Remembering/Rediscovering Allama Iqbal

[mindless slogging]

Superb thread Momo.

Allama Iqbal was nothing short of a genius. Unfortunately there even seems to be hate creeping in towards him. I know this of personal experience; there seems to be hate toward him by some because he was one of the advocates, if the the foremost advocate for the establishment of Pakistan in his time. But what is most unfortunate is that some of our own are disregarding him. How unfortunate.

 

[zam]

1: Kee Mohammad saww Say Wafa tu nay tou Hum tere Hain

Yeh Jahan Cheez hay Kia Lo'ho Qalam tere Hain
2.
Tehran ho gar aalam-e-mashriq ka Geneva

Shayad Kurra-e-Arz ke Taqdeer Badal Jaaya

3.
Kheerah Naa Kar saka Mujhay Jalwa-e-Danish-e-Farang

Surma hai mere Aankh kaa Khak-e-Madina o Najaf

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Amazing thread. Very informative, need more threads like this, culture/historical as these promote the best discussion and allow us to learn about our heritage.

 

[Momo]

Momo - if get time read Hamid Mir's column on Youm-e-Iqbal in today's Jang. U will like it

ہے خاک ای فلسطین پے یہودی کا اگر حق
ہسپانیہ پر حق نہیں کیوں اہلے ارب کا

Just read it. A very good read.

Especially:

"Pakistan aur Qaid e Azam dono Iqbal ki daryaaft the, aur jo Iqbal ko naheen maanta wo shauq se Pakistan mein rahe lekin use Pakistani kehelwaane ka koi haqq naheen."

Thank you nedian.

By the way, I am a uetian.

 

[Momo]

A gem rendered by Surayya Khanum:

Khirad ke paas khabar ke siwa kuchh aur naheen
Tera ilaaj nazar ke siwa kuchh aur naheen

Har ik muqaam se aage muqaam hai tera
Hayaat zauq-e-safar ke siwa kuchh aur naheen

Ragon mein gardish-e-khoon hai agar to kya haasil
Hayaat soz-e-jigar ke siwa kuchh aur naheen

[utube]8l4zhlHCHkA&feature=related[/utube]

 

[Momo]

Sung by Afshan Ahmed:

Mataa-e be bahaa hai dard-o-soz-e aarzu mandi
Maqaam-e-bandagi de kar na loon, shaan-e-khudawandi

Tere aazaad bandon ki na ye dunya na wo dunya
Yahaan marne ki paabandi wahaan jeene ki paabandi

Guzar auqaat kar leta hai ye koh-o-bayaabaan mein
Ke shaaheen ke liye zillat hai kaar-e-aashiyaan-bandi

Ye faizaan-e-nazar tha ya ke maktab ki karaamat thi
Sikhaaye kis ne Ismaeel ko aadaab-e-farzandi?


[utube]mVfZXpb1TUE[/utube]

 

[d0gers]

unfortunately this ghazal is incomplete but it still is a wonderful rendition. never heard of Nashanas before this.

Mein jo sar basajda hua kabhi, tou zameen se aanay lagi sada
Tera dil tou hay sanam aashna, tujhe kya mile ga namaaz mein

[utube]VJcj7ZTRnxA[/utube]

 

[d0gers]

Javed Nama performed by Nusrat

[google]-3749437580626161213[/google]

 

[ShehryarK]

What an excellent thread! Some wonderful contributions by many posters here.

I agree with those that say that Allama Iqbal was a 'true' Islamist, an Islamic revivalist... and a great lover of Islamic history and theology and a true 'ashiq-e-rasool', not the self-proclaimed ushaq of the Islamic Republic, who proclaim their ishq for the Noble Messenger like baboons but their actions and their hearts are dark with hatred for their fellow men... but rather Iqbal was someone whose heart was truly attached to the RasoolAllah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wassalam).

My favourite poem by Iqbal? Wataniyyat from Bang-e-Dara...
Something simple, yet profound.. short and clear, thus easy to read and follow, yet conveying a deep and heart-felt political, religious and historical message...'aam fahm' yet insightful, with the power to move and shock us, like all great oratory...

Which is a pity, because we Pakistanis have had so few people like that in the last 100 years.

According to a very good, well-read and well-informed Hindu, secular Indian friend of mine, a person of the whole South Asian region has not produced a person of calibre of Iqbal for the past two centuries, maybe longer. And I agree - what our great men of ideas have we had? People of the calibre of Paine or Locke or Hobbs; or of Raazi or Ibn Rushd or Ibn Khaldoon; or of Plato and Aristotle, Chankiya or Sun Tzu?

 

[ZAK]

great men of ideas have we had? People of the calibre of Paine or Locke or Hobbs; or of Raazi or Ibn Rushd or Ibn Khaldoon; or of Plato and Aristotle, Chankiya or Sun Tzu?

You forgot to mention Abu Ali Sina .

 

[ShehryarK]

You forgot to mention Abu Ali Sina .

I didn't forget, but well spotted

Whilst I rate him as a great scientist, a medic and an inventor, I have little affinity for his philosophy or the theological underpinnings to his non-scientific work.

However, that doesn't mean he wasn't a philosopher of note - he was. And he definitely was a remarkable polymath. I just have an issue with people characterising those thoughts as "Muslim philosophy", when they are anything but Islam.

 

[ZAK]

I didn't forget, but well spotted

Whilst I rate him as a great scientist, a medic and an inventor, I have little affinity for his philosophy or the theological underpinnings to his non-scientific work.

However, that doesn't mean he wasn't a philosopher of note - he was. And he definitely was a remarkable polymath. I just have an issue with people characterising those thoughts as "Muslim philosophy", when they are anything but Islam.

Which Muslim Philosopher would you recommend to a Philosophy noob such as myself, Imam Ghazali perhaps?

