Muhammad Iqbal

Sir Muhammad Iqbal (Punjabi, Urdu: ‫ ;علمہ محمد اقبال‬November 9, 1877, Sialkot – April 21,
1938, Lahore) was a Persian- and Urdu-language poet, philosopher and politician[1] of Indian
descent whose vision of an independent state for the Muslims of British India was to inspire the
creation of Pakistan. He is commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal (‫علمہ اقبال‬, Allama meaning
"Scholar").
After studying in Cambridge, Munich and Heidelberg, Iqbal established a law practice, but
concentrated primarily on writing scholarly works on politics, economics,ishi history, philosophy
and religion. He is best known for his poetic works, including Asrar-e-Khudi—which brought a
knighthood— Rumuz-e-Bekhudi, and the Bang-e-Dara, with its enduring patriotic song Tarana-
e-Hind. In India, he is widely regarded for the patriotic song, Saare Jahan Se Achcha. In
Afghanistan and Iran, where he is known as Eghbāl-e-Lāhoorī (‫ اقبال لہوری‬Iqbal of Lahore), he
is highly regarded for his Persian works.
Iqbal was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation across
the world, but specifically in South Asia; a series of famous lectures he delivered to this effect
were published as The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. One of the most prominent
leaders of the All India Muslim League, Iqbal encouraged the creation of a "state in northwestern
India for Muslims" in his 1930 presidential address.[2] Iqbal encouraged and worked closely with
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and he is known as Muffakir-e-Pakistan ("The Thinker of Pakistan"),
Shair-e-Mashriq ("The Poet of the East"), and Hakeem-ul-Ummat ("The Sage of Ummah"). He is
officially recognized as the national poet of Pakistan.[3][4][5] The anniversary of his birth (‫یوم‬
‫ ولدت محمد اقبال‬- Yōm-e Welādat-e Muḥammad Iqbāl) is on November 9, and is a national
holiday in Pakistan.

