About Iqbal
	

	Iqbal, Sir Muhammad (1873-1938), philosopher, poet, and political leader,
	was born in Sialkot. In 1927 he was elected to the Punjab provincial 
	legislature and in 1930 became president of the Muslim League. Initially 
	a supporter of Hindu-Muslim unity in a single Indian state, Iqbal later 
	became an advocate of Pakistani independence. In addition to his political 
	activism, Iqbal was considered the foremost Muslim thinker of his day. 
	His poetry and philosophy, written in Urdu and Persian, stress the rebirth
	of Islamic and spiritual redemption through self-development, moral 
	integrity, and individual freedom.His many works includeThe Secrets of the 
	Self (1915), 23); a long poem; A Message from the East (19and The 
	Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (1934).

	Although Iqbal did not live to see the creation of an independent Pakistan 
	in 1947, he is nevertheless regarded as the symbolic father of that nation. 
	Allama Muhammad Iqbal is generally known as a poet and philosopher, but he 
	was also a jurist, a politician, a social reformer, and a great Islamic 
	scholar. People even bestowed on him the title of "Shaere-Mashriq" (Poet of 
	the East!). It may sound strange that Iqbal never considered himself a poet
	as is evidenced by his correspondence with Syed Sulaiman Nadvi [1885-1953].

	"I have never considered myself a poet. Therefore, I am not a rival of 
	anyone, and I do not consider anybody my rival. I have no interest in 
	poetic artistry. But, yes, I have a special goal in mind for whose 
	expression I use the medium of poetry considering the condition and 
	the customs of this country."
	(translated from the original in Urdu; Maktoobat, Volume I, page195)

	Iqbal's contribution to the Muslim world as one of the greatest thinkers 
	of Islam remains unparalleled. In his writings, he addressed and exhorted 
	people, particularly the youth, to stand up and boldly face life's 
	challenges. The central theme and main source of his message was the Qur'an.
	
	Iqbal considered the Qur'an not only as a book of religion (in the 
	traditional sense) but also a source of foundational principles upon 
	which the infrastructure of an organization must be built as a coherent 
	system of life. According to Iqbal, this system of life when implemented 
	as a living force is ISLAM. Because it is based on permanent (absolute) 
	values given in the Qur'an, this system provides perfect harmony, balance, 
	and stability in the society from within and the source of security and a 
	shield from without. It also provides freedom of choice and equal opportunity 
	for the development of personality for everyone within the guidelines of 
	Qur'an. Thus, in Iqbal's opinion, Islam is not a religion in which individuals 
	strive for a private subjective relationship with God in the hope of personal 
	salvation as it is done in secular systems. Iqbal firmly opposed theocracy and 
	dictatorship and considered them against the free spirit of Islam.
	
	Humanity, as a whole, has never faced the challenge posed by the enormity and 
	the complexity of human problems, such as it is facing today. The problems have 
	taken on a global dimension now and transcend the barriers of race, color, 
	language, geography, and social, political and religious ideologies. Most of 
	the problems of mankind are universal in nature and, therefore, require a 
	universal approach to the solution. Iqbal's universal message is an attempt to 
	address this challenge faced by humanity.
	
	Through his travels and personal communications, Allama Iqbal found that the 
	Muslims throughout the world had detached themselves from the Qur'an as a 
	guiding principle and a living force. After the disaster following the Balkan 
	War of 1912, the fall of the caliphate in Turkey, and many anti-Muslim 
	incessant provocations and actions against Muslims in India (1924-27) and 
	elsewhere by the intellectuals and so called secular minded leaders, Allama 
	Iqbal suggested that a separate state should be given to the Muslims of the 
	Indian subcontinent so that they can express the vitality of Islam to its 
	fullest. In his 1930 Presidential speech delivered to the annual session of 
	Muslim League at Allahabad, Allama Iqbal stated:
	
	    "I, therefore, demand the formation of a consolidated Muslim state in 
	the best interests of India and Islam. For India, it means security and peace 
	resulting from an internal balance of power; for Islam, an opportunity to rid 
	itself of the stamp that Arabian imperialism was forced to give it, to mobilize 
	its laws, its education, its culture, and to bring them into closer contact with 
	its own original spirit and with the spirit of modern times."
	
	Iqbal's "Deeda-war" (visionary), is like Iqbal himself. He could foresee what 
	others could not. Whereas others only have a short term view of things, a 
	visionary sees the problems in a long term perspective and develops some sort 
	of cosmic sense. A nation is indeed fortunate if it produces a few such 
	individuals in centuries. Such individuals, although very rare, 
	change the course of history forever, as indeed Iqbal did. Pakistan owes its 
	existence to Allama Iqbal. Thus, the people of Pakistan owe a great deal of 
	gratitude to this extraordinary visionary.