 

[ShehryarK]

Imam Ghazali (RA) would indeed be a huge improvement on Ibn Sina, that's for sure! Not sure if many of his works are available in good English translations, but even those translated by the Orientalists should be okay. There are plenty of Urdu books about him and on him, of course, if you are familiar with the language.

From the philosophers originating in the modern times, one couldn't go far wrong with the subject of this thread Iqbal's philosophy is relevant, its contemporary, its generally easy to understand and it is very uplifting.

 

[ZAK]

Imam Ghazali (RA) would indeed be a huge improvement on Ibn Sina, that's for sure! Not sure if many of his works are available in good English translations, but even those translated by the Orientalists should be okay. There are plenty of Urdu books about him and on him, of course, if you are familiar with the language.

From the philosophers originating in the modern times, one couldn't go far wrong with the subject of this thread Iqbal's philosophy is relevant, its contemporary, its generally easy to understand and it is very uplifting.

Language wouldnt be a problem, Thanks a lot for your advice

Btw who would you recommend from the western Philosophers?

 

[ShehryarK]

who would you recommend from the western Philosophers?

I wouldn't know - I don't like most of them, so definitely not the right person to ask!

 

[ZAK]

I wouldn't know - I don't like most of them, so definitely not the right person to ask!

No problem, Thanks anyway.

 

[Momo]

According to a very good, well-read and well-informed Hindu, secular Indian friend of mine, a person of the whole South Asian region has not produced a person of calibre of Iqbal for the past two centuries, maybe longer.

That's a fair statement. The more one reads (that is understand) Iqbal, the more one realizes his worth.

 

[Momo]

Zindagi

Bartar az andesha-e-sood-o-zeyaan hai zindagi
Hai kabhi jaan aur kabhi tasleem-e-jaan hai zindagi!

Tu ise paimaana-e-amroz-o-farda se na naap
Jaawedaan paiham dawaan, har dam jawaan hai zindagi!

Apni duniya aap paida kar agar zindon mein hai
Sirr-e-aadam hai zameer-e-kun fikaan hai zindagi!

Zindagaani ki haqeeqat kohkan ke dil se poochh
Joo-e-sheer-o-tesha-o-sang-e-garaan hai zindagi!

Bandagi mein ghut ke reh jaati hai ik joo-e-kam aab
Aur aazaadi mein behr-e-bekaraan hai zindagi

Aashkara hai ye apni quwwat-e-taskheer se
Garche ik mitti ke paikar mein nehaan hai zindagi

Qulzam-e-hasti se tu ubhra hai maanind-e-hubaab
Is zeyaan khaane mein tera imtehaan hai zindagi

An excerpt from Baang-e-dara > Khizr-e-raah > Jawaab-e-Khizr

 

[Momo]

Namaaz

Badal ke bhes phhir aate har zamaane mein
Agarche peer hai aadam, jawaan hain Laat-o-Manaat
Ye aik sajda jise tu garaan samajhta hai
Hazaar sajde se deta hai aadmi ko nijaat!

From Zarb-e-Kaleem

 

[Momo]

Aql go aastaan se door naheen          Is ki taqdeer mein huzoor naheen
Dil-e-beena bhi kar Khuda se talab     Aankh ka noor, dil ka noor naheen
Ilm mein bhi suroor hai lekin          Ye wo jannat hai jis mein hoor naheen
Kya ghazab hai ke is zamaane mein      Aik bhi saahab-e-suroor naheen
Ik junoon hai ke baa sha'oor bhi hai   Ik junoon hai ke baa sha'oor naheen
Naa saboori hai zindagi dil ki         Aah! wo dil ke naa saboor naheen!
Be huzoori hai teri maut ka raaz       Zinda ho tu to be huzoor naheen
Har guhar nein sadaf ko tor diya       Tu hi aamaada-e-zahoor naheen
Arini mai bhi keh raha hoon magar      Ye hadees-e-Kaleem-o-Toor naheen

From Baal-e-Jibreel

 

[Mohsin]

Currently reading 'Shika' and Jawab-e-Shikwa, Iqbal's dialogue with Allah' by Khuswant Singh, after i finally got it (like 2 half months after i ordered it from Amazon!) Very well translated i suppose, well written also.

Khudi ko kar buland itna
Keh har taqdeer sey pehley
Khuda banday se khud poochey
Bata, 'teri raza kia hai'?

SubhanAllah

 

[Momo]

Aik Behri Qazzaaq aur Sikandar

Sikandar

Sila tera teri zanjeer ya shamsheer hai meri
Ke teri rahzani se tang hai darya ki pehnai

Qazzaaq

Sikandar! Haif tu is ko jawaan mardi samajhta hai
Gawaara is tarah karte hain ham chashmon ki ruswaai?
Tera pesha hai saffaaki, mera pesha hai saffaaki
Ke hum qazzaaq hain dono, tu maidaani, mai daryaai

From Zarb e Kaleem

 

[Momo]

Masti e Kirdaar

Sufi ki tareeqat mein faqat masti e ehwaal
Mulla ki sharee'at mein faqat masti e guftaar

Sha'er ki nawaa murda o afsurda o be zauq
Afkaar mein sarmast, na khaabeeda na bedaar

Wo mard e mujaahid nazar aata naheen mujh ko
Ho jis ke rag o pae mein faqat masti e kirdaar

From Zarb e Kaleem

 

[10sion]

Dil paak nahin tou paak ho sakta nahin insaan.

Warna iblees ko bhi aatay thay wuzoo k faraaiz bohot..

Happy Allama Iqbal Day.

