Allama Iqbal highlighted need for renaissance of Islam, says Alvi

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday said the Pakistani nation will make strides in every walk of life and achieve progress by following the vision and philosophy of the great poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

Speaking at the Presidential Iqbal Awards ceremony here, he said the people of Pakistan could progress and become at par with other nations by seeking knowledge and innovation and moving ahead with Iqbal’s vision and hope.

“We are celebrating the birth anniversary of Allama Iqbal who was our national poet, philosopher, visionary leader, lawyer and a person with knowledge of science.” He said Allama Iqbal gave Muslims the Two-Nation Theory and stressed upon renaissance of Islam. Iqbal found Allah through creations in the universe, stars, atoms, Islam and philosophers like Rumi and pursued a path of discovery of the self, Dr Alvi observed. He said the great poet propounded his viewpoint about revival of Islam through his book, “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam.” In different phases of his life, the Poet of the East pursued different strains of thought as at one stage he praised Hindustan through his poetry.

But at a later stage he, along with Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, went through a change of thought and emphasized upon separate identity of Muslims in India and stopped supporting a united India, he explained.

Alvi said both were of the view that Muslims and Hindus were two different nations because their culture, religion, languages and festivals were different, who could not live together in a unified country. The Two-Nation Theory gave Muslims the vision of a separate identity and reiterated the past glory of Islam, he added.

He said in his poetry Allama Iqbal talked to the Muslim Ummah, adding, his thinking and beliefs shook the Muslims in India.“The thought of Iqbal deeply influenced the minds of people,” he remarked.

He said it was imperative that the Muslim Ummah should learn from the farsightedness of the visionary poet. “Bricks and mortar do not make a nation but it is made by knowledge, wisdom and intelligence as happened in the case of Germany and Japan,” he opined.

The president gave away the Presidential Iqbal Awards to Dr Khalid Almas, Dr Aslam Ansari, Dr Syed Abdullah, Zafar Ali Raja, Dr Muhammad Ejazul Haq, Dr Tehseen Firaqi and Khurram Ali Shafiq for their books on different aspects of life and poetic work of Allama Iqbal.

Earlier, the nation marked the 144th birth anniversary of the great poet and philosopher, Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal, with national zeal and fervor. People from different walks of life paid glowing tributes to Dr Allama Iqbal for his unmatched contribution for awakening and uniting the Muslims to stand for the cause of acquiring a separate homeland, through his thought-provoking messages and poetry.

Special prayers were offered in mosques countrywide for development and prosperity of the country from early in the morning. Special programmes were arranged by different literary, political, social, educational and cultural organizations to pay homage to Dr Allama Iqbal for his unmatched literary contributions and his role in character building of the entire Muslim Ummah.

Born in Sialkot on November 9, 1877, Dr Allama Iqbal had foreseen that the only solution of problems being faced by the Muslims in the Subcontinent was a separate homeland. Iqbal is known as Muffakir-e-Pakistan, Shair-e-Mashriq and Hakeem-ul-Ummat. His best literary work includes Asrar-e-Khudi, Payam-i-Mashriq, Bang-i-Dara, Bal-i-Jibril, Zarb-i-Kalim and Armughan-e-Hijaz.

Seminars, conferences, debates and poetry competitions and discussion programmes were arranged to highlight different aspects of poetry, thoughts and messages of Dr Allama Iqbal. The Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), in collaboration with PTV, arranged the Iqbal Day program titled “Sitaroon se aagey” to pay tribute to Dr Allama Iqbal in the fields of poetry and literature. The program highlighted different aspects of Dr Allama Iqbal’s personality and his contributions. The programme would also be presented on PNCA official Facebook page.

Bahria University arranged a conference themed ‘Iqbal’s multidimensional wisdom: His vision for the social, scientific and technological revival of the Ummah’ on Tuesday to mark the birth anniversary of the great poet and philosopher. President Arif Alvi was the chief guest of the conference while a number of scholars, academics, researchers, faculty and students were present on the occasion.

The Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust also planned to arrange week-long activities comprising over a series of competitions among the students to mark the Iqbal Day. The Trust also arranged the Iqbal Day function with participation of a number of poets, scholars and academicians on Tuesday.

An impressive change of guards ceremony was held at the mausoleum of Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal in Lahore. A smartly turned-out contingent of the Pakistan Navy assumed ceremonial guard duties with traditional spirit and enthusiasm.

The Pakistan Navy Lahore Station Commander, Commodore Amir Iqbal Khan, who was the chief guest on the occasion laid a wreath at the grave of Dr Iqbal, and prayed for progress and prosperity of the country on the occasion. He also penned down his impressions in the Visitors book. A large number of people also visited Iqbal Manzil to pay homage to Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal on his birth anniversary. They showed keen interest in the personal used things of Allama Iqbal, rare books and pictures of Allama Iqbal and his family members displayed there.

Social media, Twitter, Facebook and Whatsapp were the most prominent social media sites where this great scholar remained centre of discussion and eulogized for his contributions, besides electronic and print media. The main cake cutting ceremony on the 144th birthday of Poet of the East Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal was held here at Iqbal Manzil under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Sialkot Tahir Farooq.