Iqbal The Poet

I read the following lines written by Iqbal and wondered what exactly does he mean?

Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqdeer se pehle

Khuda bandey se khud poochta hai, bata teri raza kia hai

Translation given is: The more humble one becomes, God would have to ask the human. What is your opinion about this?

The first word Khudi means Self. The poet tells us to raise our self to new heights The self height is achieved by being humble and developing love for all.

The lower one goes in being humble, the higher he/she will rise in success.

……………………………………………………. 🙂

365 Writing Prompts:From A to Z

Create a short story piece of memoir, or epic poem that is 26 sentences long, in which the first sentence begins with “A” and each sentence thereafter begins with the next letter of the alphabet.

A devout Muslim was he.

Born in Punjab in 1877.

Came to this world with a purpose in mind.

Determined he was to leave a mark in this world.

Early in life he wowed the people around him.

Father was a devout Muslim.

Graduated with English literature Philosophy and Arabic.

He wrote poems that made him famous.

In Italy he met Mussolini.

Joined the staff of Cambridge to teach Arabic.

Kashmiri Brahmin was his ancestors.

Laughter was his favorite word.

Munich was the university where he got his doctorate degree.

Never hesitated to achieve his goal.

Oh how he toiled and labored.

Poetry was his favorite pastime.

Questions he seldom asked.

Revived he the glory of the Arabs in Spain in his mind.

Said prayers in the mosque of Cordoba.

Told he a  Mumin is he who has a smile on his lips when death comes.

Unity was his motto for all the Muslims.

Victory is what we must strive for was his belief.

Who says we are not capable was his question?

Xenophobe he wasn’t.

You can read his writings if you don’t know.

Zenith of fame I have reached  it’s time to bid goodbye!

Allama Iqbal recited these touching few lines a few minutes before his death:

The departed melody may return or not!

The Zephyr from Hijaz may blow again or not!

The days of this Faqir has come to an end.

Another seer may come or not !

He breathed his last in the early hours of April 21st, 1938, in the arms of his old and devoted servant, leaving a host of mourners all over the Islamic world.There was a faint smile playing on his lips, which reminded one of the last criterions , he laid down for a truthful Muslim.” I tell you the sign of a Mumin when death comes there is a smile on his lips.”

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/365-writing-prompts/

 

 

 

365 Writing Prompt: We can be taught

Tell us a moment or an incident that you treasure — not necessarily because it brought you happiness, because it taught you something about yourself.

In my childhood I was known for my curiosity, I was never satisfied with a simple answer to my question ,my family had to deal with my why questions,my eldest brother used to be tired of my continuous why questions so much he’d warn me about the famous phrase, “Curiosity killed a cat.”

This never changed my habit of asking the why questions. In 2010 I accidentally heard two verses of Poet and Philosopher Allama Iqbal’s poem, “Masjid toh bana di shab bhar mein” meaning you built the mosque in one night. It aroused my curiosity so much I had to find out why he wrote it ,to me there had to be a reason.I got the help of the internet and got my answer. I realized then how much I adored the writing of this man, I wondered how I could learn more about him.

I thought of my eldest brother who showed me a book where the words, “seek and you shall find” was on the cover of the book, I was eight years old, my brother asked if I understood what the words meant.I looked at him and said, “it means if you look for it you’ll find it.” I did not pay too much attention to it. Those words reverberated in my mind, ‘seek and you shall find.’ when I thought more of how to know more about this awesome Poet and Philosopher Allama Iqbal.

I was amazed how easily I found out what I wanted to know. I was introduced to another great personality via internet he helped me  register in the online course, which was all about Iqbal, I started taking the course since 2011 and am still doing it and learning more and more about my favorite poet.

It seemed to be an ordinary incident which started with my curiosity and ended up helping to know myself better than I ever knew. It has brought me the kind of happiness I never thought possible,one more time I’d conclude by saying,”Seek  And You Shall Find.”

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/06/28/365-writing-pr…-can-be-taught/

365 days Writing Prompt: RSVP

Plan the ultimate celebration for the person you’re closest to, and tell us about it. Where is it? Who’s there? What’s served? What happens?

