Dr.
Allama Mohammad Iqbal
(1837-1938 AD)
--------------------------
The
whole nineteenth century was passing through a period of
turmoil for the millions of Muslims of the Indian sub-continent.
Their political and cultural arena was disturbed, but they
were fortunate enough to have been graced by the birth of
several geniuses who left their mark and influence of their
lives. Dr. Allama Mohammad Iqbal was one of the leaders
of these luminaries.
He
was born on 22 February 1873 in Sialkot, Punjab. His forefathers
were Kashmiri Brahmims who accepted Islam, possibly in the
seventeenth century. His father, Nur Muhammad, was a pious
Muslim who resigned from government service and started
doing business. He sent his eldest son, ?Ata' Muhammad,
to a madrasa, and sent the youngest son, Iqbal, to a missionary
school. Here in the mission school he met a famous and good
?alim, Mir Hasan, who inspired Iqbal to study Islam.
He
devoted three years to his studies in Europe. He studied
Philosophy at Cambridge University with the famous philosopher,
James Ward, and others and then he did a PhD in Persian
mysticism at Munich University in Germany. Then he passed
the Bar-at-Law in England and taught as a professor of Arabic
at London University for six months.
In
1915 Iqbal wrote Asrar-I-Khudi, in 1917 Rumz-I-Bekhudi,
in 1923 Payam-I-Mashriq, in 1924 Bang-I-Dera, and in 1927
Jabur-I-Azam. During this turbulent period many political
upheavals were taking place in the Indian sub-continent
and he could not remain isolated from the flow of these
events. He jumped into them. In 1927 he became a Member
of the Punjab Legislative Assembly and joined in active
politics, voicing his fearless criticism of British rule.
His advocacy for the rights of the people drew the attention
of all.
In
1930, he was elected President of the Muslim League and
he gave a fiery presidential speech at the Allahabad Conference
of the League which was significant for many reasons. In
this speech he gave a few original guidelines which were
directed at the breaking of the political stalemate in India,
and which gave an indication of a sovereign and independent
Pakistan. Seven years later, on 20 June 1937, in a letter
which he wrote to the Qa'id-I-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah,
he indicated the formation of a state comprising those provinces
where Muslims were in the majority. Ten years later his
prophecy came true and Pakistan was created, although he
died in April, 1938, of heart failure.
In
1931 and 1932, he attended the Round Table Conference in
London. In the 1932 Muslim League Conference he delivered
is a moving speech which showed his deep political foresight:
Nationalism as defined and believed in by Europe is not
what I believe in. If this kind of nationalism is imported
into India the Muslims will not benefit. I oppose it, seeing
it as Godless materialism, and this is what I believe to
be the principal enemy of modern humanitarianism. What is
most important is that a man lives on religion, culture
and his tradition. He dies for these, and he lives for these,
but certainly not for a land where he was accidentally born.
In 1924 he suffered a chest pain, which later, in 1934,
developed into serious throat trouble, as a result of which
he lost his voice. In 1934, he was invited by Oxford University
to speak on Rhodes, but for health reasons he had to decline
the invitation. In 1937, he had a cataract in his eyes.
He also had heart trouble and suffered from asthma. He died
on 20 April 1938. Before he died, he wrote his last few
lines of verse: A believer (in Allah), what is his sign?
Listen: he accepts death with a smile. The life of this
fakir is at its end here; another fakir may or may not come
here.
His
whole philosophy of life was dictated by the Qur'anic teachings
and the Hadith of the Prophet. He was a keen advocate of
the Qur'an and Sunnah as the main source of our strength.
He was undoubtedly a great poet of Islam, a great forerunner
of Islamic revival, and a great thinker of modern Islamic
reformation. All his writing is full of Islamic ideals and
Islamic glory and the beauty of Islam. He was all for the
Islamic heritage and Islam's glorious past.
To
sum up, he was a modern Rumi, but he was not influenced
by Rumi. He glowed by his own light and genius. He was indeed
a great thinker and reformer.