Pakistani poet Allama Mohammad Iqbal
Allama Iqbal, also known as Iqbal Lahori, died on April 21, 1938 in Lahore
Pakistan on Tuesday observed the 82nd death anniversary of their national poet Allama Mohammad Iqbal in a low profile following an ongoing lockdown to stem the fast-increasing coronavirus pandemic in the country.
Different social, and literary organizations held online seminars, and conferences to pay homage to Iqbal -- also known as Iqbal Lahori in the outside world -- due to a ban on gatherings.
Born on Nov. 9, 1877, in northeastern Sialkot city, located some 139 kilometers (89 miles) from Lahore, the capital of northeastern Punjab province, Iqbal is called "Mufakkir-e-Pakistan" or the inceptor of Pakistan as he conceived the concept of a separate homeland for the Muslims of United India.
A descendant of a Kashmiri family that settled in neighboring Sialkot district in the 17th century, Iqbal got his early education from the Scottish Mission School Sialkot and graduated from the prestigious Government College Lahore in 1897. In 1899, he did his masters in philosophy from the same institution.
He received a scholarship from Trinity College in Cambridge and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1906. Iqbal earned a Ph.D. degree from Ludwig Maximilian University, Germany in 1908. His thesis was on the development of metaphysics in Persia.
In the same year, he returned to Lahore and joined the Government College as a professor of philosophy and English literature. In 1922, he was made a Knight Bachelor by King George V.
In his famous address in Allahabad, an Indian city, Iqbal outlined the vision for a separate homeland for Indian Muslims, who, according to him, are a distinct nation, and deserve independence. His address is known as the foundation of the "two-nation theory" that later paved the way for the foundation of Pakistan in 1947.
It was Iqbal who persuaded Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, to return from England and lead the Indian Muslims in their struggle for a separate homeland. Jinnah returned to India in 1936 and became the president of the All India Muslim League, the founding political party of Pakistan.
Iqbal died on April 21, 1938, in Lahore.
- Iqbal and Rumi
Iqbal's literary work is in Persian and Urdu. Of his 12,000 verses of poetry, about 7,000 verses are in Persian.
His wrote his first book "Asrar-e-Khudi", a collection of his poetry, appeared in the Persian language in 1915.
His other books of Persian poetry include Rumuz-i-Bekhudi, Payam-i-Mashriq, and Zabur-i-Ajam.
Iqbal’s Urdu works are Bang-i-Dara, Bal-i-Jibril, Zarb-i Kalim and a part of Armughan-e-Hijaz.
A series of his lectures were published by Oxford press as ‘’the reconstruction of Islamic religious thoughts in Islam.”
His tremendous work in both languages earned him the title of "Poet of East" by literary critics.
Iqbal is seen as an extension of Rumi’s philosophy and by many literary critics.
His Persian poetry, in particular, is heavily influenced by Rumi, also widely known as Mevlana.
In his famous book Javednama, the famous poet advises his son, Javed Iqbal, that if he fails to find a wise friend in his life then associate with Rumi’s ideology because he [Rumi] knows the difference between reality and the mere appearance of things.
Shahnawaz Farooqui, a Karachi-based writer, said Iqbal had proudly described himself as a pupil of Rumi.
"Iqbal, in his poetry has described Rumi not only his mentor but also spiritual leader,” said Farooqui.
"Their baseline is the same. Both operated within the same framework,” said the writer.
Farooqui, however, believed that Rumi's stature in terms of spirituality, and understanding and explanation of the Quran and Hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) through poetry is far higher than that of Iqbal.
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