Mohammed Iqbal

Muhammad Iqbal, a vital historical figure in Urdu and Persian literature, was born to a Kashmiri Muslim family in Sialkot, India, which is now part of Pakistan.

Iqbal, also known as Allama Iqbal, earned a BA and an MA at the Government College Lahore, where he studied philosophy, English literature, and Arabic. From 1899 to 1903, he taught Arabic at the Oriental College. During that time, he wrote prolifically, and often his poems were written in Urdu. Much of his poetry from that time reflects his commitment to Indian nationalism as a rejection of colonialism. Over the course of three years in Europe, 1905 to 1908, he earned a degree in philosophy from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate from the University of Munich. He also qualified for barristership, with which he earned his living as a legal practitioner when back in India. While studying, he was exposed to the works of Rumi, Nietzsche, and Goethe, who all became strong influences.

On his return from Europe, Iqbal turned his writing and hopes toward his ideas of Pan-Islamism. He specifically wrote in Persian and Urdu in order to address a wide Muslim audience while also employing his mastery of a poetic form that was well known in the Islamic community: the ghazal. Included among his works in Persian, the language he wrote in the most, are Asrar-i Khudi (1915), Rumuz-I Bekhudi (1917), Payam-e Mashriq (1923), Zabur-i Ajam (1927), and Pas cheh bayed kard ai Aqwam-i Sharq (1936). His works in Urdu include Ilm ul Iqtisad (1903), Bang-i Dara (1924), Bal-i Jibril (1935), and Zarb-i Kalim (1936). He also published two books in English: His PhD thesis, The Development of Metaphysics in Persia (Luzac & Company, 1908), and The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (Dodo Press, 1930).

In 1910, Iqbal gave a speech titled “Islam as a Social and Political Ideal.”. Iqbal emphasized the need for Muslims to embrace and implement the sociopolitical ideals of Islam in their lives. He believed that a revival of Islamic thought and practice was essential to address the political and social challenges facing the Muslim world. Iqbal’s poetry and other writing, as well as his participation in a political organization known as the Muslim League, set out the ideological underpinnings for the creation of Pakistan. Despite Pakistan being founded nine years after his death, Iqbal remains the National Poet of Pakistan and is often referred to as Pakistan’s “spiritual father.” The Iqbal Academy Pakistan, established by the government of Pakistan in 1962, continues to promote and study his work.