[edit] Early life

See also: Timeline of Muhammad Iqbal's life
Allama Iqbal was born in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan ; the eldest of five siblings in a Kashmiri
family.[6][7] Iqbal's father Shaikh Nur Muhammad was a prosperous tailor, well-known for his
devotion to Islam, and the family raised their children with deep religious grounding.
Iqbal in 1899
Iqbal was educated initially by tutors in languages and writing, history, poetry and religion. His
potential as a poet and writer was recognised by one of his tutors, Sayyid Mir Hassan, and Iqbal
would continue to study under him at the Scotch Mission College in Sialkot. The student became
proficient in several languages and the skill of writing prose and poetry, and graduated in 1892.
Following custom, at the age of 15 Iqbal's family arranged for him to be married to Karim Bibi,
the daughter of an affluent Gujrati physician. The couple had two children: a daughter, Mi'raj
Begam (born 1895) and a son, Aftab (born 1899). Iqbal's third son died soon after birth. The
husband and wife were unhappy in their marriage and eventually divorced in 1916.
Iqbal entered the Government College in Lahore where he studied philosophy, English literature
and Arabic and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating cum laude. He won a gold medal
for topping his examination in philosophy. While studying for his masters degree, Iqbal came
under the wing of Sir Thomas Arnold, a scholar of Islam and modern philosophy at the college.
Arnold exposed the young man to Western culture and ideas, and served as a bridge for Iqbal
between the ideas of East and West. Iqbal was appointed to a readership in Arabic at the Oriental
College in Lahore, and he published his first book in Urdu, The Science of Economics in 1903. In
1905 Iqbal published the patriotic song, Tarana-e-Hind (Song of India).
At Sir Thomas's encouragement, Iqbal travelled to and spent many years studying in Europe. He
obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity College at Cambridge in 1907, while
simultaneously studying law at Lincoln's Inn, from where he qualified as a barrister in 1908.
Iqbal also met a Muslim student, Atiyah Faizi in 1907, and had a close relationship with her. In
Europe, he started writing his poetry in Persian as well. Throughout his life, Iqbal would prefer
writing in Persian as he believed it allowed him to fully express philosophical concepts, and it
gave him a wider audience.[1] It was while in England that he first participated in politics.
Following the formation of the All-India Muslim League in 1906, Iqbal was elected to the
executive committee of its British chapter in 1908. Together with two other politicians, Syed
Hassan Bilgrami and Syed Ameer Ali, Iqbal sat on the subcommittee which drafted the
constitution of the League. Working under the supervision of Friedrich Hommel, Iqbal published
a thesis titled: The Development of Metaphysics in Persia.[8]
[edit] Literary career
Upon his return to India in 1908, Iqbal took up assistant professorship at the Government
College in Lahore, but for financial reasons he relinquished it within a year to practice law.
During this period, Iqbal's personal life was in turmoil. He divorced Karim Bibi in 1916, but
provided financial support to her and their children for the rest of his life.
While maintaining his legal practice, Iqbal began concentrating on spiritual and religious
subjects, and publishing poetry and literary works. He became active in the Anjuman-e-Himayat-
e-Islam, a congress of Muslim intellectuals, writers and poets as well as politicians, and in 1919
became the general secretary of the organisation. Iqbal's thoughts in his work primarily focused
on the spiritual direction and development of human society, centred around experiences from
his travel and stay in Western Europe and the Middle East. He was profoundly influenced by
Western philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Henri Bergson and Goethe, and soon became
a strong critic of Western society's separation of religion from state and what he perceived as its
obsession with materialist pursuits.
The poetry and philosophy of Mawlana Rumi bore the deepest influence on Iqbal's mind. Deeply
grounded in religion since childhood, Iqbal would begin intensely concentrating on the study of
Islam, the culture and history of Islamic civilization and its political future, and embrace Rumi as
"his guide." Iqbal would feature Rumi in the role of a guide in many of his poems, and his works
focused on reminding his readers of the past glories of Islamic civilization, and delivering a
message of a pure, spiritual focus on Islam as a source for socio-political liberation and
greatness. Iqbal denounced political divisions within and amongst Muslim nations, and
frequently alluded to and spoke in terms of the global Muslim community, or the Ummah.[4]
[edit] Works in Persian
Iqbal's poetic works are written mostly in Persian rather than Urdu. Among his 12,000 verses of
poem, about 7,000 verses are in Persian. In 1915, he published his first collection of poetry, the
Asrar-e-Khudi (Secrets of the Self) in Persian. The poems delve into concepts of ego and
emphasise the spirit and self from a religious, spiritual perspective. Many critics have called this
Iqbal's finest poetic work.[9] In Asrar-e-Khudi, Iqbal has explained his philosophy of "Khudi," or
"Self." He proves by various means that the whole universe obeys the will of the "Self." Iqbal
condemns self-destruction. For him the aim of life is self-realization and self-knowledge. He
charts the stages through which the "Self" has to pass before finally arriving at its point of
perfection, enabling the knower of the "Self" to become the viceregent of Allah.[4]
In his Rumuz-e-Bekhudi (Hints of Selflessness), Iqbal seeks to prove that Islamic way of life is
the best code of conduct for a nation's viability. A person must keep his individual characteristics
intact but once this is achieved he should sacrifice his personal ambitions for the needs of the
nation. Man cannot realise the "Self" out of society. Also in Persian and published in 1917, this
group of poems has as its main themes the ideal community, Islamic ethical and social principles
and the relationship between the individual and society. Although he is true throughout to Islam,
Iqbal recognises also the positive analogous aspects of other religions. The Rumuz-e-Bekhudi
complements the emphasis on the self in the Asrar-e-Khudi and the two collections are often put
in the same volume under the title Asrar-e-Rumuz (Hinting Secrets), and it is addressed to the
world's Muslims. Iqbal sees the individual and his community as reflections of each other. The
individual needs to be strengthened before he can be integrated into the community, whose
development in turn depends on the preservation of the communal ego. It is through contact with
others that an ego learns to accept the limitations of its own freedom and the meaning of love.
Muslim communities must ensure order in life and must therefore preserve their communal
tradition. It is in this context that Iqbal sees the vital role of women, who as mothers are directly
responsible for inculcating values in their children.
Iqbal's 1924 publication, the Payam-e-Mashriq (The Message of the East) is closely connected to
the West-östlicher Diwan by the famous German poet Goethe. Goethe bemoaned that the West
had become too materialistic in outlook and expected that the East would provide a message of
hope that would resuscitate spiritual values. Iqbal styles his work as a reminder to the West of
the importance of morality, religion and civilization by underlining the need for cultivating
feeling, ardour and dynamism. He explains that an individual could never aspire for higher
dimensions unless he learns of the nature of spirituality.[4] In his first visit to Afghanistan, he
presented his book "Payam-e Mashreq" to King Amanullah Khan in which he admired the liberal
movements of Afghanistan against the British Empire. In 1933, he was officially invited to
Afghanistan to join the meetings regarding the establishment of Kabul University.

Iqbal in 1929, with his son Javid Iqbal.

