Iqbal’s Personality and Periods of his Poetry Written by: R. M. Afzal Razvi Hazaron Saal Nargis Apni Benoori Pe Roti Hai Bari Mushkil Se Hota Hai Chaman Mein Didahwar Paida ہزاروں سال نرگس اپنی بے نوری پہ روتی ہے بڑی مشکل سے ہوتا ہے چمن میں دید ہ ور پیدا [For thousands of years narcissus bemoans its lack of luster The discerning person is produced in the garden with difficulty] Undoubtedly, Allamah Iqbal is the greatest poet of the twentieth century and he will remain the greatest among the poets of his own era and the later. He is a poet, philosopher, reformer, thinker and great Islamic visionary, and The Originator of Ideology of Pakistan. Here, I would like to mention that Allamah Iqbal always avoided being called a poet. Why did he dislike being called a poet? The cause is obvious. In his opinion, his contemporary poets were predominantly professionals. They had no objectives in their minds for the millat (nation) while writing verses. For them writing verses was either fun or a mean of earning bread and butter. Allamah Iqbal took poetry very seriously. Poetry for him was a sublime gift of Almighty Allah, which could revolutionise the outlook of nations. An individual’s personality is determined by their inherent potentialities, their environment and interaction between these two. Understanding these factors is important in the study of a person and their contribution to the society. Persons who make important contribution are considerably above the rank and lead the human race. Their distinction lies in the fact that they do not bend to and get molded by their environment. They bring into play their inherent qualities and potentialities as well as the divinely conferred autonomy and mold their environment or derive only good influences from it instead of being followed it blindly. Allamah Iqbal was one such person whose personality has to be understood in order to comprehend his thought in Bang-e-Dara and other books. Such a multitude of different events interacting with Allamah Iqbal’s inherently sensitive heart and his fields of education made him a multi-dimensional personality. He was a jurist by profession but practiced as barrister only intermittently for short periods when pressed by financial needs. He had realized that the Muslim Ummah was unique and distinctly different from other nations. So, its problems and needs as well as the methods of solving them would also be unique and different from other nations. They can be solved only with the cooperation and efforts of the whole Ummah. Consequently, he devoted his full time to the service of Islam and Ummah in India and abroad. He had realized that an ideological revolution of the Ummah would not be possible without creating a body of Muslim youth who would be so conscious and proud of their rich heritage of Islam that they would spare no pains and make all sacrifices for its revival. So, he emancipated the philosophy of Khudi (The secrets of the Self). To understand his doctrine of Khudi, it is equally significant to look at his periods of poetry. In the following lines, his poetic carrier that can be divided into four periods, would be discussed briefly: 1) Period I (from beginning to 1905) 2) Period II (from 1905 to 1908) 3) Period III (from 1908 to 1924) 4) Period IV (from 1924 to 1938) Period I (from beginning to 1905): Allama Iqbal started his poetry at the age of about sixteen years and continued all his life. As Shiekh Abdul Qader says in the preface of the Bang-i-Dara [Caravan’s bell (Allamah Iqbal’s first book of poetry published in 1924)]: Discounting the period of early practice Allama Iqbal’s Urdu poetry starts a little before the commencement of twentieth century. I saw him first in a Mushairah in Lahore two or three years before 1901. He had been prevailed upon by some of his classmates to participate in this Mushairah and recite a ghazal. The ghazal was a short one with simple words and thought but had humor and spontaneity due to which it was much appreciated. Allama Iqbal’s poetry began with ghazals, some of which show classic strain, such as ghazal 50-2 in Bang-i-Dara (Kulliat-e-Iqbal: p-98), he says: Na Ate, Humain Iss Mein Takrar Kia Thi Magar Wada Karte Huwe Aar Kia Thi Tumhare Payami Ne Sub Raaz Khola Khata Iss Mein Bande Ki Sarkar Kya Thi نہ آتے ہمیں اس میں تکرار کیا تھی مگر وعدہ کرتے ہوئے عار کیا تھی تمہارے پیامی نے سب راز کھولا خطا اس میں بندے کی سرکار کیا تھی [If you had not come I would have had no occasion for contention But what reluctance in making the promise was? Your messenger disclosed every secret O Lord! What fault of man in this was?] Allama Iqbal started using ghazals and poems for expressing his thoughts about politics and other fields. For effective use of poetry for conveying his political, philosophical, religious and mystic thoughts, he had the rare gift of molding mundane objects and events for producing the desired effects. Almost all poems of the first part of Bang-i-Dara bear witness to this. I would like to quote some verses here from his first poem, “Himalah”: Ae Hamala! Dastan Uss Waqt Ki Koi Suna Muskan- e- Aabaay Insan Jab Bana Daman Tera Kuch Bata Uss Seedhi Sadi Zindgi Ka Majra Dagh Jis Par Ghaza- e- Rang- e- Takalluf Ka Na Tha Haan Dikha De Ae Tasawwar Phir Who Subh o Shaam Tu Daurh Piche Ki Taraf Ae Ghardish- e- Ayyam Tu اے ہمالہ! داستاں اس وقت کی کوئی سنا مسکنِ آبائے انساں جب بنا دامن ترا کچھ بتا اس سیدھی سادی زندگی کا ماجرا داغ جس پر غازہء رنگِ تکلف کا نہ تھا ہاں دکھا دے اے تصور پھر وہ صبحُ شام تو دوڑ پیچھے کی طرف اے گردشِ ایام تو [O Himalah! Do relate to us some stories of the time When your valleys became abode of Man’s ancestors Relate something of the life without sophistication When had not … Continue reading Iqbal’s Personality and Periods of his Poetry