 

[Momo]

Kaar e jahaan daraaz hai ab mera intazaar kar

 

[violet_may]

Aik Pahar aur Gulahri:

Har aik cheez se paida Khuda ki qudrat hai
koi bara, koi chotta, yeh uss ki hikmat hai




Grade 4 Urdu tashreeh ftw

We also had to sing the 'eik makra aur makhi' poem.....'eik din kisi makhi se yeh kehne laga makra....'

Sadly, I only know the 'child' level poems and then we moved = no more Urdu.

 

[akheR]

Allama Iqbal is the man who encouraged me to take interest in philosophy more than his works in poetry. Weird.




C'mon, who would have read the Goethes & Nietzsches otherwise.

 

[Hasan]

still can remember learning this lines with the mullana who tought me the Quran.

Allah Allah Bâey Bismillah pidar
Ma’niye zibh-e-azim âmad pisar

In a state of supreme bliss Dr Iqbal says, “O’ Allah, what an exalted position Imam Husayn possessed, as his illustrious father (Imam Ali) was the first letter of the Qur’an! A tradition says that Imam Ali said, “What is in the Holy Qur’an is in the first chapter (Surah Fatiha); what is in this surah (chapter) is in the first verse (Bismillah); what is in Bismillah is in its first letter (Ba) and I am the dot below ba. Doubtless Imam Ali was acknowledged to be the best expounder of the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Prophet had himself declared: “Ali is with Qur’an, and Qur’an is with Ali”. Imam Husayn was the son of such an eminent personality. It is Imam Husayn’s Martyrdom which is referred to as Zibhe Azim the greatest sacrifice in the Holy Qur’an. Imam Husayn was the direct descendant of Prophet Ismail and had offered himself for sacrifice at Karbala to save Islamic principles from annihilation. The Holy Qur’an says that Zibhe Azim, the great sacrifice of Prophet Ismail was left over for the coming generation. Dr Iqbal alludes to this and says that Zibhe Azim in the Holy Qur’an means the sacrifice of Imam Husayn

 

[Law]

Huzoor-e-Haq mein Israfeel ne meri shikayat ki..
Ye Banda waqt se pehle Qayamat kar na de barpa..

 

[Hasan]

This might chime with everyone views but this to me defines the underpinning of Iqbals message (faith, commitment, sacrifice and love of creator). In this respect, Iqbal's role model is Imam Hussain.

Roney wâlâ hoon shahid-e-Karbala kay gham may mayn
Kyâ durrey maqsûd na daingay Sâqi-e-Kauthar mujhey

Dr Iqbal has a sincere and genuine faith in Imam Husayn. The hero of this episode Imam Husayn, the brave son of the bravest of the brave Ali and grandson of the Holy Prophet, took up a firm stand not to acknowledge Yazid as the Caliph of Islam. It is a fight for the preservation of the principles and tenets of Islam. Imam Husayn arrived in Karbala on the 2nd of Muharram 61 A.H. along with his small children, women, and some comrades numbering 72 only. On the l0th of Muharram he was brutally killed. This was the tragedy over which Iqbal sheds tears. He believes that mourning and wailing over him would lead to his (Iqbal’s) salvation. He also believes that Suqi-e-Kauthar, Imam Ali loves those, who weep for Imam Husayn. He hopes and prays that since he sheds tears out of grief for Husyan, Imam Ali would give him all the help he needs

 

[ahsan88]

[utube]vFIDdoUh49Q[/utube]

 

[Hasan]

gharib o sada o rangeen he dastan e haram,
nehayat is ki Hussain (AS), ibtida he Ismael (AS)"

Story of the family (haram) is unfortunate, simple and colorfull.
It began with Ismael (AS) and ended with Husain (AS)"

Here Allama Iqbal is refereeing to the following verse of Quran predicting Zibhin-Adheem, the Great Sacrifice of Karbala:

“And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.” Al-Quran 37.107

Where Allah accepted the sacrifice of Ibrahim (AS) and saved his son Ismail (AS) IN EXCHANGE FOR a Great Sacrifice (Zibhin-Adheem), the slaughter of Imam Husain (AS) who was from his generation

 

[zimmz]

Iqbal Tere Des ka Kya Haal Sunaon,

Be’Baaki-o-Haq’Goyi se Ghabraata hai Momin,
Makkari-o-Farebi pe Itraata hai Momin,

Jiss Rizq se Parwaaz mein Kotaahi ka Darr ho,
Woh Rizq Ab Barray Shauq se Khaata hai Momin,

Kirdaar ka, Guftaar ka, Aa’amal ka Momin,
Qaa’il Nahin Ese Kisi Janjaal ka Momin,

Sarhad ka Momin hai to Koi Punjab ka Momin,
Dhoonde se bhi Millta Nahin, Qur’aan ka Momin,

Iqbal Tere Des ka Kya Haal Sunaon…!!

 

[Opener]

Imam Ali would give him all the help he needs

Although I disagree with your entire interpretation I will just comment on this portion: except Allah no one has the power to give us anything.

 

[Opener]

Tu Rahnaward-e- shauq hai, manzil na kar qubool
Laila bhi hum nashiN ho to manzil na kar qubool

Aye jou-e-aab barh ke ho darya-e-tundo-tez
Sahil tujhe atta ho to sahil na kar qubool

Subh-e-azal yeh mujh se kaha Jibraeel nay
Jo aqal ka ghulam ho woh dil na kar qubool

 

[Rookie123]

Do you believe that we don't understand and follow Qur'an because we respect it a bit too much?

What a line.... Am sure Iqbal would have liked it.....

This can be said about a lot of sacred things in life.....

 

[Hasan]

Although I disagree with your entire interpretation I will just comment on this portion: except Allah no one has the power to give us anything.

