MUHAMMAD IQBAL Thinker


MUHAMMAD Iqbal, the great Muslim poet of the East, was born in the town of Sialkot, Punjab in 1876 A.C. His family migrated from Kashmir. His parents were very devout followers of Islam. Muhammad Iqbal was therefore brought up in a pious atmosphere and was encouraged to appreciate beauty and love truth.

He completed his primary education in Sialkot, where he came under the good influence of Sayed Mir Hassan, a man of great learning. From him Iqbal acquired his love for literature.

At the age of 23, Muhammad Iqbal became professor of history and philosophy at the Government College, Lahore. Later he went to England to study law. He then went to Germany and there wrote a thesis on Persian Metaphysics, for which he received Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) degree.

Iqbal knew several languages besides Urdu; among these, were Persian, Arabic, English, French and German.

For several years Iqbal practised as a lawyer, but was more inclined to literally pursuits. He wrote several books and devoted more and more time to the writing of poetry. The beauty of his verses made a great impression on people. His poems were divorced from the traditional idea of only singing fantastically exaggerated praise for one's beloved, describing imaginary sufferings of the lover, and the clever use of the musical sounds in words, without any definite aim or objective.

Iqbal followed the poetical trend established by the Urdu poet Hall, and used his poetical gifts with greater effect and success.

He was deeply concerned with the position of Muslims and was eager to release them from the pool of stagnation in which they had fallen in all walks of life. He realised that the Muslims had the ability to carve out a future for themselves as great and glorious as their past. He used all the persuasive powers of his pen, in prose and in verse, in Persian, Urdu and in English to awaken them from their slumber. He urged them to hold firmly to their beliefs and follow the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.

Iqbal also took part in politics and was elected the president of the All India Muslim League. He was the first Muslim leader to advocate the creation of a separate Muslim State - Pakistan - and declared that "Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the only Muslim on whom the Muslims can depend for safe guidance"

Iqbal's published works include "Bang-e-Dara': "Bal-e-Jibreel" in Urdu; "Asrar-e-Khudi': "Ramooz-e-Bekhudi" in Persian; and a very thought provoking book, "Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam " in English.

Iqbal died on 21st April 1938 A.C- before Pakistan came into existence. But he was one of the few great men who was fortunate enough to be honoured all over the world as a poet, philosopher and scholar during his lifetime. More

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MUHAMMAD ALI JINNAH Leader


MUHAMMAD ALI JINNAH, the creator of Pakistan, was born at Karachi in 1876 A.C. He acquired his early education in his motherland and proceeded to England to study law. From there, Mr Jinnah returned home as a qualified barrister in the year 1894 A.C.

He was attracted to politics from his youth and received training in this field by his early association in England with Dadabhoy Navroji, a veteran Parsi politician of the time.

Returning home he joined the All-India National Congress in 1900 and in 1913 he was persuaded to join the All-India Muslim League which he did conditionally, reserving the right to abandon the League if his convictions clashed with its principles.

From this moment he worked for unity between the Hindus and the Muslims, which resulted in the Congress-League Pact in 1916 in which the Indian National Congress accepted the principle of separate electorate and reservation of fixed number of seats in the governments for the Muslims. This solution on paper could not become a reality however, and in 1921 , Jinnah was forced to leave the Indian National Congress because he could not reach an agreement with Mr. Gandhi.

Jinnah was a practical politician who fought long and hard for the common interests of the Indian people, but when all these efforts failed he took up the cause of Pakistan. which had gradually assumed the definite objective of the Muslims of the undivided India.

From 1940 onwards, Jinnah continued to fight for the creation of Pakistan which eventually came into being on 14 August 1947.

A grateful community conferred the title of Quaid-i-Azam - the Great Leader - upon him and he became the first Governor-General of a country which came into existence through a political change from fantasy into a solid fact.

"Unity, Faith and Discipline" was the remedy prescribed by Jinnah for the various ills from which the Muslims suffered in the sub-continent of India. He possessed the courage of his convictions and expressed the opinions without fear, come what may. Even his bitterest enemy was forced to pay him tribute that his honesty and integrity were beyond all doubt or question. He never left anyone in doubt as to his opinions and was frank even to excess. He never lost his dignity and poise and remained cool and balanced in mind and behavior even in the face of open provocation. He was equally unmoved by flattery, praise or abuse.

Famous leaders in world history have built new nations by means of conquests, violence and untold sufferings, but Jinnah's weapon of conquest was his unshakeable sincerity of purpose. He created a new nation by peaceful and honourable means and methods for which he is respected and admired by men of all nations and creeds.

The Qadi-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, died in 1948 in the city of Karachi, a year after he saw the triumph of his cause. More

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