71st Death Anniversary of Iqbal To be Observed Tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: The 71st death anniversary of great national poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal will be observed across the country on April 21 (Tuesday) to acknowledge his services for getting a separate homeland for Muslims of the Sub-continent.
Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal is officially recognized as national poet of Pakistan and known as Muffakir-e-Pakistan “The Thinker of Pakistan”, Shair- e-Mashriq “The Poet of the East”, and Hakeem-ul-Ummat “The Sage of Ummah”.Allama Iqbal was a great Muslim poet, philosopher and politician born in Sialkot. His poetry in Urdu, Arabic and Persian is considered to be among the greatest of the modern era.
He gave the vision of an independent state for the Muslims of British India that led to the creation of Pakistan.
One of the most prominent leaders of the All India Muslim League, Iqbal encouraged the creation of a “state in northwestern India for Muslims” in his 1930 presidential address.After studying in England and Germany, Iqbal started law practice,but concentrated primarily on writing scholarly works on politics, economics, history, philosophy and religion.
He is best known for his poetic works, including Asrar-e-Khudi-which brought a knighthood- Rumuz-e-Bekhudi, and the Bang-e-Dara, with its enduring patriotic song Tarana-e-Hind. In India, he is regarding for the patriotic song, Saare Jahan Se Achcha. In Afghanistan and Iran, where he is known as `Iqbal-e Lahori,’ he is highly regarded for his Persian works.
Iqbal was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation across the world, but specifically in South Asia; a series of famous lectures he delivered to this effect were published as “The
Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam.” Iqbal’s poetic works are written mostly in Persian rather than Urdu.
Among his 12,000 verses of poem, about 7,000 verses are in Persian. In 1915,he published his first collection of poetry, the Asrar-e-Khudi (Secrets of the Self) in Persian. The poems delve into concepts of ego and emphasise thespirit and self from a religious, spiritual perspective. Many critics have called this Iqbal’s finest poetic work.
In Asrar-e-Khudi, Iqbal has explained his philosophy of “Khudi,” or “Self.” He proves by various means that the whole universe obeys the will of the “Self.” Iqbal condemns self-destruction. For him the aim of life is self-realization and self-knowledge. He charts the stages through which the “Self”has to pass before finally arriving at its point of perfection, enabling the knower of the “Self” to become the viceregent of Allah.
His birthday is annually commemorated in Pakistan as Iqbal Day,a national holiday. Iqbal is the namesake of many public institutions, including the Allama Iqbal Medical College, Allama Iqbal Open University and the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore. Government and public organizations have sponsored the establishment of colleges and schools dedicated to Iqbal, and have established the Iqbal Academy to research, teach and preserve the works, literature and philosophy of Iqbal. His son Javid Iqbal has served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Pakistan.