I respect your opinion, though I do not agree with it. Yes, Allah is the ultimate source for all provisions; access to these provisions is achieved through access to appropriate means (which are a blessing in themselves). Your mother provided for all your needs when you were an infant. When you cried out in hunger she feed you, when you needed cleaning she cleansed you, when you needed rest she put you to sleep. She was a blessing to you from Allah, you turned to her to benefit from Allah's provisions. By asking her you were not in anyway diminishing the position of Allah, as Allah remains the ultimate provider. In fact, by being thankful to your mother you are being thankful to Allah. Your mother has been appointed by Allah as your helper.

Well that is my position anyway, to which you may not subscribe.

As regards Iqbal views of Imam Ali, Iqbal refers to him as Mushkil Kusha (the solver of problems).

But let us not distract from the objective of this thread which is to remember Iqbal and his great work.

 

[Opener]

Hasan just a question as I have seen this argument before.

Who is closer to us given that Ali (RA) is not in this world anymore: Allah or Hadhrat Ali?

And if it is correct according to your belief to ask Ali (RA) then why not ask Muhammad (SAW)? Isn't his status higher?

We won't agree on this I think but I want your prospective. I will not post a follow up as I don't want to derail this thread (which I admit I have done) further?

 

[Hasan]

Hasan just a question as I have seen this argument before.

Who is closer to us given that Ali (RA) is not in this world anymore: Allah or Hadhrat Ali?

And if it is correct according to your belief to ask Ali (RA) then why not ask Muhammad (SAW)? Isn't his status higher?

We won't agree on this I think but I want your prospective. I will not post a follow up as I don't want to derail this thread (which I admit I have done) further?

As I said before, all authority resides with Allah, not an atom moves in this universe without his knowledge and authority. Our very being is a reflection of Allah and his supreme power. Prophet Mohammad is the greatest of Allah’s creation, his relationship with Allah is something which cannot be comprehended by a normal being. Hazrat Ali was once asked about his status in relationship to the Prophet and he responded that I am his slave.

When I invoke the name of the Prophet and his blessed family, I do not do so with the view that they have some power which is independent of Allah but with the intention that I am asking those who have been appointed by Allah and this Prophet as our helpers and guides. If all that I know and understand about Allah has come through these personalities, I do not see anything wrong is invoking their names to seek great access to Allah’s blessings.

Death is a very fluid concept as the Quran notes that those who die in the way of Allah are infact alive and are sustain by risk-e-hasana. Quran also mentions those who are alive but their corrupt actions mean that they are dead from a spiritual perspective. Remember that death of the body does not mean that the human spirit is also dead. In fact, the sprite is what ultimately will be accountable. The sprites of Prophet Mohammad and Hazrat Ali are very much alive and hold the same status with Allah as they did when they were physically present in this world.

My final point regarding this matter is that Prophet Mohammad and Hazrat Ali are a means of reaching proximity with Allah. What do I mean by proximity, I view proximity as achieving greater alignment with the way of Allah. The why of Allah is best exemplified by the personalities of Prophet Mohammad and Hazrat Ali. In the same that being near the Kaba (an inanimate object) is a source of increasing blessings, the invoking of the names of the Prophet Mohammad and Hazrat Ali is achieving greater proximity to Allah and greater access to his blessings.

As I said, these are my views and I do not cast judgement over you as a human or a muslim because you may have different view.

 

[Tapori]

Thank you Momo and others;

See, you'll have a lot of well-meaning desi BBCD's rocking the flag and saying "I'm Pakistani innit" but ask them about the history and Philosophy of this man and they think "Poetry and Philosophy; Ain't that for like batty boys or sumtin?"

Thankfully the internet allows me to rediscover those I'd heard so much about but never "Got round" to reading/listening to: Most educated Pakistani's are privileged to have this in their syllabus as is having Shakespere and other great thinkers/poets/Philosophers/Political activists in Childrens education.

Hey, in Iqbal's thunderous reply (from the prespective of God) to Iqbal's own Shikwa, how many Ullema as a percentage, do you think (both then and today) would ironically (Given his initial complaint) declare Iqbal as doing "Bidaah" or "Shirk" ?

When I invoke the name of the Prophet and his blessed family, I do not do so with the view that they have some power which is independent of Allah but with the intention that I am asking those who have been appointed by Allah and this Prophet as our helpers and guides. If all that I know and understand about Allah has come through these personalities, I do not see anything wrong is invoking their names to seek great access to Allah’s blessings.

Have you ever considered that the constant use of "Message" and "Messenger" is that what we know as Islam is the foundation upon which we build and gain new insights into life and oursleves? The Prophet didn't know everything; No prophet ever claimed this.

What they had was a message; A seed of Social Justice, Philosophy and Good will which you use as but one example and go forth and prosper - Not become a cloned Sycophant.

Ever consider why Islam was so ahead of most back at its Zenith? IMO, reading the history of that time, it's because they explored both Scientifically, Philosophically and Socially, using Islam as the light.
They didn't become Moths, but soared instead like Eagles.

From Hazrat Umar, to the Scientist AL-Kindi, they Explored and built.

If they had been Navel gazing as to "What would the prophet do in this specific situation which he never encountered?"
"What length is my RObe?
"What foot do I enter the house with?"
"What foods should I eat based on what the Prophet PBUH ate?
then they wouldn't have made the progression they did.

Most of these general points Iqbal rightfully touches upon;
Knowledge of Islam has ceased to be actual Knowledge and has instead become in-fighting navel gazing with no real product save for dissecting semantics of words once said to be uttered by the Prophet, rather than going forth and using the tools right there to build and prosper.

Just ask Galileo...

 

[wasim-fan]

One of the most remarkable personalities along with Jinnah. Truly the kind of turn their lives and belief systems took really defined the fate the sub continent as we know it. It is same Iqbal whose song "saare jaahan se acchaa hindustan hamaara" is played in schools, on independence and republic days etc. Irony much.

