Muhammad Iqbal: A Poet of Awakening in Indo-Persian Literature

Iqbal (1877-1938) a philosopher by training, a barrister by profession and a poet by temperament blew a clarion call to awake the people of the subcontinent.When he wrote the Asrar-i- Khudi (Secrets of Self) in 1915, the collection of Persian poems in imitation of Rumi’s masnavi, it reminded the people of the importance of “action” rather than “words” and “contemplations” in poetry. Since 13th century, Persian poetry in Iran and India remained under the charm of “words” and “contemplations.” After Rumi there was little flutter in the vast poetic ocean of Persia and India. Iqbal picked up the threads from his master Rumi and began to harp the tune of “actions” in all his poetic collection from Asrar-i-Khudi to Jawaid Nama. He propounded wonderful concepts apt to be translated into “action”. Such concepts were: Khudi (Self), Bekhudi (Selfless), Jaras (Bell) and Sooz (Passion), etc all sounded like a bang to awake the slumbering lot. His “dew” was more uproarious than a “sea” in his poetry. Like Rumi who had turned wild in the love of Shams, Iqbal also appeared restless in the love of humanity. His poetry is the swan song of Indo-Persian literature which aimed at awakening the Persianate society of the Indian sub-continent.