Iqbal's Vision
Iqbal foresaw the decline of the West and subsequent Emergence of Islam. An English translation is given below.
Allama Iqbal Academy. A good translation of Shikva and other important poems is available at Columbia University
I have tried many recitations and renderings of these poems but they could not sustain my interest -- until I heard this one --
Enjoy - If it speaks to us, imagine its power over Indian Muslims a hundred years back.
Shahid Alam
in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
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--
والحمد لله، حمداً كثيراً طيباً مباركاً فيه
كما يحب ربنا ويرضى
"Wa'lhamdulellah Hamdan katheran tayyeban mubarakan feeh
kama yohebbo rabbuna wa yardha"
Praise be to Allah, praise much, good and blessed therein
as Allah Almighty likes and be pleased with
Iqbal The Visionary
Iqbal joined the London branch of the All India Muslim League while he was studying Law and Philosophy in England. It was in London when he had a mystical experience. The ghazal containing those divinations is the only one whose year and month of composition is expressly mentioned. It is March 1907. No other ghazal, before or after it has been given such importance. Some verses of that ghazal are:
At last the silent tongue of Hijaz has
announced to the ardent ear the tiding
That the covenant which had been given to the
desert-dwelles is going to be renewed
vigorously:
The lion who had emerged from the desert and
had toppled the Roman Empire is
As I am told by the angels, about to get up
again (from his slumbers.)
You the dwelles of the West, should know that
the world of God is not a shop (of yours).
Your imagined pure gold is about to lose it
standard value (as fixed by you).
Your civilization will commit suicide with its
own daggers.
A nest built on a frail bough cannot be
durable.
The caravan of feeble ants will take the rose
petal for a boat
And inspite of all blasts of waves, it shall cross
the river.
I will take out may worn-out caravan in the
pitch darkness of night.
My sighs will emit sparks and my breath will
produce flames.
Many verses in Iqbal's poetry are prompted by a similar impulse. A random example, a ghazal from Zabur-i Ajam published in 1927 illustrates his deepseated belief:
The Guide of the Era is about to appear from a
corner of the desert of Hijaz.
The carvan is about to move out from this far
flung valley.
I have observed the kingly majesty on the
faces of the slaves.
Mahmud's splendour is visible in the dust of
Ayaz.
Life laments for ages both in the Ka'bah and
the idol-house.
So that a person who knows the secret may
appear.
The laments that burst forth from the breasts
of the earnestly devoted people. Are going
to initiate a new principle in the conscience of
the world.
Take this harp from my hand. I am done for.
My laments have turned into blood and that
blood is going to trickle from the strings of the
harp.