 

[Tapori]

saare jaahan se acchaa hindustan hamaara

Exactly.

There is post 1947 history for all.

But no-one should forget the shared pre-1947 history

 

[violet_may]

Wow, top post Tapori. I feel like I should add something of substance but really, you said it all.

 

[Laal]

Great posts. Iqbal was one of a few philosophers (yes, he was a philosopher) who is claimed as their own by both the conservatives and liberals in Pakistan.

 

[KB]

So to what does a Muslim aspire?

Iqbal stressed human will, indeed the absolute necessity of human action, in the making of an Islamic society. There was an emphasis of the personal responsibility of each individual Muslim before God. Iqbal pointed to the power of Islam in transforming the individual. In this sense he exemplified the trend in nineteenth and twentieth century Islamic revivalist movements.

In Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, Iqbal points the centrality of action: ‘the final act is not an intellectual act, but a vital act which deepens the whole being of the ego and sharpens his will into creative assurance that the world is not just something to be seen and known through concepts, but to be made and remade by continuous action.’

In one of his poems, Iqbal begins
‘They built the mosque overnight, these men fired by religious zeal.
But the mind, confirmed in sin, could not yield to prayer and worship.’

As Naveeda Khan notes, this was not merely an expression of resignation, but also a statement of the importance of personal responsibility. ‘If one goes to prayer in a mosque it is by one’s own choice. Thus this resignation is also an exaltation of self-willed spiritual effort…one’s spiritual bearing is ultimately only one’s responsibility.’

The individual was empowered. For Iqbal, a Muslim community was not made up of unthinking individuals, but by individuals actively committed to Islam. The community's will was seen not as a product of blindly following Muslim leaders, but as a personal commitment of individuals to Islam.

Iqbal imagined this Muslim community and the Muslim state as being made up of individuals striving for Islamic fulfillment, striving for self-realisation. This was a community seen in sharp counterpoint to actual existing divisions amongst Muslims and as transcending the narrow bonds of ‘blood relationships’.

Iqbal was of course deeply skeptical of nationalism, which makes his relationship to Pakistan as it came into being somewhat ambiguous. For him nationalism represented a narrow form of ethics, which imposed ethnic and geographic limitations on individuals. He saw it as ill at odds with the universal ethics of Islam, which promoted a human, not national, and racial outlook. He warned “the national idea is racialising the outlook of Muslims, and thus materially counteracting the humanising work of Islam.”

Yet his ideas and his imagining of a separate state for Muslims in the end also provided a compelling appeal to Muslim League supporters in the 1940s as they sought to garner support, especially in the Punjab.

This influence can be seen in how the Muslim League, as David Gilmartin has demonstrated, ideologically appealed for the need for individual moral transformation, with individuals identifying with the ‘higher’ moral ideal of the Muslim community, symbolized by the existence of a Muslim state, which transcended local division. What the Muslim League attacked rhetorically, whilst working through it in practice, was the politics of local influence. Biraderi was attacked as being akin to fitna, as bringing moral disorder. In contrast, in the League’s rhetoric, support for Pakistan was projected as a demonstration of a personal commitment to Islamic ideals, which were threatened by the existence of worldly self-interest. Commitment to Muslim unity, in the Muslim League appeals, was depicted as a moral imperative rooted in Muslim principles and offered in sharp contradistinction to the local influences in which most people were enmeshed. Of course the Muslim League did not ignore biardari and local considerations, to the contrary they exploited these to extend their influence, even as they attacked these rhetorically.

Whilst Iqbal’s ideas were powerful in constructing an image of a Muslim community, in the end he left no real blueprint for the exercise of state power in an independent Muslim state. But whilst this may be interpreted as adding to the confusion of the relationship of Islam to Pakistan, it may also be seen as enabling the state to be envisaged as an abode for ‘self directed experimentation’, as Naveeda Khan has argued. She sees the Objectives resolution as an espousal of the ‘spirit of enabling’ rather than one of ‘entailing’. She cites Liaquat Ali Khan’s speech where he envisaged Pakistan as a ‘laboratory’. As she states powerfully, summarising Liaquat's speech:

“It was to be a place for self-directed experimentation. And the question of ends is left intriguingly open. Only Muslims could find out for themselves what they could yet be, an opportunity for self-exploration for which they had been long seeking. That is, they alone could find out the answer to the question, “To what does a Muslim aspire?” as in God’s parting words in Iqbal’s Jawab-i-Shikwa.”

 

[Hitman]

What are your views on Allama Iqbal?

Not going to lie here, I first heard of him from Zaid Hamid’s videos on youtube. We Indians used to watch his videos for sheer comic relief. While most people consider him a crackpot, he very often spoke of Allama Iqbal glowingly. And that made me curious about who Allama Iqbal was, and what his role was in Pakistan’s creation. It was years ago when I researched about him.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about him -

“ Sir Muhammad Iqbal Kt, was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, and politician, whose poetry in the Urdu language is considered among the greatest of the twentieth century, and whose vision of a cultural and political ideal for the Muslims of British-ruled India was to animate the impulse for Pakistan. ”

Anyone can figure out how great he was in his field, reading that.

Anyways, I want to know from common Pakistanis here about their opinion about him. I have created threads about Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Zia Ul Haq in the past on PP, just to know the opinion of common Pakistanis about them. We all know how these men were from reading history, but it’s completely different from knowing the opinions of their countrymen.

I’d really like to know from my fellow Pakistani posters about the man.

 

[Hitman]

BTW, in no way, shape, or form I’m comparing him with Bhutto or Zia.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Pathetic OP trying to link the great Iqbal with a tv personality. If you don’t know who Iqbal is you have little knowledge of anything imo .

He is the person whose vision saved millions of us from being ruled over by Hindu extremists . All you need to know .