On May 9th 2014 an awesome book was published, it took the author over two years to complete writing this book, his hard work paid off as this book earned him the fame, every writer dreams of.

He is a gifted writer, he is humble and has a very sweet disposition. I came to know him accidentally while spending time to do some research on the great Philosopher and poet Iqbal. From him I found out he was offering  an online course on Iqbal, my prayers were answered I immediately registered for the course,or he kindly registered me and even paid for the registration. I was impressed who would do this for a complete unknown, it showed how generous he was. 

Since then I registered for all the courses he offered. After a few courses I realized how awesome he was. His latest book gave me reason to celebrate his most recent accomplishment.

My plan is to organize the celebration, where he lives now. I intend to invite all those people who have encouraged him to write this book.

I’d get a catering service to serve the kinds of food he likes. He once mentioned he missed biriyani, he hasn’t eaten it since he left home. This particular dish is served with yoghurt salad and some Seekh kebabs, I’m almost sure he’d like it.

Dessert will be light, after a heavy dinner a light dessert will be served to all the invited guests.

After dinner, two guests who know the author will be invited to say a few words about him.

Before leaving the author would be requested to sign the copies of his book bought by some of his fans!

k: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/365-days-writing-prompt-rsvp/

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Letter P

Perfection is a rare thing

Only God is perfect

Said the poet 

Now remember please

You have to do your 

Part and pray !

 

Prayer enlists you 

Among people 

who share their 

Good deeds with

All of humanity!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zero To Hero: Day one: Introduce yourself http://en.wordpress.com/tag/zerotohero/

I am a blogger. I started on June 12th 2012.  I like blogging it helps me improve my writing. I like writing stories that are facts and fiction. My favorite poet is Rabindranath Tagore. I love his poems and songs. I translated some of them. I am a Bengali.

My country of origin is Bangladesh. I live in North America. I am a Canadian.

I learned English in school. I studied in a convent. The teachers were Nuns. They were strict. They made sure,we spoke English in school. We paid a fine if we switched to any other language.I learned a lot from my teachers. I also studied Urdu in my school,it was one of the other language I studied. I learned to speak Urdu from the neighborhood kids.Their native language was Urdu. I spoke Bengali at home. My father would not have it any other way. According to him knowing ones mother tongue was important. I spoke three languages in the course of a day. Bengali at home, English in school and Urdu in the neighborhood.

I like listening to music, especially Tagore songs . My favorite Urdu singer is Mohammad Rafi, my favorite English singer are a few, they are :Frank Sinatra,Dean Martin, Nat king Cole And our Canadian singer Celine Dion. Her voice is beautiful.

I like watching TV when they show Jeopardy and Wheel of fortune.

My favorite tennis player is Roger Federer, my favorite ice hockey team is the Boston Bruins.

My favorite past time is writing and reading.

This in short is about myself.

Tagore song Happy Days

English: Photo of Rabindranath Tagore, taken in 1905 or 1906 by the poet and artist Sukumar Ray, father of Satyajit Ray (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I translated a lot of poems and lyrics of Tagore’s songs. I now feel  when it is translated into another language, we lose the meaning of the thoughts the poet is trying to convey.   With this in my mind, I am taking a different approach; so that my interested bloggers will understand the thoughts and feelings of the poet.

The poet misses his happy days,he misses his friends and the bond he had with his relatives.  He misses the days when he was with his family and friends the bond that he shared. Sure they were not always happy moments, there were sad ones too. But one thing was certain the pain and the laughter was shared equally.

He always hoped  the songs that came from his heart  will bring joy to others. He felt he was not alone.

All those hopes have disappeared.  His golden days are only memories of the past. He dreams the people are still surrounding him and  crowding his broken home.

He cannot believe the pain in his heart is unreal.  He cannot believe his thoughts are like shadows of birds flying above him. It breaks his heart at the thought that his wonderful days are over.

