Poet for all times

November 10, 2023

Allama Muhammad Iqbal. — Radio Pakistan/File

Yesterday – on November 9 – the 146th birthday of our national

poet Allama Iqbal, born in the city of Sialkot, was celebrated not
only in our beloved country but also in India and other parts of
the world. After the partition of the Subcontinent, his birthplace
Sialkot became a border city. Both India and Pakistan pay
tribute to Iqbal by writing his immortal poems on their border
checkposts, reflecting that his poetry is a common value among
the people of the Subcontinent.

The main focus of Allama Iqbal’s eternal poetry is the concept

of self-esteem, self-sustainability, fear of God and serving
humanity. According to him, the self (Khudi) is precious wealth
due to which any person or nation can achieve the heights of
excellence and prosperity.

In a country under the control of British imperialism, Iqbal,

through his revolutionary poetry, gave hope to many in rising
again and again during the hard journey of life. In my view, this
courage can only be shown by those great personalities who
have absolute faith in God Almighty and who love to dedicate
their life for serving the people without any bias.

Iqbal played a pivotal role in shaping the character of children

through his poetry. Through his poem ‘Aik Pahar Aur Gulehri, he
emphasized that in the eyes of God, every small and big
creature has its own importance and this is not fair to malign
anyone due to social status. All human beings can achieve
higher status in society due to their struggle and contributions.
In the same way, Allama Iqbal’s ‘Iblees Ki Majlis-e-Shoora’
exposed all the evil tactics by which the imperialist forces used
to exploit vulnerable people across the globe.

Allama Iqbal, in the suffocating atmosphere of the

Subcontinent, presented his superb poem ‘Shikwa’ to share
grievances with God regarding the conditions of Muslims of that
time. However, some circles started to criticize him, but soon
Allama Iqbal responded to his critics in the form of ‘Jawab-e-
Shikwa’, another amazing poem to describe the genuine reasons
behind the downfall and depression of the nation. He explained
that the laws of nature are the same for all human beings and
societies in the world, and every person who moves in the right
direction with honesty and dedication eventually achieves
success at the end. On the other hand, there is nothing but
failure and disaster for those who disobey God’s orders.

Iqbal, through his poetry, also promoted interfaith harmony,

emphasizing that all religions urge their followers to respect
each other and there is no reason to spread hatred on the basis
of faith differences. In this regard, he also paid tribute to the
great Hindu and non-Muslim personalities of India.
Undoubtedly, Shri Ramchandra was an honourable and fair ruler
who stuck to his principles like the lofty mountains of the
Himalayas. Iqbal, in his poetry, called Shri Ram the Imam-e-Hind.
Similarly, he praised the teachings of Shri Krishna’s teachings.
Iqbal also acknowledged Baba Guru Nanak, a great leader, who
delivered the message of oneness and unity in Punjab.

Iqbal in his famous poetry book ‘Javed Nama’, mentioned his

fictional meeting with the founder of Buddhism, Gautama
Buddha, to express regret that ‘the nation did not pay attention
to Gautama, and now his teachings are flourished in other
countries’, hinting at Buddhist-majority countries of East Asia.

Today, while celebrating the birthday of Allama Iqbal, we should

feel proud that our national poet is a highly respectable
personality all over the world. However, we must not limit
ourselves just to celebrate his birthday. While adopting a
realistic approach, we should admit that we are far away from
his concept of self-esteem and self-sustainability. There is a dire
need to transform our beloved country according to the ideology
of Allama Iqbal so that his dream of peaceful and prosperous
Pakistan can be fulfilled. In this regard, every citizen must play
their due role devoted to self-reliance, service to humanity and
welfare of the entire society.

A belated Happy Birthday to Allama Iqbal!

The writer is a former member of the National Assembly and

patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council. He tweets/posts
@RVankwani