Allama Iqbal and His Women

kya aap baat kar rahein hain, mian? , seigfreid sassoon like iqbaal shirt lifter tha?

aiysee barre baarre burreeeeee baat mat bolo! wash your bloody mouth

Hoho my God! All that really happened? I`ve never thought about Iqbal that way, and this really is a surprise. I feel sorry for him though. He wasted so much time going through all that and punishing himself with a turbulent love life. If he hadn`t met that Atiya lady in the first place, things would have been much better.

I wonder when he wrote his poetry related to the mashriq aur maghrib ka tasadum and foreign education. If he wrote them after 1908, then the source of his inspiration becomes very obvious!

Thank you Rafi sahib for a great piece. I have read much on Iqbal, almost all of the English language biographies and some Urdu ones too including the mammoth 1000 pager written by his son Javed entitled Zindarud (The Living Stream) which is actually very neutral and academic and the best of the lot by far! Your article was informative and interesting; yes, poor Iqbal was trapped in a loveless personal life. He seems to have had a Western mind and an Eastern soul!

It seems that biographers are divided as to the exact nature of his relationship with Attiya Faizi.
Some go as far as to say that they were lovers and others maintain they were just friends. I suppose only Attiya would know the truth or their close associates in Germany and Indo-Pak.
Having read all the various accounts I tend to believe what you have suggested that they were lovers.

Iqbal was also very good friends with Frau. Wegernast too--a German woman.
I should perhaps translate the section from Zindarud about Iqbal in Europe; in it Javid Iqbal describes--mostly from Iqbal`s letters--his days and evenings spent having fun and picnics with his female friends; he of course invited Attiya to come over from London and join him which she did.
After one such evening Iqbal wrote the following poem: which I have translated. He called it On the Banks of the River Neckar (Heidelberg):

The moon`s light is silent
The branches of every tree are silent

The songsters of the valley are silent
The green trees of the mountain are silent

Nature has become unconscious
It is sleeping in the night`s lap

Some such spell of serenity exists
That Neckar`s flow is also serene

The caravan of stars is silent
The caravan is moving without the bell

Silent are the mountains, forest, river
As if Nature is absorbed in deep meditation

O Heart! You should also become silent
Taking grief in your lap go to sleep

The original for Urdu speakers:

( دريائے نيکر `ہائيڈل برگ ` کے کنارے پر (
خاموش ہے چاندني قمر کي
شاخيں ہيں خموش ہر شجر کي
وادي کے نوا فروش خاموش
کہسار کے سبز پوش خاموش
فطرت بے ہوش ہو گئي ہے
آغوش ميں شب کے سو گئي ہے
کچھ ايسا سکوت کا فسوں ہے
نيکر کا خرام بھي سکوں ہے
تاروں کا خموش کارواں ہے
يہ قافلہ بے درا رواں ہے
خاموش ہيں کوہ و دشت و دريا
قدرت ہے مراقبے ميں گويا
اے دل! تو بھي خموش ہو جا
آغوش ميں غم کو لے کے سو جا


I visited the Neckar not too long ago and it made me recall Iqbal`s poem which is why I translated it. Is it still possible to buy a book containing the letters which Iqbal and Attiya wrote one another? Also she wrote a book in English, ``Iqbal and I`` which I`d like to read.

Perhaps the excellent Iqbal Cyber Library will have them...

An aspect pf Iqbal`s life that I was hitherto unfmiliar with, it comes as no surprise though. Many great people have been total failures in their personal lives even though on the intellectual front they may have achieved iconic status. It could be due to the fact that generally creative geniuses are also non-conformists by nature and cannot cope with traditional concepts of living and loving.

An interesting and revealing piece about Iqbal`s life.

Fascinating. Is it true that his teengage son Javed did resented Iqbal and burned down his library?

Also, by becoming a justice of Pakistani, Javed succeeds in a field that Iqbal could not?

his personal/love life seems to represent his intra-psychic conflicts and anxiety, perpetuated/precipitated by circumstances and cultural/religious values...... and his philosophical/poetic works are excellent example of the channelization of that anxiety into socially useful creative works through the use of mechanism of sublimation.