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Iqbal is one of the greatest poet, philosopher and thinker of the modern era.

It's become fashionable to bash him nowadays for some reason.

But I find it staggering that an Indian only heard of him via youtube. Don't you guys learn about the stories about the struggle during the British era etc?

Or at the very least know about tarana e hind?

 

[Major]

One of the post over rated personalities in pakistani politics.

Did nothing basically. Just talked.

He is famous because sir syed and jinnah were not thelogians. Iqbal used theology everywhere he could and thus he is looked with esteem in our history.....

Anyways, sararay jahan sey acha was written by him? Or was it some other patriotic song? How do indians view him?

 

[Major]

Pathetic OP trying to link the great Iqbal with a tv personality. If you don’t know who Iqbal is you have little knowledge of anything imo .

He is the person whose vision saved millions of us from being ruled over by Hindu extremists . All you need to know .

Wait what? How is op trying to create a link he only.says he heard about iqbal through that tv personality.

He is admitting that he doesnt know iqbal and msde this thread for pakistanis to tell him who he was and his contributions to pakistan.

You became defensive....

Anywyas, plz do tell us any of his concrete works that helped in the emergence of pakistan

 

[Local.Dada]

Anyways, sararay jahan sey acha was written by him? Or was it some other patriotic song? How do indians view him?

We view him as poet who wrote sare jahan se accha, hindustan hamaara and through his poetry might have planted the seed for Pakistan. That’s about it. He is acknowledged as a great poet but just another name among the great poets we have produced- both Hindu and Muslim. There isn’t much discussion around him apart from that trivia.

It was only much later in life when I ran into Pakistan content, I realized he is held as a much bigger deal than just another famous poet in Pakistan.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Literary Notes: Akber’s letters to Iqbal published after a century

LETTER-WRITING is a dying art, goes the oft-repeated lament. Emails and other electronic methods are eating into traditional ways of communication and the conventional postal service is now scornfully dubbed ‘snail mail’. But the old-fashioned, handwritten letters have a charm of their own, especially if a letter is written by a writer or poet, it has much to offer.

Ghalib’s letters, for instance, not only offer samples of crisp and witty prose but they also reflect on the personal life of the great bard, not to mention the first-hand account of what was going on in post-1857 Delhi — to which Ghalib was an eyewitness.

Allama Iqbal and Akber Allahabadi, two of our towering literary personalities, were on good terms with each other. They had similar views and agreed on certain issues, especially Muslims’ role in politics in British India and their future. Iqbal went to Allahabad on three occasions to meet Akber. But Akber could not visit Lahore despite Iqbal’s earnest desire and invitation, though both kept on exchanging letters.

Akber, just like Iqbal, was a prolific letter writer and had penned several thousands of letters to his dear and near ones and Iqbal was, of course, one of them. But somehow Akber’s published letters addressed to Iqbal were not as many in numbers as one would have expected. Only six such letters could be discovered and published after Iqbal’s death in 1938. It was presumed that the missing letters must have been destroyed.

What supported this sorrowful thought was a statement by Javed Iqbal, Iqbal’s son, who wrote that Iqbal, just a few weeks before his death, had ordered Munshi Tahir to sort out a large number of documents stored in three or four tin boxes. Munshi Sahib put a large portion of those papers into a burning fireplace on Iqbal’s desire. Although many scholars kept on searching for the missing letters, it was all in vain. But Dr Zahid Muneer Aamir did not agree with the idea that Iqbal could have ordered Akber’s letters to be burnt as he valued Akber’s letters much and, according to Iqbal’s own words, he would read Akber’s letters over and over in solitude. Once Iqbal wrote to Akber, I see you as my “murshid”.

So Dr Zahid Aamir had been trying to trace the missing letters and his quest finally paid off: he has come up with 133 unpublished letters that Akber had written to Iqbal between 1910 and 1921. These new-found letters have been published along with six previously discovered letters, a foreword, annotations and a detailed index. Titled Akber Banaam Iqbal and subtitled Aik Sadi Ke Ba’ad 133 Ghair Matboo’a Khutoot Ki Daryaaft (Akber to Iqbal: discovery of 133 unpublished letters after a century), the book has just been published by Punjab University’s Urdu Development and Translation Centre.

In his preface Zahid Muneer Aamir has named the collections of letters by Akber addressed to different personalities and published earlier. For instance, collections of Akber’s letters to Khwaja Hasan Nizami, Abdul Maajid Daryabadi, Mirza Sultan Ahmed, Syed Sulaiman Nadvi, Habib-ur-Rahman Khan Shervani, Kishan Prashaad Shaad, Shiekh Abdul Qadir and some others, were published. Mukhtaruddin Ahmed had been collecting Akber’s letters but could not get them published and finally Muhammad Rashid Shiekh edited and published them in 2021.

As put by Zahid Muneer in his foreword, Akber’s letters addressed to Iqbal were a treasured legacy that Saaqif Nafees had inherited. Nafees, grandson of Chaudhry Muhammad Husain (1894-1950), handed over these letters to Zahid Muneer Aamir and finally these letters were brought to light, after a century or so, in a befitting and scholarly manner. As we know, Chaudhry Muhammad Husain was very close to Iqbal and Iqbal had made him guardian of his children. After Iqbal’s death, Chaudhry Muhammad Husain devotedly managed all the matters related to Iqbal’s family, including children’s education and their wedding. In his foreword, Zahid Muneer Aamir has expressed his gratitude to Saaqif Nafees and has also dedicated the book to him. Zahid Amir’s foreword and annotations with a detailed index make the book a truly research-based scholarly work.

