Nation observes 88th death anniversary of Allama Iqbal

Today the nation is observing 88th death anniversary of Poet of the East, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, who, through his poetry and ideology, made the Muslims of the Indian sub-continent realize that they are a separate nation, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.

The intellectual guidance provided by the Poet of the East went on to become a basis of the struggle for a separate homeland for the Muslims, and finally Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947.

Iqbal’s poetry laments the decline of Muslims and he urges them to realize their potential and make efforts for the revival of their past glory.

He brought home the fact that the Muslims were entirely different from Hindus, and that the two could not live together.

His speech at Allahabad in 1930 is often quoted to support the view that he had laid the basis for the creation of Pakistan by asserting their separate identity.

Iqbal was born on November 9, 1877 in Sialkot.

He studied at Scotch Mission College in Sialkot and Government College in Lahore. 

He taught Arabic at the Oriental College, Lahore, from 1899 until 1903, during which time he wrote prolifically.

In 1905, he left India to pursue further education in Europe, first in England and later in Germany.

In England, he earned a second BA at Trinity College Cambridge, and subsequently qualified as a barrister at Lincoln’s Inn. In Germany, he obtained a PhD in philosophy.

Paying rich tributes to Allama Muhammad Iqbal on his death anniversary, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that the message given by him to the Muslims was still relevant as there is a greater need for unity in the Muslims so that they could confront the challenges which they face today. “Iqbal exhorted the Muslims to rise above their differences so that they could become one nation,” Naqvi said, adding that he wanted the Muslims to break the shackles of slavery.

The minister said that it was at Allahabad that the poet presented the idea that the Indian Muslims should have a homeland of their own. “For him, youth were an asset for the Ummah, and were capable of repairing its fortunes by utilizing their talent,” he said, adding that today when the Muslims were at each other’s throats due to sectarian differences, the significance of Iqbal’s message had increased.

Naqvi stressed the propagation of the poet’s message so that the Muslims could get united.

Reporter: Awais Kiani