Examplery case for illustration and teaching from psychologist`s/psychiatrist`s/psychotherapist`s point of view!!

Re: # 6

drlokraj, neither his life nor this article is as complicated as the masala of words you have used in your post :)

Re: # 6 Loki Sir

What/how bull/shit(ty)!

Rabindra nath was mired in his own love affairs ..
he is atleast have had crush on his elder brothers wife (bhabhi ) `bou Di`

Rafi and Dr. Sohail:
Thanks for your informative article on Iqbal.
Iqbal was as much confused in his philosophy as he was in the affairs of his personal life. He was proud of his Ph.D. in philosophy which he acquired from a German University yet he condemned all his life everything that was western, including education. He wrote his name as Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Dr. because of his Ph.D. and Sir in honor of a title from the British Government. And he cursed the west which had conferred these cherished honors on him. He inserted Sheikh also somewhere in between.
It is true that he didn`t write his Ph.D. thesis on a topic that was directly relevant to the mainstream western philosophy, still the degree was awarded by a western university. He was a confused thinker and a confused intellectual leader of a confused people.
But he was a great poet. He wrote excellent poetry.
Mohammad Gill

Rafi,

Kudos for posting a wonderful paper on the personal life of Iqbal, an aspect on which very little has ever been written. Your research was very objective and, despite candidly describing many flaws in the judgement and personal dealings of this great philospher, did not degrade his huge stature of national poet and a founding father. Iqbal, after all, was a human being with all the inbuilt inadequacies. Thank you very much and keep it up.

Does anyone find it ironic that while Iqbal lamented the lack of free will in his life, he still managed to drink, contemplate suicide, marry, leave, divorce, remarry, etc. several women who had considerably less agency than himself?

No?

the evidence for his drinking is very thin neembu.

Re: # 13

Would that this expectation of evidence also be accorded Sardar Begum...but a woman`s reputation seems to be easily impugned.

Re: # 10
dear freethinker....thanks for your compliments. Rafi has done a wonderful job in

translating the article. When I read it in Toronto in Urdu it created an uproar as the lovers

and disciples of Iqbal who made him a saint....rehmatullahalaih....were offended. I wanted

to show him as a human being will all his vulnerabilities.

I also remember one evening when Habib Jalib was visiting Toronto and in a party different

people were commenting on Iqbal`s philosophy and poetry

...one said he was a nationalist

....the other said he was a socialist

....the third said he was a muslim scholar

...the fourth said Pakistan was his dream

when I asked Habib Jalib`s opinion he smiled and said...Iqbal ki shairy parchoon ki dokaan

thi (Iqbal`s poetry was a retail store not a speciality store).

For the greatness of Iqbal, Ghalib and Tagore is that in spite of their personal struggles

they rose above them in art and created wonderful poetry and we cherish their

masterpieces.

sincerely sohail

Re: # 14

Let`s agree that evidence about Sardar Begum having fun is very thin and the evidence about Iqbal having fun is also very thin.

Let`s also agree that even if Sardar Begum was a playa`, its all good and if Iqbal was a drinker, it all good!

However, neembu.. you can never know how great of a poet he was. Lousy philosopher but great, great poet.

Re: # 16

I`m assuming your post is facetious....

Brother echoboom,

Could you email this tortuous piece to President Khatami just as he tortured us with his long winded schpiel about Iqbal?

Re: # 17

neembu,

Kindly post your response without that assumption.

Re: # 19

Kaka,

Kindly refrain from making ridiculous comments.

Kehtay heN ke Iqbal ka hey adaaz-e-bayan aur
Le aaeNgay bazaar se hum jaa ke dilo jaan aur :)

Salim-Chauhan: #21
Unfortunately, you garbled two beautiful verses of Ghalib together into one and ascribed it to Iqbal. The correct verses are as follows:

Tum shahr mein ho, tau hamai`n kya gham? jabb uthai`n gay
Lay a`ai`nay gay bazar say ja kar dil-o-jaa`n aur

Hain aur bhee duniya mein sukhnwar bahut achhay
Kahtay hain keh Ghalib ka haiy andaz-e-baya`n aur.