These letters, written between Jan 23, 1910 and Aug 15, 1921, shed new light on both the personalities and their thoughts. In these letters Akber emerges as a mentor to young Iqbal. Though at times Akber sounds pessimistic and depressed in these letters because of his own problems and a general gloom takes over him when he thinks of enslaved Muslims of India, but in Iqbal he sees a glimmer of hope and encourages him. Also, these letters offer some hitherto unpublished couplets by Akber.

Zahid Muneer Aamir is a well-known scholar and has penned over 50 books. He has been teaching at Punjab University’s Urdu department since long and now heads the university’s Urdu Development and Translation Centre.

Akber Allahabadi died on Sept 9, 1921.

Literary Notes: Akber’s letters to Iqbal published after a century

These letters, published in a book by Dr Zahid Aamir, shed new light on both poets' personalities and their thoughts.

www.dawn.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

The 147th birth anniversary of national poet Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal is being observed today (Saturday) all over the country with traditional zeal and enthusiasm.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Today, we honor the profound legacy of Allama Iqbal, whose visionary thoughts and poetic genius continue to resonate deeply. His philosophy urges us to transcend beyond our limitations, embrace self-awareness, and strive for a higher purpose.

 

[KB]

Literary Notes: Akber’s letters to Iqbal published after a century

LETTER-WRITING is a dying art, goes the oft-repeated lament. Emails and other electronic methods are eating into traditional ways of communication and the conventional postal service is now scornfully dubbed ‘snail mail’. But the old-fashioned, handwritten letters have a charm of their own, especially if a letter is written by a writer or poet, it has much to offer.

Ghalib’s letters, for instance, not only offer samples of crisp and witty prose but they also reflect on the personal life of the great bard, not to mention the first-hand account of what was going on in post-1857 Delhi — to which Ghalib was an eyewitness.

Allama Iqbal and Akber Allahabadi, two of our towering literary personalities, were on good terms with each other. They had similar views and agreed on certain issues, especially Muslims’ role in politics in British India and their future. Iqbal went to Allahabad on three occasions to meet Akber. But Akber could not visit Lahore despite Iqbal’s earnest desire and invitation, though both kept on exchanging letters.

Akber, just like Iqbal, was a prolific letter writer and had penned several thousands of letters to his dear and near ones and Iqbal was, of course, one of them. But somehow Akber’s published letters addressed to Iqbal were not as many in numbers as one would have expected. Only six such letters could be discovered and published after Iqbal’s death in 1938. It was presumed that the missing letters must have been destroyed.

What supported this sorrowful thought was a statement by Javed Iqbal, Iqbal’s son, who wrote that Iqbal, just a few weeks before his death, had ordered Munshi Tahir to sort out a large number of documents stored in three or four tin boxes. Munshi Sahib put a large portion of those papers into a burning fireplace on Iqbal’s desire. Although many scholars kept on searching for the missing letters, it was all in vain. But Dr Zahid Muneer Aamir did not agree with the idea that Iqbal could have ordered Akber’s letters to be burnt as he valued Akber’s letters much and, according to Iqbal’s own words, he would read Akber’s letters over and over in solitude. Once Iqbal wrote to Akber, I see you as my “murshid”.

So Dr Zahid Aamir had been trying to trace the missing letters and his quest finally paid off: he has come up with 133 unpublished letters that Akber had written to Iqbal between 1910 and 1921. These new-found letters have been published along with six previously discovered letters, a foreword, annotations and a detailed index. Titled Akber Banaam Iqbal and subtitled Aik Sadi Ke Ba’ad 133 Ghair Matboo’a Khutoot Ki Daryaaft (Akber to Iqbal: discovery of 133 unpublished letters after a century), the book has just been published by Punjab University’s Urdu Development and Translation Centre.

In his preface Zahid Muneer Aamir has named the collections of letters by Akber addressed to different personalities and published earlier. For instance, collections of Akber’s letters to Khwaja Hasan Nizami, Abdul Maajid Daryabadi, Mirza Sultan Ahmed, Syed Sulaiman Nadvi, Habib-ur-Rahman Khan Shervani, Kishan Prashaad Shaad, Shiekh Abdul Qadir and some others, were published. Mukhtaruddin Ahmed had been collecting Akber’s letters but could not get them published and finally Muhammad Rashid Shiekh edited and published them in 2021.

As put by Zahid Muneer in his foreword, Akber’s letters addressed to Iqbal were a treasured legacy that Saaqif Nafees had inherited. Nafees, grandson of Chaudhry Muhammad Husain (1894-1950), handed over these letters to Zahid Muneer Aamir and finally these letters were brought to light, after a century or so, in a befitting and scholarly manner. As we know, Chaudhry Muhammad Husain was very close to Iqbal and Iqbal had made him guardian of his children. After Iqbal’s death, Chaudhry Muhammad Husain devotedly managed all the matters related to Iqbal’s family, including children’s education and their wedding. In his foreword, Zahid Muneer Aamir has expressed his gratitude to Saaqif Nafees and has also dedicated the book to him. Zahid Amir’s foreword and annotations with a detailed index make the book a truly research-based scholarly work.

These letters, written between Jan 23, 1910 and Aug 15, 1921, shed new light on both the personalities and their thoughts. In these letters Akber emerges as a mentor to young Iqbal. Though at times Akber sounds pessimistic and depressed in these letters because of his own problems and a general gloom takes over him when he thinks of enslaved Muslims of India, but in Iqbal he sees a glimmer of hope and encourages him. Also, these letters offer some hitherto unpublished couplets by Akber.

Zahid Muneer Aamir is a well-known scholar and has penned over 50 books. He has been teaching at Punjab University’s Urdu department since long and now heads the university’s Urdu Development and Translation Centre.

Akber Allahabadi died on Sept 9, 1921.