The Zabur-e-Ajam (Persian Psalms), published in 1927, includes the poems Gulshan-e-Raz-e-
Jadeed (Garden of New Secrets) and Bandagi Nama (Book of Slavery). In Gulshan-e-Raz-e-
Jadeed, Iqbal first poses questions, then answers them with the help of ancient and modern
insight and shows how it effects and concerns the world of action. Bandagi Nama denounces
slavery by attempting to explain the spirit behind the fine arts of enslaved societies. Here as in
other books, Iqbal insists on remembering the past, doing well in the present and preparing for
the future, emphasising love, enthusiasm and energy to fill the ideal life.[4] Iqbal's 1932 work, the
Javed Nama (Book of Javed) is named after and in a manner addressed to his son, who is
featured in the poems, and follows the examples of the works of Ibn Arabi and Dante's The
Divine Comedy, through mystical and exaggerated depiction across time. Iqbal depicts himself as
Zinda Rud ("A stream full of life") guided by Rumi, "the master," through various heavens and
spheres, and has the honour of approaching divinity and coming in contact with divine
illuminations. In a passage re-living a historical period, Iqbal condemns the Muslim traitors who
were instrumental in the defeat and death of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula of Bengal and Tipu Sultan of
Mysore respectively by betraying them for the benefit of the British colonists, and thus
delivering their country to the shackles of slavery. At the end, by addressing his son Javid, he
speaks to the young people at large, and provides guidance to the "new generation."[4]
His love to Persian language is evident in his works and poetry. He says in one of his poems:[10]
‫گرچہ اردو در عذوبت شکر است‬
garche Urdu dar uzūbat shakar ast
‫لیک پارسی ام ز ہندی شیرینتر است‬
lék Pārsī-am ze Hindi shīrīntar ast
Translation:
Even though in sweetness Urdu* is sugar - (but) My Persian is sweeter than Hindi*
[edit] Works in Urdu

Iqbal in Spain, 1933.

Iqbal's first work published in Urdu, the Bang-e-Dara (The Call of the Marching Bell) of 1924,
was a collection of poetry written by him in three distinct phases of his life.[4] The poems he
wrote up to 1905, the year Iqbal left for England imbibe patriotism and imagery of landscape,
and includes the Tarana-e-Hind (The Song of India), popularly known as Saare Jahan Se
Achcha and another poem Tarana-e-Milli (Anthem of the (Muslim) Community), which was
composed in the same metre and rhyme scheme as Saare Jahan Se Achcha. The second set of
poems date from between 1905 and 1908 when Iqbal studied in Europe and dwell upon the
nature of European society, which he emphasized had lost spiritual and religious values. This
inspired Iqbal to write poems on the historical and cultural heritage of Islamic culture and
Muslim people, not from an Indian but a global perspective. Iqbal urges the global community of
Muslims, addressed as the Ummah to define personal, social and political existence by the values
and teachings of Islam. Poems such as Tulu'i Islam (Dawn of Islam) and Khizr-e-Rah (The
Guided Path) are especially acclaimed.
Iqbal preferred to work mainly in Persian for a predominant period of his career, but after 1930,
his works were mainly in Urdu. The works of this period were often specifically directed at the
Muslim masses of India, with an even stronger emphasis on Islam, and Muslim spiritual and
political reawakening. Published in 1935, the Bal-e-Jibril (Wings of Gabriel) is considered by
many critics as the finest of Iqbal's Urdu poetry, and was inspired by his visit to Spain, where he
visited the monuments and legacy of the kingdom of the Moors. It consists of ghazals, poems,
quatrains, epigrams and carries a strong sense religious passion.[4]
The Pas Cheh Bayed Kard ai Aqwam-e-Sharq (What are we to do, O Nations of the East?)
includes the poem Musafir (Traveller). Again, Iqbal depicts Rumi as a character and an
exposition of the mysteries of Islamic laws and Sufi perceptions is given. Iqbal laments the
dissension and disunity among the Indian Muslims as well as Muslim nations. Musafir is an
account of one of Iqbal's journeys to Afghanistan, in which the Pashtun people are counseled to
learn the "secret of Islam" and to "build up the self" within themselves.[4] Iqbal's final work was
the Armughan-e-Hijaz (The Gift of Hijaz), published posthumously in 1938. The first part
contains quatrains in Persian, and the second part contains some poems and epigrams in Urdu.
The Persian quatrains convey the impression as though the poet is travelling through the Hijaz in
his imagination. Profundity of ideas and intensity of passion are the salient features of these short
poems. The Urdu portion of the book contains some categorical criticism of the intellectual
movements and social and political revolutions of the modern age.
[edit] Political career