With regards,

Mohammad Gill

ghusse meN aa ke maiN ne kaha apni saas se
kucch der merii biibii ka piichha bhii chooR de
beTii ke saath maaN mujhe tasliim hai magar
lekin kabhii kabhii ise tanha bhii chooR de

On a serious note, though, there is a verse of Iqbal, that together with one by Faiz, has stood me in good stead in moments of despair. I post both these below:

nahiiN hai na-ummiid Iqbal apnii kasht-e-viiraaN se
zara nam ho to yeh mitti baRi zar-Khez hai saaqii


dil na-ummiid to nahiiN, na-kaam hii to hai
laMbii hai gham kii shaam, magar shaam hii to hai

Personal lives are just that - stories of human interest (which, as in this case, can be great). Agree with colonel and hamzaad. Iqbal was a great poet who accomplished much. Enough to earn a huge amount of genuine respect for his positive contributions.

he was also the most original muslim thinker since the middle ages...and a great devotee of the Messenger, especially in his latter years where his persian verse pining for Madina leaves tears in one`s eyes.

``Abru-ye ma zi naam e Mustafa ast``

not to mention the greatest Farsi poet in the classical mode since probably Mawlana Jami.

Not bad for a single person eh? A great, great man. His human flaws make him even more endearing.

As for his Persian book Javidnamah it is one of the greatest masterpieces of world literature on a par with anything by Goethe, Shakespeare, Dante or Rumi (for example). It was also brilliantly translated by Arberry. If I had the money to personally republish that translation as part of the Oxford World Classics series I would.

Tere azaad bandon ki na yeh duniya na woh duniya
Yahaan marnay kii pabandi, wahaan jeenay ki pabandi!

---

Do aalam se karta hai begaana dil ko
Ajab cheez hai, lazzat e aashna`ee!

(I wonder if he wrote that after one of his meetings with Atiya? It also can be interpreted in a Sufi sense).

Re: # 25
naqshbandi saheb...


...in yout honest opinion,who is a better poet between allama iqbal and reza khan barelvi...

#22 by freethinker on June 10, 2007 1:42pm PT
Salim-Chauhan: #21
Unfortunately, you garbled two beautiful verses of Ghalib together into one and ascribed it to Iqbal. The correct verses are as follows:

Gil Sahib,
Thank you very much. I knew that it was Ghalib - I was just having fun at Iqbal`s amorous quantity. :)

Salim-Chauhan: #29
I am sorry if I misread your subtle ``play of words.`` This ghazl of Ghalib is so popular that it was sung by Mohammad Rafi for a film. May be that was the reason for its popularity with the movie-goers. I wondered how one could mix it up with Iqbal. The fact is that both Ghalib and Iqbal are my favorite poets and if any one misquotes them, I feel hurt.
Be well,
Mohammad Gill

Gill Sahib {``The fact is that both Ghalib and Iqbal are my favorite poets and if any one misquotes them, I feel hurt. ``}

I know what you mean. The pain was totally unintentional. :)
I too, in my limited knowledge of Urdu literature and poetry, admire both of these giants.

Ya Rab dil-e-Muslim ko woh zinda tamanna de
Jo dil ko taRpaade Jo qalb ko garmaade

or was the qalb part before the dil part?

Jo qalb ko garmaade Jo dil ko taRpaade. :)

salim chauhan...
forget shair-o-shayeri...your forte is denigrating people...specially punjabis whom you still consider humans...but who knows... irtiqaii manaazil tayy kerne ke baad aap unheN kissi aur sinf maiN bhi tabdeel ker saktay haiN...

I don`t see how some people here can brand Iqbal as a great poet but a lousy philosopher. Is it just his diction they admire and not his thoughts?