Literary Notes: Akber’s letters to Iqbal published after a century

These letters, published in a book by Dr Zahid Aamir, shed new light on both poets' personalities and their thoughts.

www.dawn.com

Akbar Allahabadi (1846-1921) was a splendid satirist. His poetry also says much about the times he lived in. I wrote a post on his poetry a few years ago and I ‘resurrect’ the post here.

For many Muslims, particularly in upper India, the colonial challenge raised profound questions. What did it now mean to be Muslim? The sense of the world having been turned upside down, that sense of cultural decline, comes through strongly in some of Allahabadi’s poems.

Wo mutrab aur wo saaz wo gaana badal gaya
neendain badal gain wo fasana badal gaya
rang-i-rukh-i-bahaar ki zeenat hui nai
gulshan me bulbulon ka tarana badal gaya
Fitrat ke har asar mein howa aik inqlaab
Pani falak pe khait mein daana badal gaya

(the minstrel, the music, the song, sleep itself, the tales, the colours of spring, the tune of the nightingales in the flower garden have all changed. Every aspect of nature turned upside down; rain from the sky and the seed in the field no longer what it once was.)

In another he says that should you pass by his ruined village, you will see a soldiers' barracks belonging to the British standing next to a broken mosque:

Jo guzro gay idhar se mera ujra gaon dekho gay
Shikasta aik masjid hai bagal mein Gora Barrak hai

Muslims, of course, responded differently to the colonial challenge. One response was that of the modernists - Sayyid Ahmad Khan and the Aligarh movement - who attempted to adapt Islam to the needs of the modern world without surrendering its soul. But for many of its critics, including Allahabadi, they went too far. There was danger of reducing Islam to mere identity as he sarcastically noted:

Nai tahzib men diqqat ziyada to nahin hoti
Mazahib rahte hain qaaim faqat imaan jaata hai

(Not so troubling are these modern times / religions remain intact, only faith is lost)

In another poem he noted bitingly of the modernists has having given up on their culture:

Chhod literature ko apni history ko bhuul ja
shaikh-o-masjid se taalluq tark kar school ja
char-din ki zindagi hai koft se kya faeda
kha double roti clerki kar khushi se phuul ja

(Leave your literature, forget your history. Abandon the sheikh and the mosque, attend school. Life’s too short, so why vex yourself. Eat English bread, be a clerk, swell with happiness)

In his attempts to reconcile religion with reason, in his fervent belief in science, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, so his many of critics thought, forgot that faith and belief are transcendent. Heart not reason, believing without seeing, were the essence of faith. Or as Allahabadi put it, rather more succinctly, God was beyond the limits of the telescope:

Khuda bahir hai haden dorbeen se

He felt that in falling over themselves to fill their bellies and please their western masters, these modern Muslims had little sense of self-worth. Though actually a nightingale, they were prepared to become parrots of the British so that they could have a council seat:

Haqiqat mein main hon bulbul magar charay ki khawahish mein
Bana hon member konsil yahan mithu mian ho kar

Though the British have kept their faith, the modernists in their attempts to ape the west have lost theirs:

Dars tha yaksaan magar wo to masihi he rahe
Tujh pe mazhab ke evaz shetan ka qaabu ho gaya
Aik he bottle se pee hotel mein dono ne sharaab
Lutf mastee un ko aaya or tu ullu ho gaya

(Attending the same lesson, the Christian kept his faith / but Satan captured yours / from one bottle you both drank the same wine in the hotel / he became intoxicated, you became a fool)

Finally, we note that unsurprisingly, given his sentiments above, Allahabadi was far more anti-colonial than many of the modernists he critiqued.

Yehi farmaate rahe teg se phela Islam
Ye na irshaad howa toop se kya phela hai

(They keep saying that Islam was spread by the sword / They don’t utter what it is that the gun was supposed to spread)

In one couplet, he wrote there was not much difference between the colonial secret police and criminals:

Sheikh jee ke dono betay ba-hunar peda howay
Aik hain khufia police mein aik phansi pa gay

(Both sons of the Sheikh turned out rather skilled / one is in the secret police, the other sent to the gallows)

He warns Muslims to be wary of the British rulers. In a reference to the Christian belief in Trinity, he says,

Bachtay raho in ki teziyon se akbar
Tum kya ho khuda ke teen tukray kar den

(Protect yourself from [British] sharpness, Akbar / What are you, when they cut God into three pieces).

 

[FearlessRoar]

Allama Iqbal was actually a poet of both India and Pakistan. His works, including "Saare Jahaan Se Achha Hindostaan Hamara" and "Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua Ban Ke Tamanna Meri," are considered iconic in Urdu literature.

Iqbal's poetry not only addressed the Muslim community but also celebrated the richness of Indian culture. His famous poem, "Tarana-e-Hindi," is a patriotic ode to India, showing his love for the country.

 

[Bewal Express]

Allama sahib will be looking down from Jannat and thinking about the cabal of thugs in charge of his and Quaids creation. His own family has been abused beaten by crooks that illegally rule us with guns.

 

[shaz619]

Legend, I incorporated one of his poems on the angel of death into a story of mine

 

[Kianig89]

what a Poet he was legendary inspirational, from Munich to Tehran humans celebrate him

Aik Ho Muslim Haram ki Pasbani k lye

Neel ke sahil se le kr Tabkhak e Kashgar

Muhabbat mujhe un nojawano se ha

Sitaro pe Jo dalty ha kumand

Nasheman nhi tera qasr e sultani k gunbad per

Tu Shaheen ha basera kr paharo ki chattano per
--------------------

1st two lines are about the unity of Muslims to protect themselves in every aspect from religion to economy.

Next two lines are on the youngsters who have high aspirations and they strive to achieve their aims.


Last two lines are on how a Muslim should approach his life, work hard be determined and aim for big , with this positive approach he will be successful.