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Monday, 16 June 2025
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Iqbal,
Sir Muhammad (1873-1938), philosopher,
poet, and political leader, was born
in Sialkot. In 1927 he was elected to
the Punjab provincial legislature and
in 1930 became president of the Muslim
League. Initially a supporter of
Hindu-Muslim unity in a single Indian
state, Iqbal later became an advocate
of Pakistani independence. In addition
to his political activism, Iqbal was
considered the foremost Muslim thinker
of his day. His poetry and philosophy,
written in Urdu and Persian, stress
the rebirth of Islamic and spiritual
redemption through self-development,
moral integrity, and individual
freedom.His many works includeThe
Secrets of the Self (1915), 23); a
long poem; A Message from the East
(19and The Reconstruction of Religious
Thought in Islam (1934). |
Allama
Muhammad Iqbal
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Although Iqbal did not live to see the
creation of an independent Pakistan in
1947, he is nevertheless regarded as
the symbolic father of that nation
Allama Muhammad Iqbal is generally
known as a poet and philosopher, but
he was also a jurist, a politician, a
social reformer, and a great Islamic
scholar. People even bestowed on him
the title of "Shaere-Mashriq" (Poet of
the East!). It may sound strange that
Iqbal never considered himself a poet
as is evidenced by his correspondence
with Syed Sulaiman Nadvi [1885-1953].
"I have never considered myself a
poet. Therefore, I am not a rival of
anyone, and I do not consider anybody
my rival. I have no interest in poetic
artistry. But, yes, I have a special
goal in mind for whose expression I
use the medium of poetry considering
the condition and the customs of this
country."
(translated from the original in Urdu;
Maktoobat, Volume I, page195)
Iqbal's contribution to the Muslim
world as one of the greatest thinkers
of Islam remains unparalleled. In his
writings, he addressed and exhorted
people, particularly the youth, to
stand up and boldly face life's
challenges. The central theme and main
source of his message was the Qur'an.
Iqbal considered the Qur'an not only
as a book of religion (in the
traditional sense) but also a source
of foundational principles upon which
the infrastructure of an organization
must be built as a coherent system of
life. According to Iqbal, this system
of life when implemented as a living
force is ISLAM. Because it is based on
permanent (absolute) values given in
the Qur'an, this system provides
perfect harmony, balance, and
stability in the society from within
and the source of security and a
shield from without. It also provides
freedom of choice and equal
opportunity for the development of
personality for everyone within the
guidelines of Qur'an. Thus, in Iqbal's
opinion, Islam is not a religion in
which individuals strive for a private
subjective relationship with God in
the hope of personal salvation as it
is done in secular systems. Iqbal
firmly opposed theocracy and
dictatorship and considered them
against the free spirit of Islam.
Humanity, as a whole, has never faced
the challenge posed by the enormity
and the complexity of human problems,
such as it is facing today. The
problems have taken on a global
dimension now and transcend the
barriers of race, color, language,
geography, and social, political and
religious ideologies. Most of the
problems of mankind are universal in
nature and, therefore, require a
universal approach to the solution.
Iqbal's universal message is an
attempt to address this challenge
faced by humanity.
Through his travels and personal
communications, Allama Iqbal found
that the Muslims throughout the world
had detached themselves from the
Qur'an as a guiding principle and a
living force. After the disaster
following the Balkan War of 1912, the
fall of the caliphate in Turkey, and
many anti-Muslim incessant
provocations and actions against
Muslims in India (1924-27) and
elsewhere by the intellectuals and so
called secular minded leaders, Allama
Iqbal suggested that a separate state
should be given to the Muslims of the
Indian subcontinent so that they can
express the vitality of Islam to its
fullest. In his 1930 Presidential
speech delivered to the annual session
of Muslim League at Allahabad, Allama
Iqbal stated:
"I, therefore, demand the formation of
a consolidated Muslim state in the
best interests of India and Islam. For
India, it means security and peace
resulting from an internal balance of
power; for Islam, an opportunity to
rid itself of the stamp that Arabian
imperialism was forced to give it, to
mobilize its laws, its education, its
culture, and to bring them into closer
contact with its own original spirit
and with the spirit of modern times."
Iqbal's "Deeda-war" (visionary), is
like Iqbal himself. He could foresee
what others could not. Whereas others
only have a short term view of things,
a visionary sees the problems in a
long term perspective and develops
some sort of cosmic sense. A nation is
indeed fortunate if it produces a few
such individuals in centuries. Such
individuals, although very rare,
change the course of history forever,
as indeed Iqbal did. Pakistan owes its
existence to Allama Iqbal. Thus, the
people of Pakistan owe a great deal of
gratitude to this extraordinary
visionary. |
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