‘Poets are the unofficial legislators of mankind’

Muhammad Iqbal

The Poet-Philosopher

Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) distinguished lawyer,  distinguished philosopher, distinguished poet, as learned in Western science as in Eastern tradition, inspired millions of his fellow men in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent to fight for self-reform and self-realization.

Iqbal is one of the pre-eminent writers of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Indeed, the attention he has received from numerous writers, translators, and critics from Western as well as Islamic countries testifies to his stature as a world literary figure. While his primary reputation is that of a poet, Iqbal has not lacked admirers for his philosophical thought.

He has in fact been called “the most serious Muslim philosophical thinker of modem times.” The all-important appellation of “poet-philosopher” is thus well deserved: Iqbal’s poetry and philosophy do not exist in isolation from each other; they are integrally related, his poetry serving as a vehicle for his thought. Iqbal wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian, and several collections in each language exist.

His most important philosophic book The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam is in English.

For details visit http://www.allamaiqbal.com/. This site offers in-depth access to the materials on his life and works and provides necessary links for further probe and study.