Sir Muhammad Iqbal also known as Allama Iqbal (1877–1938), was a Muslim philosopher, poet, writer, scholar and politician of early 20th-century. He is particularly known in the Indian sub-continent for his Urdu philosophical poetry on Islam and the need for the cultural and intellectual reconstruction of the Islamic community. He is also considered the "spiritual father of Pakistan" for inspiring the Pakistan Movement in British India. Iqbal became prominence since 1899, when he recited Nalay e Yatem at the annual meeting of Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam, Lahore. The poems he wrote up to 1905, imbibe patriotism that includes the Tarana-e-Hind (popularly known as Saare Jahan Se Achcha). The Bang-e-Dara (1924) is a collection of Urdu poetry written in three distinct phases of Iqbals life, In his early work he also wrote on most of the Indian iconic personalities such as Rama Tirtha, Guru Nanak and Rama.[1][2]
The Urdu poetry Iqbal wrote earlier to his visit of Europe in 1905, is considered by critics as the first phase of his poetry that reflects the blend of Persian mysticism and the Patriotism.[1][2]
Iqbal's first published work, with likely date of 1904, was an introductory economics textbook which he wrote as result of his first proper job - teaching of history and political economy to students of Bachelor of Oriental Learning (B.O.L.) in Urdu and translation of English and Arabic works into Urdu at the University Oriental College, Lahore.[3]:
Iqbal's Urdu poetry collection is available in four books.[4]
| Book | Published |
|---|---|
| Bang-i-Dara | 1924 |
| Bal-e-Jibril | 1935 |
| Zarb-i-Kalim | 1936 |
| Armaghan-e-Hijaz | 1938 |