The Biography of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, and his Love, Sher, Shayari, and Inspiration

 

Allama Iqbal

Life and achievements of Allama Iqbal

Muhammad Allama Iqbal was born on November 09, 1877, in an ethnic Kashmiri family in Sialkot, Punjab, India (now in Pakistan). He is popularly known as Allama Iqbal, is the National Poet of Pakistan. A poet, philosopher, politician, lawyer, and scholar. He received BAs in philosophy, English literature, and Arabic at Government College University, where he has received the Khan Bhadurddin F. S. Jalaluddin award. In 1905, Iqbal worked closely with Sir Thomas Arnold while studying philosophy at Trinity College Cambridge in England.

Having written a treatise on economics, Iqbal wrote the Urdu ghazal 'Saare Jahan Se Achccha Hindostan Hamara,' which became a rallying cry against the British government. The song, an ode to Hindustan (present-day Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan), eventually became a patriotic ballad sung mainly in India.

In 1932/33 CE, Iqbal travelled to Spain to visit the Great Mosque of Cordoba (Masjid e Qurtuba). In 1236 A.D., the Great Mosque of Cordoba was turned into a Catholic church. Nonetheless, Iqbal was fortunate in that he was permitted to pray in the mosque.

After visiting the Great Mosque, Iqbal penned the poetry Masjid e Qurtuba, which was included in his collection Baal e Jibril (The Wing of Gabriel) in 1936 CE. Here is a couplet from that poem as follow:

Ae Haram-E-Qurtuba! Ishq Se Tera Wujood Ishq Sarapa Dawam, Jis Mein Nahin Raft-o-Bood. 

English translation:

To Love, you owe your being, O, Harem of Cordoba, To Love, that is eternal; Never waning, never fading.

Iqbal is widely known as one of the most significant figures in Urdu and Persian literature, and he wrote numerous volumes of poetry in both languages. Iqbal returned to Lahore in 1908, and he taught philosophy and English literature while practicing law. His first book, Asrár-I Khudí (The Secrets of the Self), was published in 1915, followed by Ramuz-e-Bekhudi (The Mysteries of Selflessness) in 1918 became the base for his poetic philosophy. He continued to write and publish volumes of poetry up until his death on April 21, 1938.

 

Rather than from all Iqbal books, his shayaris brought out a different component of his personality.

Some famous Iqbal’s Shayaris

1.     Amal se zindagi banti hai, jannat bhi, jahannam bhi,

Ye khaki apni fitrat mein, na noori hai na naari hai.

 

2.     Khudi ko kar buland itna, ki har taqdeer se pehle,

Khuda bande se khud pooche bata teri raza kya hai.