Iqbal with Muslim political activists

While dividing his time between law and poetry, Iqbal had remained active in the Muslim
League. He supported Indian involvement in World War I, as well as the Khilafat movement and
remained in close touch with Muslim political leaders such as Maulana Mohammad Ali and
Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was a critic of the mainstream Indian National Congress, which he
regarded as dominated by Hindus and was disappointed with the League when during the 1920s,
it was absorbed in factional divides between the pro-British group led by Sir Muhammad Shafi
and the centrist group led by Jinnah.
In November 1926, with the encouragement of friends and supporters, Iqbal contested for a seat
in the Punjab Legislative Assembly from the Muslim district of Lahore, and defeated his
opponent by a margin of 3,177 votes.[11] He supported the constitutional proposals presented by
Jinnah with the aim of guaranteeing Muslim political rights and influence in a coalition with the
Congress, and worked with the Aga Khan and other Muslim leaders to mend the factional
divisions and achieve unity in the Muslim League.
[edit] Revival of Islamic polity
Iqbal's second book in English, the Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, is a collection
of his six lectures which he delivered at Madras, Hyderabad and Aligarh; first published as a
collection in Lahore, in 1930. These lectures dwell on the role of Islam as a religion as well as a
political and legal philosophy in the modern age. In these lectures Iqbal firmly rejects the
political attitudes and conduct of Muslim politicians, whom he saw as morally misguided,
attached to power and without any standing with Muslim masses. Iqbal expressed fears that not
only would secularism weaken the spiritual foundations of Islam and Muslim society, but that
India's Hindu-majority population would crowd out Muslim heritage, culture and political
influence. In his travels to Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, he promoted ideas of greater
Islamic political co-operation and unity, calling for the shedding of nationalist differences. He
also speculated on different political arrangements to guarantee Muslim political power; in a
dialogue with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Iqbal expressed his desire to see Indian provinces as
autonomous units under the direct control of the British government and with no central Indian
government. He envisaged autonomous Muslim provinces in India. Under one Indian union he
feared for Muslims, who would suffer in many respects especially with regard to their
existentially separate entity as Muslims.[11] Sir Muhammad Iqbal was elected president of the
Muslim League in 1930 at its session in Allahabad, in the United Provinces as well as for the
session in Lahore in 1932. In his presidential address on December 29, 1930, Iqbal outlined a
vision of an independent state for Muslim-majority provinces in northwestern India:

Iqbal with Choudhary Rahmat Ali and other Muslim activists

"I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a
single state. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a
consolidated Northwest Indian Muslim state appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least
of Northwest India."[2]
In his speech, Iqbal emphasised that unlike Christianity, Islam came with "legal concepts" with
"civic significance," with its "religious ideals" considered as inseparable from social order:
"therefore, the construction of a policy on national lines, if it means a displacement of the
Islamic principle of solidarity, is simply unthinkable to a Muslim."[12] Iqbal thus stressed not only
the need for the political unity of Muslim communities, but the undesirability of blending the
Muslim population into a wider society not based on Islamic principles. He thus became the first
politician to articulate what would become known as the Two-Nation Theory — that Muslims are
a distinct nation and thus deserve political independence from other regions and communities of
India. However, he would not elucidate or specify if his ideal Islamic state would construe a
theocracy, even as he rejected secularism and nationalism. The latter part of Iqbal's life was
concentrated on political activity. He would travel across Europe and West Asia to garner
political and financial support for the League, and he reiterated his ideas in his 1932 address, and
during the Third Round-Table Conference, he opposed the Congress and proposals for transfer of
power without considerable autonomy or independence for Muslim provinces. He would serve as
president of the Punjab Muslim League, and would deliver speeches and publish articles in an
attempt to rally Muslims across India as a single political entity. Iqbal consistently criticised
feudal classes in Punjab as well as Muslim politicians averse to the League.
[edit] Relationship with Jinnah
See also: Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Final years
Ideologically separated from Congress Muslim leaders, Iqbal had also been disillusioned with
the politicians of the Muslim League owing to the factional conflict that plagued the League in
the 1920s. Discontent with factional leaders like Sir Muhammad Shafi and Sir Fazl-ur-Rahman,
Iqbal came to believe that only Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a political leader capable of
preserving this unity and fulfilling the League's objectives on Muslim political empowerment.
Building a strong, personal correspondence wwith Jinnah, Iqbal was an influential force on
convincing Jinnah to end his self-imposed exile in London, return to India and take charge of the
League. Iqbal firmly believed that Jinnah was the only leader capable of drawing Indian Muslims
to the League and maintaining party unity before the British and the Congress:
"I know you are a busy man but I do hope you won't mind my writing to you often, as you are the only
Muslim in India today to whom the community has right to look up for safe guidance through the storm
which is coming to North-West India and, perhaps, to the whole of India."[13]
There were significant differences between the two men — while Iqbal believed that Islam was
the source of government and society, Jinnah was a believer in secular government and had laid
out a secular vision for Pakistan where religion would have "nothing to do with the business of
the state."[14] Iqbal had backed the Khilafat struggle; Jinnah had dismissed it as "religious
frenzy." And while Iqbal espoused the idea of Muslim-majority provinces in 1930, Jinnah would
continue to hold talks with the Congress through the decade and only officially embraced the
goal of Pakistan in 1940. Some historians postulate that Jinnah always remained hopeful for an
agreement with the Congress and never fully desired the independence of India.[15] Iqbal's close
correspondence with Jinnah is speculated by some historians as having been responsible for
Jinnah's embrace of the idea of Pakistan.[16] Iqbal elucidated to Jinnah his vision of a separate
Muslim state in a letter sent on June 21, 1937:
"A separate federation of Muslim Provinces, reformed on the lines I have suggested above, is the only
course by which we can secure a peaceful India and save Muslims from the domination of Non-Muslims.
Why should not the Muslims of North-West India and Bengal be considered as nations entitled to self-
determination just as other nations in India and outside India are."[11]
Iqbal, serving as president of the Punjab Muslim League, criticised Jinnah's political actions,
including a political agreement with Punjabi leader Sir Sikandar Hyat Khan, whom Iqbal saw as
a representative of feudal classes and not committed to Islam as the core political philosophy.
Nevertheless, Iqbal worked constantly to encourage Muslim leaders and masses to support
Jinnah and the League. Speaking about the political future of Muslims in India, Iqbal said:
"There is only one way out. Muslims should strengthen Jinnah's hands. They should join the Muslim
League. Indian question, as is now being solved, can be countered by our united front against both the
Hindus and the English. Without it, our demands are not going to be accepted. People say our demands
smack of communalism. This is sheer propaganda. These demands relate to the defence of our national
existence.... The united front can be formed under the leadership of the Muslim League. And the Muslim
League can succeed only on account of Jinnah. Now none but Jinnah is capable of leading the
Muslims."[13]

[edit] Death

Tomb of Muhammad Iqbal at the entrance of the Badshahi Mosque.

In 1933, after returning from a trip to Spain and Afghanistan, Iqbal began suffering from a
mysterious throat illness.[17] He spent his final years working to establish the Idara Dar-ul-Islam,
an institution where studies in classical Islam and contemporary social science would be
subsidised, and advocating the demand for an independent Muslim state. Iqbal ceased practising
law in 1934 and he was granted pension by the Nawab of Bhopal. After suffering for months
from his illness, Iqbal died in Lahore in 1938. His tomb is located in the space between the
entrance of the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort, and official guards are maintained there
by the Government of Pakistan.
Iqbal is commemorated widely in Pakistan, where he is regarded as the ideological founder of
the state. His Tarana-e-Hind is a song that is widely used in India as a patriotic song speaking of
communal harmony. His birthday is annually commemorated in Pakistan as Iqbal Day, a national
holiday. Iqbal is the namesake of many public institutions, including the Allama Iqbal Medical
College, Allama Iqbal Open University and the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore.
Government and public organizations have sponsored the establishment of colleges and schools
dedicated to Iqbal, and have established the Iqbal Academy to research, teach and preserve the
works, literature and philosophy of Iqbal. His son Javid Iqbal has served as a justice on the
Supreme Court of Pakistan.
[edit] Influence and legacy
Street named in Iqbal's honour in Heidelberg, Germany.
If we are resolved to describe Islam as a system of superior values, we are obliged, first of all, to
acknowledge that we are not the true representatives of Islam.
—Muhammad Iqbal[18]

Allama Iqbal is regarded as one of the most influential Muslim poet and scholar of the 20th
century throughout the Muslim World.[citation needed] His concept of Islamic revival did not only lead
to the creation of Pakistan, but also the Iranian Revolution, which he had prophesied.[citation needed]
His works were also influential during the breaking up of the central Asian former Soviet
republics, most of which were Muslim majority.[citation needed] Allama Iqbal's poetry has also been
translated into several European languages where his works were famous during the early part of
the 20th century.[citation needed]