khwaab-e-adam.