Tribute

A tribute to Iqbal

 By F D Shaikh

He was our national poet and the one who dreamed of a separate homeland for us.

He was the legend who gave us a vision which later on became the mission of Quaid-e-Azam.

Allama Iqbal was the most extraordinary philosopher from the sub-continent.

The above are some of the statements I came across when I asked my friends to comment upon Allama Iqbal. He receives the reverence that very few enjoy. And why not? Iqbal was a man of letters, the Poet of the East and a revolutionary philosopher. To quote Quaid-e-Azam's condolence message on Iqbal's death: "He (Iqbal) was a personal friend, philosopher and guide and as such the main source of my inspiration and spiritual support." (Star of India, April 22, 1938).

It might come as a surprise for most of the readers that Iqbal liked neither to be known as a philosopher or as a poet. According to him "hai falsfa Zindagee sy dori". He had a specific set of objectives behind his poetic work and ideology. Once he wrote to Syed Suleman Nadvi (late): "I have never considered myself a poet. Therefore, I am not a rival of anyone, and I do not consider anybody my rival. I have no interest in poetic artistry. But, yes, I have a special goal in mind for whose expression I use the medium of poetry considering the condition and the customs of this country." (Translated from the original in Urdu; Maktoobat, Volume I, page195)

As Iqbal became notable in the community of poets, his companions started pointing out grammatical and other poetic flaws in his poetry which was extremely perturbing for him. He once wrote, "Mere nawa-e-pareshan ko shairee na samajh…K main hoon mehram-e-raz daroon ma'y khana".

Disregarding the rules of poetry writing, Iqbal based his poetry on teaching of Islam and he wanted his readers to comprehend the essence of his message. He used to call his poetry "Iqbal-e-Islam". Most of his couplets directly translate the verses of the Holy Quran. For instance, one of his verses:

Ho khalkan yaran tou, baray'sham ke tarha narm…

Razm-e-haq-o-batil ho tou folad hai momin

…is actually the poetic form of the verse 29 of Surah 48, Al-Fatah. Dr Israr Ahmed, a renowned scholar, pays homage to Iqbal by saying: "Iqbal was the greatest interpreter and preacher of his time. I have not seen any person provoking Muslims in such a concentrated way."

A profound review of Iqbal's thoughts asserts that he was a proponent of "deed" instead of "idea". His vision, ideology and thoughts were revolutionary and meant for a real, practical Islamic state that might be governed according to modern requirements but not at the cost of religion. His poetry and philosophy handsomely answers the queries in the mind of Muslims.

The poet-laureate of Iran, Bahar, acknowledged the dignity of Allama Iqbal by stating, "Our period would be known as the era of Iqbal. History would remember it as Iqbal's era."

The sole purpose of this short piece of writing is to make all of Us realise that now it is high time for all of us, specially for the youth, to get out of a mere course-book based study of Iqbal and truly realise, comprehend and implement his message in our practical life.

Iqbaliyat

 By Salman Latif

Most of us know Dr. Iqbal in the capacity of a great poet whose poetry inspired millions. No doubt, he is one of the best poets in the history of Urdu language and his poems brought a social revolution in the ranks of Muslims. However, Iqbal was a philosopher of no less a calibre. Fewer would have read his books on philosophy, the most notable of them being the 'Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam'.

It isn't surprising that because of his immense popularity as a poet, Iqbal's numerous other qualifications are usually overlooked. Iqbal went for higher education to a foreign university, and also completed his doctorate in philosophy at a time when Muslims were quite backward in the pursuit of education and barely made it to the universities.

His final thesis titled 'Development of Metaphysics in Persia' clearly depicts him as a man of excellent knowledge in the fields of both history and philosophy. It also affirms his love for Persia and the Persian language. Not many of us have read Iqbal in Farsi and those who have, know well that the beauty and eloquence of his poetry in Farsi is far superior to his verses in Urdu.

Being an adept scholar, Iqbal wanted to bring an intellectual revolution among the Muslims. His poetry and prose both incessantly stress upon the need for Muslims' mental renaissance so that they could once again become the pioneers they had been in all modern sciences such as medicine, physics, chemistry, biology, history-writing and philosophy. For that, he proposed the reinstatement of the institution of Ijtehad within the Muslim Ummah, something which had been entirely abandoned by the Muslims.

Iqbal believed that Muslims needed to become mentally exalted. For, the moment they became mentally depraved, as happened after the Spain's golden reign, they were pushed down the road to decadence, both moral and mental. He wanted to revive the spirit of progress and education in Muslims and wrote and worked endlessly to that end.

His message was not that of aloofness or intolerance. Never losing the universal perspective of the entire humanity, his message was simple: Muslims, having all the ideological capacities to do great service to humanity, ought to exploit this capability; they ought to lead the humanity towards a better world by excelling both in modern sciences and in their knowledge and understanding of Islam and its message.

In today's Pakistan, Iqbal's message becomes all the more relevant considering how we have to face the issues of fundamentalism and terrorism because of the wrong perception of the individual few. Iqbal's philosophy can be a very useful tool in tackling these issues on a social level and to educate our youth about the intellectual and academic face of Islam.

Iqbal's whole life was that of a struggle -- to further a message to the humanity in general and Muslims in particular. Till the end he clung to this ambition. Here's a translation of a poem Iqbal wrote for the youth which truly contains the trace of that fire of redemption which, when ignited in the hearts and minds of individuals, leads their nations to the zenith of excellence and marvel:

Beyond the stars are even more worlds

There are still even more tests of passion

These expanses are not devoid of life

Here there are hundreds of other caravans, too

Don't be contented with the world of colour and scent

There are other gardens, other nests, too

If one nest is lost, what's the [cause of] grief?

There are other occasions for sighing and lamenting

You are a falcon, flight is your task

Before you there are other skies as well

Don't become entangled, and remain [so], in this day-and-night

For you have other times-and-places, too

The days are gone when I was alone in the gathering

Here, now, I have other secret-sharers, too