That`s the highest form of chutyapa.

Dr. Sohail, this is one of the most unexpectedly interesting pieces that I have seen since Dr. Gill’s detailed investigations into the love life of Einstein. (BTW, thanks – translator!) You must be commended for your painstaking research for getting to the bottom of the matter!

Three wives and four weddings! Wow! I guess some people believe in using as much of their allotted quota as possible.

For convenience, let me refer to this phenomenon as ``The Allama Arrangement``!

BTW, I can not figure out one thing – how the heck did the Allama consummate his third marriage without looking at his bride’s face? I mean – if Bibi no.3 looked like a horse, he would have known it, right? Or did the passion of the moment make EVERYTHING look like an apsara?

And I wonder how the Allama’s time was shared among the lot. Was he multi-tasking? I wonder if the ladies were “synchronized” or if they fully cooperated by being evenly spaced out?

The Allama arrangement seems to have its built-in benefits – for example – while one lady could be attending to the Allama’s immediate needs, another could be making sure the children are kept well-fed and yet another could stand guard at the door to keep any prying nuisances away!

Such devotion! It is enough to make one all misty-eyed! (Alas, if only I could convince N!)

And little do those Westerners know – that love before marriage and all the other stuff! Such fools! Perhaps Ms. Atiya Faizi missed out big time – she could have been one of the herd!

I have another question for you – what made you so curious about this topic, after all most people won’t give a flying saucer how many females that verbose moron – perhaps one of the main culprits behind the current predicament of the subcontinent – humped in the privacy of his own bedroom?!

Re: # 34
dear bjkumar....you have a wonderful sense of humour. your letter made me smile.

while i was doing my research for my book PROPHETS OF VIOLENCE...PROPHETS OF PEACE

i was reading the biographies of Gandhi, Tagore, Jinnah, Iqbal, Ataturk, Mandela and many

others and i was struck how these great leaders who were great philosophers and

revolutionaries and could fight with world imperial and colonial powers were utterly

confused about women and acted immaturely about their romantic relationships. so i wrote

a few articles about their romantic lives. of all of them Iqbal was the most confused. I have

written one about Mandela and if i can find it I might send it to chowk one of these days. I

realized that to become a philosopher or a poet or a revolutionary and resolve political

conflicts is one thing but to resolve romantic and family conflicts is completely

another....sometimes harder. thanks for your appreciation and the credit goes to Rafi

Aamer for his wonderful translation....sincerely sohail

Re: # 28

oh overall as a poet allama iqbal is for sure but imam ahmad raza khan only wrote naats, nothing else, and in that specific field .i.e. naats he is unmatched in the whole of urdu poetry.

Re: # 33
Iqbal was an islamofascist and a plagiarizer of nietszche, while he may have been a great poet you`re just an insignificant chutiya who will be dead soon

See peemax you can run but you can`t hide you raging phatoo ;)

And this dude supposedly came up with the idea of a separate nation for Indian muslims? This could mean that he didn’t like Hindu and Sikh girls and preferred ehle-Kitab gals. He is buried on the foot of Shahi Masjid close to Hira Mandi, and there is movement to change the name of Mohalla to Iqbal Bazzar. That’s the least we can do to honor this legendary Islami womanizer and a b-rated poet.

Rafi Aamer Sahib, excellent piece.

It was good reading, goes to show that the great Iqbal was also a human being.
I`m not surprised that a man so creative had difficulty adjusting to the environment of controlled society and how ironic that his poetry was all about praising a religion that`s obsessed with `total control`!

Dear writer,

This was an eye opener, very revealing article yet thought provoking and sad. What is difficult to understand is how could a great thinker be so confused about his personal life.

Allama is also remembered for this Tawaif, comfort woman with whom he had an affair and is even alleged to have killed out of rage. Any truth to the rumour, maybe Dr Sohail can throw some light on this matter.

