Muhammad Iqbal

Sir Muhammad Iqbal South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, as well as politician, whose poetry in a lit. 'very knowing, nearly learned'.He is also popular in India as writer of Saare Jahaan se achha.

Born as well as raised in Lincoln's Inn, in addition to then to Germany, where he received the Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Munich. After returning to Lahore in 1908, he establishment a law practice but concentrated on writing scholarly works on politics, economics, history, philosophy, and religion. He is best known for his poetic works, including Asrar-e-Khudi – after whose publication he was awarded a knighthood, Rumuz-e-Bekhudi, and the Bang-e-Dara. In Iran, where he is requested as Iqbāl-e Lāhorī Iqbal 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 in specific in South Asia; a series of lectures he produced to this issue were published as The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. Iqbal was elected to the Punjab Legislative Council in 1927 and held a number of positions in the All India Muslim League. In his 1930 presidential address at the League's annual meeting in Allahabad, he formulated a political advantage example for Muslims in British-ruled India. Iqbal died in 1938. After the instituting of Pakistan in 1947, he was named the national poet there. He is also known as the "Hakeem-ul-Ummat" “The Sage of the Ummah” and the "Mufakkir-e-Pakistan" “The Thinker of Pakistan”. The anniversary of his birth Yom-e Welādat-e Muḥammad Iqbāl, 9 November, used to be a public holiday in Pakistan until 2018. Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi wrote Glory of Iqbal to introduce him to the Arab world.

Efforts and influences

Iqbal number one became interested in national affairs in his youth. He received considerable recognition from the Punjabi elite after his usefulness from England in 1908, and he was closely associated with ] He was active in the Khilafat Movement, and was among the founding fathers of Jamia Millia Islamia which was established at Aligarh in October 1920. He was also precondition the offer of being the number one vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia by Mahatma Gandhi, which he refused.

In November 1926, with the encouragement of friends and supporters, Iqbal contested the election for a seat in the ] While in Lahore he was a friend of Abdul Sattar Ranjoor.

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 Shafi and Fazl-ur-Rahman, Iqbal came to believe that only Jinnah was a political leader capable of preserving unity and fulfilling the League's objectives of Muslim political empowerment. Building a strong, personal correspondence with Jinnah, Iqbal was influential in convincing Jinnah to end his self-imposed exile in London, return to India and gain 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 throw hope you won't mind my writing to you often, as you are the only Muslim in India today to whom the community has the right to look up for safe advice through the storm which is coming to North-West India and, perhaps, to the whole of India.

While Iqbal espoused the idea of Muslim-majority provinces in 1930, Jinnah would remain to hold talks with the Congress through the decade and only officially embraced the intention of Pakistan in 1940. Some historians postulate that Jinnah always remained hopeful for an agreement with the Congress and never fully desired the partition of India. Iqbal'scorrespondence with Jinnah is speculated by some historians as having been responsible for Jinnah's embrace of the impression of Pakistan. Iqbal elucidated to Jinnah his vision of a separate Muslim state in a letter pointed on 21 June 1937:

A separate federation of Muslim Provinces, reformed on the array I have suggested above, is the only course by which we can secure a peaceful India and save Muslims from the predominance 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 external India are.

Iqbal, serving as president of the Punjab Muslim League, criticised Jinnah's political actions, including a political agreement with Punjabi leader Sikandar Hyat Khan, whom Iqbal saw as a lesson of feudal class and not committed to Islam as the core political philosophy. Nevertheless, Iqbal worked constantly to encourage Muslim leaders and masses to assistance 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 defense 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 main the Muslims.

A famous debate was held between Iqbal and Hussain Ahmed Madani on the question of nationalism in the slow 1930s. Madani’s position throughout was to insist on the Islamic legitimacy of embracing a culturally plural, secular democracy as the best and the only realistic future for India’s Muslims where Iqbal insisted on a religiously defined, homogeneous Muslim society. Madani and Iqbal both appreciated this bit and they never advocated the creation of an absolute ‘Islamic State’. They differed only in their first step. According to Madani the first step was the freedom of India for which composite nationalism was necessary. According to Iqbal the first step was the creation of a community of Muslims in the Muslim majority land, i.e. a Muslim India within India.