His family was of Hindu Brahmin descent and of Kashmiri provenance, and like many Kashmiris of the time, had fled south toward the Punjab after the unsuccessful rebellion of 1857 which resulted in the end of the Mughal Empire and the British Crown’s subsequent forceful takeover of India. Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) was born in the town of Sialkot in the Punjab province of what was then British India (and is now modern-day Pakistan). Introduction – Part I – Biography and Key Works A short biography and a summary of Iqbal’s key works along with a brief discussion of their political impact precede the translation and commentary, which forms the body of this essay, before a conclusion with a list of further readings.įor the reader who is already familiar with Iqbal, we hope that this commentary will add further depth to your understanding of his thought, and for the reader who is completely new to Iqbal, it is our hope that this serves as your introduction to one of the most penetrating minds that the Muslim world has ever produced. To explore this love, kindled both by anguish and by hope, is to explore what it is that kindles our own love.īut before we taste the fruits, we must familiarize ourselves with the terrain. Thoroughly critical of his Islamic tradition but also thoroughly rooted within it, Iqbal embodied a love that was as critical as it was embracing – the highest form of love. The following selected poem – for which I provide my own translation and commentary – is a deep meditation by a man who spent a lifetime in search of answers to the troubles of his time and who was not afraid to ask equally as troubling questions, even to God Himself. So, what relevance do the writings of this Muslim poet-philosopher of the twentieth century have for us today? What is there to unearth and draw from his writings as we attempt to understand our role as the shapers of our collective human legacy? What can Iqbal teach us as we try to grapple with the deeper existential questions posed to us now? Muhammad Iqbal and his son Javid in 1930. As Iqbal’s son Javid once stated: “in its highest form, poetry is more philosophical than philosophy itself.” One such figure in this pantheon of monumental poet-philosophers is Iqbal, the great “Poet of the East,” who spoke in deep conversation with all of the aforementioned names. They include the likes of Rumi, Hafez, Dante, Goethe, Emerson, Tagore, and many more.
#Muhammad iqbal poems full
So recognizable are these poet-philosophers in our contemporary discourse that one need not even mention their full names for the listener to know who is being discussed. To explore this love, kindled both by anguish and by hope, is to explore what it is that kindles our own love.” Iqbal (Wikimedia Commons). “Thoroughly critical of his Islamic tradition but also thoroughly rooted within it, Iqbal embodied a love that was as critical as it was embracing – the highest form of love. It is they, these great shapers of the human legacy, whose words transcend their time and space to speak to us today. Even fewer are those who collapse the distinction between “poet” and “philosopher” altogether, neither title suitable to encapsulate the fullness of their message. Countless are the poets and philosophers that have preceded us, but few are the timeless among them to whom we routinely return in search of answers. The poet speaks to us through verse, and the philosopher through prose, each one inviting us into their realm of communication as we try to tackle those great existential questions that have gripped us since time immemorial. Two of the highest modes of expression developed by humankind are poetry and philosophy.
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