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Allama Mohammad
"'My Forefathers were Brahmins. They spent their lives in search of God. I am spending my life in search of Man.' (Mohammad Iqbal)"Shair-e-Mashriq ‘The Poet of East’, Hakeem-ul-Ummat ‘The Sage of Ummah’ & Mufakkir-e-Pakistan ‘The Thinker of Pakistan’ are some of the few titles by which most of South Asia and Urdu speaking people recall Mohammad Iqbal with. Sir Mohammad Iqbal, also widely known as Allama Iqbal, was a Pakistani/Indian poet, philosopher, and politician. He was born in a Kashmiri family on 9th November 1877 in Sialkot, Panjab, under the British India Monarchy. His father, Sheikh Noor Muhammad, and mother, Imam Bibi, belonged to a very humble background and were known for their piousness and devoutness to religion. Though Mohammad Iqbal did not belong to a very influential background, he earned himself a name in the world through his poetry.

Personal Life
Iqbal, famous as Allama Mohammad Iqbal, was born in Sialkot, a city in the north-east Punjab of Pakistan. His ancestors, who originally migrated from Kashmir to Sialkot, belonged to the Brahmin Hindu religion and succeeding converted to Islam in the late 18th century, during the time the Bahadur Shah II, the last monarch of Mogul Dynasty. They were influenced by the divine religious preachings of Shah Hamdani, who lived under the rule of Bahadur Shah II. The fall of the Mogul Dynasty produced in the migration of Iqbal’s ancestors to Sialkot (Razak, 2017).

Iqbal’s father, Nur Muhammad, was not formally educated and operated is own tailor business to support his family. Whereas, his mother, Imam Bibi was a housewife who often helped needy people. His parents were known for their devoutness to Islam. They parented six children, two sons, Mohammad Iqbal and Atta Mohammad, and four daughters (name unknown). Iqbal was very attached to his parents and loved them enormously. His mother passed away in 1914, followed by his father later in 1930. Iqbal was devastated by his mother’s death and expressed his sorrow through a lovely elegy: Who would wait for me anxiously in my native place?

Who would display restlessness if my letter fails to arrive?

I will visit thy grave with this complaint:

Who will now think of me in midnight prayers?

All thy life thy love served me with devotion—

When I became fit to serve thee, thou hast departed (Schimmel,1963. pp.35)

Early Education
At the young age of four, Mohammad Iqbal was admitted to an Islamic centre, mosque, to learn Islamic Knowledge and Quran. There he mastered Arabic language with the help of his teacher, Syed Mir Hassan, who at the time was the head of the Islamic center Iqbal was admitted into. Later in 1983, Iqbal entered the Scotch Mission College of Sialkot where he honored intermediate diploma in the Faculty of Arts. In 1897, he received the Bachelor of Arts in English literature, philosophy, and Arabic from the Government College University. In 1899, he accomplished a degree in the Master of Arts in the University of the Punjab and won the first place in the whole University. Iqbal was known as one of the brightest student of his time and was known for his languages skill, especially Arabic.

Higher Education in Europe
Mohammad Iqbal was immensely influenced by the teachings of his hikwa and earned himself a Degree in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and became Barrister in London in 1906. He also migrated to Germany with purpose and got his doctoral degree in philosophy at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich by 1908. Throughout his time in west, Mohammad Iqbal gained self-awareness and learned from his experiences in the west allowing him to become the great philosopher of East.

Shikwa & Jawab-e-Shikwa
"Why should I be destructive and remain reckless of betterment?""Think not of the future, remain occupied in today’s problems?""Should I hear nightingale’s wails, and remain completely silent?""O companion! Am I some flower so that I may remain silent?""           The strength of my poetry is encouraging to me""           Woe be to me! My remonstrance is against God!"(1st stanza: ‘Complaint to God’ by Allama Iqbal, 1911) (Translated by Dr. Khalil, MAK. 1968)

This captivating, thought-provoking and the same time very controversial poem was first recited during the poetry gathering by Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam, an Islamic intellectual and social welfare organization, in 1909 (Riaz, 2014). Recited in the period of persistence deplorable condition faced by Muslims, Iqbal pleads through this poem to God to denote the unjust conditions of Muslims with regards to their sacrifices for upbringing Islam. This piece that earned Allama Iqbal a great backlash by the devotee’s of Islam was once again, after a whole century, recited and brought back to life by the pioneers of the country he dreamt off. The Coke Studio Pakistan proudly presented Iqbal’s poems ‘Shikwa’ and ‘Jawab-e-Shikwa’ in their first episode as they stepped into there season 11.

Unlike other poets, Mohammad Iqbal write with purpose. Many of Poems written have specific meaning behind them and they were also targeted at specific audiences. His underlying philosophy in his poems were targeted at Muslim communities to open their eyes to the world around them and fight for their rights. In his book, Asrar-e-Khudi (The Secrets of the Self) (1915), he has collection of poems which permits the readers to lucidly understand Iqbal's philosophy of ego and self-awareness and self-respect.

Many of his famous anthology of perms includes Payam-i-Mashriq (A Message from the East) (1923), Bangi-i-Dara (The Call of Marching Bells) (1924), Bal-i-Jibril (Gabriel's Wings) (1936), Javid Namah (1932), and many more. Below is one the poems expressing the pain of Muslim nation and Iqbal wrote a poem dedicated to the Muslim youth, in hope to awake them from their deep slumber state.

ADDRESSED  TO  THE  YOUTH  OF  ISLAM"O Muslim youth ! Have you ever used your prudence""What was that sky of which you are a fallen star?""That nation has nurtured you its lap of love""Whose feet had trampled the crown of D«r«’s 1 head""Civilization’s formulator, creator of rules of world government""Was that desert of Arabia, that is the cradle of camel drivers""“Al Faqru fakhrâ’s ”  2  state even in glory of authority existed""“Why would the beautiful face need beautifying and cosmetics”3""Even in poverty those men of God were so high-minded""That the rich could not avoid charity for beggar’s fear""In short what should I tell you what those wanderers in wilderness were""They were world conquerors, world rulers, world administrators, and world adorners""If I wish to present their  picture in words I can""But that scene is beyond the comprehension of your imagination""You cannot have any relationship with your ancestors""You are talk, they were action, you are stars, they were planets""We have wasted the heritage obtained from our ancestors""The sky has thrown us down from the Thurayyah 4 to the earth""Why should we cry for suzerainty, as it was temporary""There is no escape from the world’s established principles""But those pearls of wisdom, those books of our  ancestors""By seeing them in Europe the heart is rent asunder""               “O Ghani 5 ! witness the dark day of the saint of Kina‘«n6""               Because the light of his eyes brightens Zulaikhah’s7 eyes"(Translated by Dr. Khalil, MAK. 1968)

His Death


In 1933, after returning form his trips from Afghanistan and Spain, Iqbal was infected with some mysterious throat illness which caused his death on 21 April, 1938. His death left many people in grievance and sorrow as they dearly missed their beloved poet, friend, teacher, and father. Today, thought, Iqbal is not among us, he is still remembered by this very powerful and influential poetry which ponders individuals to think. Due to Muhammad Iqbal's great contribution to the urdu language and it's literature as well his great contribution on work of Islamic philosophy, Muhammad Iqbal is known as the National Poet of Pakistan. His houses in Pakistan are open for visitors to come and seek knowledge from the exhibition conducted there.