Meditation of Iqbal and Afghanistan

About the Book

Mohammad Iqbal (1877-1938) is one of the preeminent writers of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Indeed, the attention he has received from numerous writers, translators, and critics from Western as well as Islamic countries testifi es to his stature as a world literary fi gure. Most of Allama Iqbal's writings were devoted to a revival of Islam & Afghanistan. While his primary reputation is that of a poet, Iqbal has not lacked admirers for his philosophical thought. Similar in theme to Dante's 'Divine Comedy', it relates the poet's ascent through all realms of thought and experience, guided by the 13th-century poet Maulana Jalaludin Mohammad Balkhi (Rumi). He has in fact been called “the most serious Muslim philosophical thinker of modem times.” The frequently used appellation of “poet-philosopher” is thus well deserved. The hyphen in the phrase is all-important: Iqbal’s poetry and philosophy do not exist in isolation from each other; they are integrally related, his poetry serving as a vehicle for his thought. Iqbal wrote poetry in Urdu and Dari (old Persian), and several collections in each language exist. In the following page a life-sketch of Iqbal is followed by a brief treatment of some of the major themes and literary features of his poetry.

About the Author

Dr. M. Halim Tanwir was born on October 21, 1952 in Kabul. He finished his secondary education at Habibia High School (1973). Then he studied B.A. Journalism in Kabul University (1974-1977). He attained his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Payam Noor University Tehran (1993-1997). In 1979 (March-June), he was fellowship TV director programmer of Radio-TV of Sofia in Bulgaria. From 1995 to 2003, he was Director of Research & Reconstruction Institute of Afghanistan, NL. He was also PR (public relation) Co-operator in Library of Almere, External Adviser in Desk Afghanistan, IND (Immigration & Naturalization Affair). In September 2006, he became Media Adviser & Director of International Press Center IPC, Ministry of Information & Culture in Kabul, Afghanistan. In July to October, 2004 and in October 2008, he was Afghanistan Presidential candidate for October 2004 election in Kabul. He was injured and survived a suicide bomb in his office in Kabul in October 2007. Dr. Tanwir is a prolific writer. Overall, he has written 26 books in various languages: Dari, Pashtu, Arabic and English. He emigrated in May 1982 from Afghanistan to The Netherlands.