দিনগুলি মোর সোনার খাঁচায় রইল না-

সেই-যে আমার নানা রঙের দিনগুলি।

কান্নাহাসির বাঁধন তারা সইল না-
সেই-যে আমার নানা রঙের দিনগুলি।।
আমার প্রাণের গানের ভাষা
শিখবে তারা ছিল আশা-
উড়ে গেল, সকল কথা কইল না-
সেই-যে আমার নানা রঙের দিনগুলি।।
স্বপন দেখি, যেন তারা কার আশে
ফেরে আমার ভাঙা খাঁচার চার পাশে-
সেই-যে আমার নানা রঙের দিনগুলি।।
এত বেদন হয় কি ফাঁকি।
ওরা কি সব ছায়ার পাখি।
আকাশ-পারে কিছুই কি গো বইল না-
সেই-যে আমার নানা রঙের দিনগুলি।।

DP Daily Prompt: Google and Rescue Operation post by Ranu,https://sabethville.wordpress.com

Kazi Nazrul Islam (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I wanted to know about Kazi Nazrul Islam a Bengali poet. I knew some of his work,but not a lot. I wanted to see how much I can get online.I received plenty of information. He was a Bengali, poet. He wrote poetry,prose, in the days when India was occupied by the British. He devoted a lot of his time, encouraging the masses to fight against the foreign power,who was occupying the soil of the sub-continent. There were other famous people who contributed a lot.

I was interested about Nazrul Islam,because I was asked by one of my good friends to write about him on my blog. I did get enough about him. It was helpful,I was able to write a short biography of the poet.

DP Daily Prompt: Super Sensitive Post by Ranu

Human ear icon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hmm,good question , if I were forced to give up one sense,but gain super sensitivity in another,which senses would I choose. It is truly difficult to answer.

Let me see I need my eyesight,without it would be a dull world.I’d have to give up looking at the wonders of nature,the novels of awesome writers, will be deprived of enjoying my children growing up. I’d have a hard time choosing my food.And the list goes on.It’s settled I cannot sacrifice my eyesight.

Next in line is sense of hearing. Now a days everything is so loud,it makes me feel one of these days,I’d lose this sense. Wait a minute can I give it up totally? I think not.I’d miss hearing Celine Dionnes songs,then there is my all time favourite poet Tagore’s songs,Poet Iqbal’s beautiful poetry,Songs of Rafi,Talat Mehmood,Frank Sinatra, and oh so many others. I can’t give up this sense either.

Sense of smell is very important,it warns us of impending danger. It keeps us away from foods that are not healthy.

Touch and taste have their importance, we couldn’t enjoy food if it’s not tasty. We need to touch different things to differentiate between good and bad.

I conclude here by saying I cannot sacrifice any of these senses!

DP Daily Prompt: Everything Changes Post by Ranu

Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938), a notable Muslim philosopher, poet and scholar from India (then British India) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Waheed Murad in the 1966 classic movie Armaan (1966 film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I read the daily prompt,I wasn’t sure this was something I experienced,and can write about. On second thoughts I realized,I did encounter something which can be compared.

I was watching a Bengali movie,suddenly I saw an ad of a Pakistani movie.At that point I decided I will not watch it.I thought they are not so good. I am a very curious person,I had to check it. It was a trailer of a movie. The actor was Waheed Murad. I had no idea how good he was. I watched the movie. It was a pleasant surprise. I googled his name to know more about him. The information I got was encouraging. I started looking for his movies.I watched a number of them. Suddenly I was his number one fan.

While surfing the internet, I saw a piece written by someone.This was about Waheed Murad. I wondered if he was a fan of the actor too. I began reading all his articles, he was a writer and had written about a lot of famous people. Number one on his list was Allama Iqbal.I loved reading Iqbal’s poetry. I had no knowledge of him. Fortunately I found out,this person was giving on-line courses on Iqbal. I was ecstatic and inquired if I could join the course. I got a positive answer.I enrolled in the course. I have done a few and am more than satisfied. I learned about Iqbal. I feel I have accomplished something  because of my curious nature.

I am a regular participant of the on-line course. While I was reading about the courses I bumped into the world of blogging. I signed in to be a blogger .

My life has changed drastically. My curiosity introduced me to Waheed Murad. I am learning about Iqbal the famous Philosopher. I am blogging and learning more than I thought was possible. Such is life,one never knows what the future holds!