Allama Iqbal and the Concept of Muslim Nation
IQBAL' S CONTRIBUTION TO THE REAWAKENING OF THE MUSLIM WORLD Muhammad Aman Hob ohm Some time before his death the poet and philosopher Mohammad Iqbal, in whose memory this meeting is held, wrote the following quatrain: "When I depart from this world everyone will say: "He was known to me
But in truth, none knows this traveller,
Or what he said, and to whom nor whence he came." I have neither the good fortune of knowing Iqbal personally nor am 11 an Iqbal scholar. When I was asked by the Honorary General Secretary, Pakistan Cultural Group, to participate in this meeting and to share with you some of my thoughts on the contribution made by Mohammad Iqbal to the renaissance of the Muslim World in general and to the re-awakening of Muslims of pre-partitioned India in particular, I accepted, mainly for the following two reasons: Firstly I feel that as a Muslim whose own understanding of Islam has been deeply influenced by Iqbal it was my duty to join you in paying homage to this great and noble soul repaying some of the debt of gratitude I owe him for enlightening me through his writings on so many aspects of Islamic teachings and for in-creasing my love and respect for the Messenger (peace be upon him) -- and his message through Iqbal's inspired exposition of the religion of Islam, -- the religion of my choice. Secondly acceptance of your kind invitation to address tonight lies in the fact that I hail from a country for which Iqbal has always had the highest esteem and what is more, a deep and abiding love and admiration i.e. Germany.
Iqbal himself tells us in the preface to Payam-e-Mushriq the book in which his art has probably reached the height of power and perfection, that of the two great sages who have influenced him more than anyone else in his career as a thinker and poet, one was Maulana Jalal-ud-Din Roomi -- who hailed from the East, the other was Goethe, who came from West. Iqbal went to Germany in 1906 when he studied
But in truth, none knows this traveller,
Or what he said, and to whom nor whence he came." I have neither the good fortune of knowing Iqbal personally nor am 11 an Iqbal scholar. When I was asked by the Honorary General Secretary, Pakistan Cultural Group, to participate in this meeting and to share with you some of my thoughts on the contribution made by Mohammad Iqbal to the renaissance of the Muslim World in general and to the re-awakening of Muslims of pre-partitioned India in particular, I accepted, mainly for the following two reasons: Firstly I feel that as a Muslim whose own understanding of Islam has been deeply influenced by Iqbal it was my duty to join you in paying homage to this great and noble soul repaying some of the debt of gratitude I owe him for enlightening me through his writings on so many aspects of Islamic teachings and for in-creasing my love and respect for the Messenger (peace be upon him) -- and his message through Iqbal's inspired exposition of the religion of Islam, -- the religion of my choice. Secondly acceptance of your kind invitation to address tonight lies in the fact that I hail from a country for which Iqbal has always had the highest esteem and what is more, a deep and abiding love and admiration i.e. Germany.
Iqbal himself tells us in the preface to Payam-e-Mushriq the book in which his art has probably reached the height of power and perfection, that of the two great sages who have influenced him more than anyone else in his career as a thinker and poet, one was Maulana Jalal-ud-Din Roomi -- who hailed from the East, the other was Goethe, who came from West. Iqbal went to Germany in 1906 when he studied