#32 Khamy1 {``salim chauhan...
forget shair-o-shayeri...your forte is denigrating people...specially punjabis whom you still consider humans...but who knows... ``}

Qumquat,
As my personal biographer on Chowk, you of all people, should know that I have tried to focus only on the miscreant among the Paki Punju Paindoos. I use ``Paki`` to exclude Indians (Hindus and Sikhs) from the Punjabis who are running crazy on Chowk with their racist and supremacist agenda. I use ``Paindoo`` to exclude the overwhelming majority of Pakistani Punjabis who do not share the racist and anti-Urdu stance of the few Paindoos - such as Chacha Char Sau Bees, Ali1, Atif2, Ass Lame, A Lie, Zeemux, and a few others. I hope that you are not a Paindoo. :)

Regarding #41,
Dear Khamy1,
For a moment, let`s be serious and address this nonsensical ethnic, provincial, and linguistic hatered. For example, if your brother goes around insulting the neighbors with his constant references to their ethnicity and makes references to their mothers` anatomies, I can see how you would take it personally when the neighbors retaliate with their own version of ethnic slurs and comments about his (and your) mother. The best approach would be to restrain your brother from inititiating such exchanges. If you can control Ali1, Zeemax, Ass Lame, Tahmed32, Ally, and other miscreants, I am sure that you will find that Urdu-speaking Mohajirs have no desire to insult Punjabis, their language, or their parents.

As you very well know, I have quite a few Punjabi relatives - both blood relatives and through extended family. I was basically brought up by my Punjabi sister-in-law and I love and respect my wonderful Bhabhijaan. It saddens me to retaliate against Punjabis just to shut up a few racists and bigots on Chowk. Do we have some common ground here?

Re: # 37chutguevara

[Iqbal was an islamofascist and a plagiarizer of nietszche]

Read any introductory book on philosophy before uttering crap like that.Nietszche is a `Nihilist` iqbal is not even close to `nihilism`. Every philosopher is influenced by other philosopher in one way or the other. The aspects of Neitszche`s philosophy by which Iqbal seems to be influenced is not important to the Iqbal`s philosophy as a whole. Neitszche`s phenomenology certainly influenced Iqbal because it was Neitszche`s formulations which provided the starting point in the development of 20th century phenomenological movement.

Neitszche has been taken up even by feminists[it might be because of their natural feminine (hidden) desire of being WHIPPED, DR sohail might come up with better explaination]

Iqbal`s phenomenolgy is a methodology to construct new paradigm for islamic thinking,on the other hand,Neitszche`s phenemonolgy ends up in absolute `Nihilism`.
There is a world of difference between Neitszche and Iqbal.

I guess the nagging wives bring out the best in men - Iqbal, Mir Taqi Mir, Munir Niazi, Tolstoy, and Elizabeth Taylor are just to name a few.

Re: # 40
dear rf786....i have heard that story from many urdu writers who visited toronto from india

as well as pakistan but nobody provided me with a valid proof or authentic evidence so i

did not include in my essay. if any of the readers read it in an authentic book about that

episode please let me know. there is no doubt iqbal went through a very turbulent phase

emotionally but gradually recovered and focused his energies on his creative work. iqbal,

like many other creative personalities, is a wonderful example how an emotional

breakdown can be trasformed into a creative breakthrough.

sincerely sohail

Many great personalities had turbulent personal lives.
Guru Nanak can not be called a responsible husband or father as he was mostly away on his udaasis.

Guru Gobind Singh had two wives...some say four.

Maharaja Ranjit singh was punished by the Akal takht for his affair with MoraaN, the courtesan, and had many wives.

We all know about Mahatma Gandhi`s `experiments with truth` and his affair with Rabindranath Tagore`s niece, whom he even wanted to declare as his `spiritual wife`

Einstein`s love life was miserable.

Amrita Pritam, Sahir Ludhianvi, Shiv Kumar Batalvi were all wrecks in their love lives.

But the contribution of all these great people to art/philosophy, science, religion etc. can not be belittled because of their personal problems.

People may have different opinions about Iqbal`s philosophy, but he remains one of the great urdu poets and is loved and respected by people of the subcontinent and will always be.

