Iqbal’s message to Muslims consisted of three things: democracy, education and research
LAHORE: On April 22nd I met Muhammad Munib Iqbal, a grandson of Allama Iqbal and the eldest son of the late Justice Javaid Iqbal. Fifty-six-year-old Munib looked a lot like his grandfather. While speaking to him, I was reminded of the values Iqbal held and had wanted to spread in the youth of the country he once dreamed of but didn’t live up to see the day of its formation. Iqbal’s dream of a Muslim nation living in harmony with each other may have translated into paper but is very distant from our reality today.
Years ago when one of our politicians was visiting the United States, he met Hillary Clinton and asked her who she was afraid of in Pakistan? To which she instantly replied, “We are afraid of Iqbal’s views.” As alarming as it may sound, what she meant was that if Pakistanis started acting upon Iqbal’s teachings they will be a force to be reckoned with, a country that would be on a par with the developed nations of the world.
Iqbal’s message to Muslims consisted of three things: democracy, education and research. His poetry was realistic although not easy to understand, especially by our younger generation. But today, we only remember Iqbal and his pragmatic poetry on the holiday that marks his birth.
However, if we want to restore our economic and social conditions, it is high time we followed the views of our great poet. We should make it mandatory for all educational institutions in the country to teach Iqbal’s poetry thoroughly than just celebrating his legacy on his birth anniversary.
Before leaving, Munib told me that his father always used to say that an individual can get everything he/she wishes for and become successful, only if he/she “thinks like Iqbal and acts like Jinnah.”
Dr Zeeshan Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2017.
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