Iqbal:The Poet and Philosopher

“Masjid toh bana di shab bhar mein,Imaan ki hararat walon nay,

Mun apna purana papi hai,barson mein namazi bun na saka.

These were the two lines that actually made me curious to know more about this poet.I had heard about him,but  had very little if any knowledge about him.I went on a quest to look for the poet who wrote such beautiful poetry.I started surfing the internet hoping someone would be kind enough to fulfill my desire.I was fortunate in this regard,I came across an advertisement about courses being offered by Iqbal Academy.I wasted no time and jumped at this golden opportunity.I am actually going to be able to know about this great poet.

Shair-e-Mashriq, Hakeem-ul-Umat Alama Dr. Muhammad Iqbal (09Nov,1877-21Apr,1938) (Photo credit: ღßẲŁĘĘღ»سبــحأن الله«)

All this happened about six months ago.Since that day I have been able to learn more than,Masjid toh bana di shab bhar mein.I am very grateful to God for helping me know about this great man,who had in his lifetime devoted all his knowledge and energy to encourage and teach the Muslim world to free themselves from slavery.I have read a lot about his poetry,prose and many other writings.At this stage I feel I have a long way to go to know all about him.

Here I have after, consulting a few sources,gathered some information about him and decided to write in my blog.Iqbal was a well-known poet and philosopher,who made it his mission to awaken the Muslim world and make them realize that they can change their destiny.He worked very hard to achieve his goal,I feel very fortunate to be able to know and read about him.His dream of carving out an independent Muslim country came into fruition,nine years after his death.The tragedy I feel is he did not live long enough to see it happen.He was a devout Muslim which can be felt in his writing.Since I have been introduced to this great man and after reading his poetry,I know he placed great importance to religion.Some of us have either read or witnessed that God sends his message to his people through great men who He knows will be able to do full justice and will suceed. .

His achievement was that ,he gave an important place to the teachings of Islam and patriotism in the hearts of the people.His language was beautiful and charming.The verses he wrote could easily be memorized.
He is the spokesman of reality.He used his poetry as a source of his message.A message he wanted to give to the nation.He was greatly influenced By Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s thoughts.He became prominent after Sir Syed Ahmed’s death.He spent a fair amount of time studying the ups and downs of man’s culture.
He dedicated his life for only one work i.e Spiritualism and Patriotism.His work was to give his message to the nation,this he gave in each and every way.He used his spiritual and philosophical knowledge to dig deep into the heart of people’s consciousness.
Allama Iqbal’s message to his countrymen was to fulfill their destiny as ordained for in the holy Qura’n.In his Reconstruction of Religious thought in Islam.Iqbal said ,”Humanity needs three things today—spiritual interpretation of the universe,spiritual Emancipation of the Individual and basic principles of a universal impart directing the evolution of human society on a spiritual basis”.
According to Abdul Qadir,”there are a lot of things similar between Ghalib and Iqbal and if he had believed in transmigration of the soul,he would have remarked because Mirza Ghalib had a great love for Persian and Urdu poetry,his soul was unable to rest in peace in paradise and therefore was forced to transmigrate again in someone else’s body to irrigate the garden of poetry he was born again in Sialkot—a city in Punjab and was named Iqbal”
The couplets Of Iqbal symbolizes the true teachings of the Holy Qura’n.He says “Know Thyself,everything in the world belongs to you.
Remove fear and Intimidation from your hearts.Dive into the seas.Fight with the tides and strike with rocks,life is not a bed of roses,but a battlefield”.
Iqbal the poet of the world celebrity played an important role in the history of the Indian muslims.Although he supported the liberal movement,he cautioned the muslims to be on guard so that the broad human principle they stood for,doesn’t get thrown in the background by emphasis on the nation and the race.
Iqbal passionately attacked the European civilization in his poems which are pearls of Persian and Urdu Poetry.He was essentially a humanist and considered Islam as a religion of broadest humanism.

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