Re: # 45

dr. javed iqbal goes through all the versions of this story in his biography of his father and conclusively proves it as a fabrication.

looks like allamsab was a fun-loving guy and took advice of various molvies etc for making sure he does his 4-th nikkah right. i hope his other affairs were clean and kosher, and a proper a muta was performed, registered with a kaji in case of physical relationship. i am not sure if mere friendship, holding hands, taking walks etc needs a kaji registration, maybe jeemax will address these.

Iqbal is matchless...His dream for Pakistan meant a `self` both individual and collective on the smilitude of friedrich Nietzschde...but now in 21st century finding Mahmud of Ghazna, Tariq Ziyad, Musa Bin Nussr or Mohammad Qassim happily going for conquering foreigners and their lands seems `aggression`...This is the time that would make us think if it is ok finding a powerful eagle ruling the skies to may poor swans its prey...? Or let me tell it step by step as what that we have in present since 17th century believes..
1. Doubt gives rise to begin investigation
2. Self is “a thing that thinks” (mind) leads to analysis of doubt […I think therefore I am”…Descartes ]
3. Therefore ‘self’ is the grounding point of modern philosophy . Self make us explore further unto the God and Universe.
4. The power of mind is meaningful for an investigation on what is true and what is false, right and wrong. Thus initiating an identity search.
5. Veracity (truth) is not in body but in mind (self). [Dualism two different kinds of substances mind and body.]
6. Mind: is immaterial and internal existence that known to mind itself.
7. Body is material, occupies space and is divisible. Head, fingers, thumbs…are identifiably parts of body.
8. Mind and Body are distanced and distinct from each other.
Question arises as:
9. How the two can be reconciled?
10. But self includes the body too.
11. Therefore body is a self too but different from the self (mind)
12. Mind is pivot of the vessel that control and direct the body.
13. Mind’s control over body can be challenged and hijacked? Say drunken man has not control of mind any more. Hence foreign substance has taken over the role of mind…
Thus came Sigmund Freud criticism on Descartes approaches saying:
14. Mind cannot be the sole pivot of the vessel controlling and directing the body. There is more to the self than that Descartes appreciated…said Sigmund Freud.
15. Self grounding in mind and responsible for every thing is too primitively simple
16. Self cannot be a thing as Descartes said but more mysterious, messy and complicated.
17. Freud distinguished self with an iceberg said it is ‘an intricate web of conflicting desires, dictates and attempts to be rational but still remains unexposed.’ Freud self has three parts; the id, the superego and the ego.
18. Id contains two instincts called ‘thanatos’ and ‘eros’ demanding satisfaction/pressing for irrational acts. Hence it operates for body related pleasures (food/sex) only however:
19. Id is constantly warned and checked by part of our self called superego, an integral part of our psych that exercises a check and balance mechanism versus id.
20. And thus the tussle between id and superego attempts to change the structure of the self.
21. However, here ego intervenes to keep balance between reality and desires. It is the ego that tells you chill when you doing some self-destructive. It is some times successful some times not.
22. To find why one would act in a way that is devastating Freud has developed ‘psychoanalysis’ that would unearth the fault by talking about the past.
23. What The Descartes and Freud discussion gets struck with is the role of mind that no body has seen to say if its existence.
Other Theorists:
24. The search for alternative explanation of identity has made other theorists to return to the body part of self that Descartes had discarded as unreliable and unworthy of attention. Hence it was said that if there be any thing called mind it must be located nowhere but in body existing in space and time.
25. The consequences of physical body are immense with respect to such person’s psychologies about himself and others.
26. These theorists observed that both Descartes and Freud overlooked the consequences of body that abodes the mind.
27. The role of body was further enhanced with the discovery of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that helped resolved all the issues of self.
28. DNA is divided into chromosomes alongside what lays genes that furnishes a blue print of a person, his growth and development. Genes containing four acids:-(i) Adenine, (ii) Guanine, (iii) Cytosine and (iv) Thymine, all called ‘nucleotides. This discovery helped researchers in Human Genome Project to know the self.
The Human Genome Project in 1990 mapping out the complete human genetic code came out with the results that human genome consists of approximately 30 to 40 thousand genes that send messages to our body thus dictating our behaviour. These genes reflect about the entire self its past, present and future.

