PESHAWAR
The provincial caretaker government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa announced a public holiday on the occasion of Iqbal Day, falling on November 9, a notification issued here on Wednesday, said.
The provincial government and people from the private sector and Non-Governmental Organization would hold many programs to pay homage to Allama Muhammad Iqbal. In schools and universities across the country, students recite Iqbal’s poems and listen to lectures about his life and work. In communities throughout Pakistan in general and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular, people gather to read Iqbal’s poems aloud or discuss his ideas on Islam, education, and self-determination.
The main purpose of celebrating Iqbal Day is to signify Iqbal’s Importance and acknowledge his contribution that inspired the idea of the Pakistan movement among the Muslim of the Subcontinent.
Iqbal Day is observed on November 9 every year to mark the birth anniversary of Muhammad Iqbal, a philosopher, poet, and politician who is considered to be one of the founders of Pakistan. The day is celebrated with great enthusiasm all over the country, and Iqbal’s poetry is recited and appreciated on this day.
Iqbal’s poetry is not just significant for Pakistanis, but for people all over the world. His poems carry messages of hope, inspiration, and change, and his vision for a better future is something that we all should aspire to achieve.
On Iqbal Day, let us remember his words and work towards making his vision a reality and share our views with each other, a teacher in Orphanage School and student of the MPhil Sports Sciences at Sarhad University of Information Technology (SUIT) Miss Sumayya, hailing from Swat, told APP here.
She said Allama Muhammad Iqbal was a philosopher, poet, and politician who was born in British India in 1877. He is widely regarded as the spiritual father of Pakistan. “Iqbal’s poetry and philosophy inspired the Pakistan Movement in the 1940s, which led to the creation of the modern state of Pakistan in 1947,” Miss Sumayya said.
“We have to transfer the ideology of Allama Muhammad Iqbal not only in this way rather in school and colleges so that the younger generation could come and know what services, struggles and hardship our forefather faced for the creation of Pakistan.
She said Iqbal is often referred to as Mufakkir-e-Pakistan, Shair-e-Mashriq, and Hakeem-ul-Ummat. Iqbal, she said, is known for his advocacy of an independent Muslim state in India. Iqbal Day is a national holiday in Pakistan that commemorates the birthday of Muhammad Iqbal. The day is celebrated with speeches, poetry recitals, and other cultural events with the aim to educate our younger generation about Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s life.
Iqbal Day is celebrated on November 9th in Pakistan to mark the birthday of Muhammad Iqbal, a philosopher, poet, and politician whose vision shaped the course of the country, said Mariyyah Samin Jan, Deputy Director Sports Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University.
Iqbal is often referred to as the “spiritual father” of Pakistan for his contributions to the independence movement. He is also revered for his poetic works, which are considered some of the finest in Urdu literature, Mariyyah said.
About the day, she said, the day is celebrated with special events and programs held at educational institutions and cultural centers across Pakistan and the same would be organized in SBBWU on Thursday. Students recite Iqbal’s poems, listen to speeches about his life and work, and take part in quiz competitions and other activities, she informed. A national holiday, Iqbal Day is an important part of Pakistani culture and helps keep alive the memory of one of the nation’s most important figures, she said.
Iqbal Day is an important day for Pakistanis because it celebrates the life and work of one of their most revered national heroes, former international cricketer and PCB Level-III coach Miss Salma Faiz told APP. “We are holding a female cricket match as well at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University to celebrate the day with the female cricketers. Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal was not only a great poet and thinker, but he also played a pivotal role in the creation of Pakistan. His ideas about Islam, education, and self-determination were instrumental in shaping the country’s identity and direction, Salma Faiz said.
Salma Faiz appreciated the schools and universities for holding special events such as debates, speeches, and poetry recitals on this day because such events would educate our youth. There are also exhibitions of Iqbal’s work. The day is used to promote his ideas and to encourage people to read his poetry, he said.
Iqbal day is an important day because it commemorates the life and work of Muhammad Iqbal, a man who inspired millions with his poetry and writings. Iqbal’s message of hope and justice is as relevant today as it was when he first wrote about it, and we can all learn from his example, Lecturer in Physical Education and Sports in Bacha Khan Degree College for Girls Miss Afsheen said.
Take some time to reflect on Iqbal’s life and work on this day, and let his words inspire you to make a difference in your own life, she advises the youth.
Sir Muhammad Iqbal was born on November 9, 1877, was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, and politician, whose poetry in the Urdu language is considered among the greatest of the twentieth century, and whose vision of a cultural and political ideal for the Muslims of British-ruled India was to animate the impulse for Pakistan. He is commonly referred to by the honorific Allama, most learned.
Born and raised in Sialkot, Punjab in an ethnic Kashmiri Muslim family, Iqbal completed his B.A. and M.A. at the Government College Lahore. He taught Arabic at the Oriental College, Lahore from 1899 until 1903.
During this time, he wrote prolifically. Among the Urdu poems from this time that remain popular are Parinde ki faryad, A bird’s prayer, an early meditation on animal rights, and Tarana-e-Hindi, The Song of India, a patriotic poem—both poems composed for children. In 1905, he left for further studies in Europe, first to England, where he completed a second B.A. at Trinity College, Cambridge and was subsequently called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn, and then to Germany, where he received a Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Munich.
After returning to Lahore in 1908, he established a law practice but concentrated on writing scholarly works on politics, economics, history, philosophy, and religion. He is best known for his poetic works, including Asrar-e-Khudi – after whose publication he was awarded a knighthood, Rumuz-e-Bekhudi, and the Bang-e-Dara. In Iran, where he is known as (Iqbal of Lahore), he is highly regarded for his Persian works.
Iqbal was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilization across the world, but in particular in South Asia, a series of lectures he delivered to this effect were published as The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam.
Iqbal was elected to the Punjab Legislative Council in 1927 and held a number of positions in the All India Muslim League. In his 1930 presidential address at the League’s annual meeting in Allahabad, he formulated a political framework for Muslims in British-ruled India. Iqbal died in 1938. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, he was named the national poet of Pakistan. The anniversary of his birth (Yom-e Weladat-e Muḥammad Iqbal), November 9, is a public holiday in Pakistan.