#49 mfida1952

Yaar, those are weighty questions. I recommend you make couch appointment with the good doctor right away - and make sure to ask him for long-term, discounted rates!

:)

# 27 Shouldnt it be ``karti`` hai baygaana dil ko ? Instead of ``karta`` hai.... ``Do alam say karta hai baigaana dil ko... ajab cheez hai lazzat e aashnayee``....


``Ik iztaraab e musalsal, ghaayaab ho kay huzoor
Main khud kahoon to mairi daastaan daraz nahin``

What a great, great, intimidatingly great poet !

wasif you are right. it is karti. i was quoting from memory.

i agree iqbal is very great as a poet. his bal i jibreel is astonishing. the peak of his urdu poetry.

wonderful read

Dr Khalid Sohail has done a painstaking research to open up the subject of critical review of the life and works of those people who are held in kinda reverence.
BRAVO DOC. !!!

It is indeed a message to people from our part of the world to tolerate free thinking and honest debate, irrespective of the level of reverence, and let the people decide what they want to believe or disbelief.

Re: # 50 Hi! The teacher asked his student `what is your name?` The student humbly replied, ``Sher Yar``...The teacher angrily took out his stick asked the student to streatch out his hand and start hitting saying, `where in the world one would call teacher `yar```! Cheers and Peace!

Sunna he kih Sir Iqbal kothe ke bhi rasia the aur unke apni ek ham naam randi se gahri chhanti thi jis ke baare mein unka ek gher matbuah shehr bhi he:

``Iqbal ne Iqbal ke sab bal die nikaal
muddat se aarzoo thi kih seedha kare koi``

let look at this greatest philosopher of 600 years..not look at his personal life...

nobody is angel here..OK

Hello Mr. Aamer,

Thank you for this article. Very interesting and informative. I remember reading a book by Atiya Faizi some years ago about Iqbal and the most surprising aspect of the book to me, was how different the public Iqbal was from the private Iqbal. The kind of depression and frustration he felt towards his life, his culture, and even towards God, really comes out in his correspondence with Faizi. And that is an aspect of Iqbal's life that is rarely ever mentioned. Although he is highly regarded and respected in Pakistan, as he should be, his public message as well as his private life are largely ignored. He has been made more into a figure to be worshipped but not studied. I love Iqbal and visit his mausoleum every time I go to Lahore. I admire him because of his intellect, his powerful verses that shake the heart, and also for his very human flaws. All of us have flaws and so did Iqbal. And I don't hold that against him. To me, those flaws make Iqbal even more interesting and admirable.

Nauman Mir.

I can only say: becharraah iqbal, so impractical in real life. That's what all poets are.

Understanding this translation from strictly "psychologist's point-of-view" I find the information provided one-dimensional. He seems to be more 'scandalized' by Iqbal's women, than what I would assume a 'neutral', medical perspective should be like.

Since when have psychologists understood poets anyway? Carl Jung was cursed by Joyce, for a good reason. Also, Dr. Sahib, should be a little* (just a little) more comfortable with issues of sexuality, and be able to a) speak about whats really bothering him, openly, and b) have had an encounter with Freud early in his schooling career. And thus it should not shock him that men have strange sexual drives. (lol)

To a Psychologist all this should be rid of (for god sake) muslimalization of every concept in the world. How indelicately he has exposed a poet, and his entire life, his years in Europe laughed at, and ridiculed. What a disrobing has taken place here! by God.
To someone's Venice, to someone's death.

Personally, I would just say, that Iqbal's own lines even though they were used so mercilessly here, still stand out, and manage to robe him with an air of authority which is untouched. Poets, usually are.

So are the real dancers, but you would not agree.
In the nearest language, it always works.