illama iqbal poetry - 0 views
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Muslim Academy on 29 Dec 12One of the greatest philosophers of Islam in modern times is Sir Mohammed Iqbal (1877-1938), also called the 'Poet of the East' (Shayar-e-Mashriq). He is the national poet of Pakistan as well as the composer of one of India's most popular patriotic songs (Tarana-e-Hind i.e. The Song of India). His poems, in Urdu and Persian, reflect his philosophy of Islam and his idea of 'the self' (Khudi). Two of his greatest works are 'Shikwa' (The Remonstration) and 'Jawab-e-Shikwa' (The Response). Another great work is 'Tere Ishq Ki Inteha' (The Limits of Your Love). These three poems are addressed to God. The third is an excellent work of poetry in Urdu which captures beautifully the Islamic conception of Divine Love (Ishq). No translation in English, and perhaps any other language, can capture the beauty and depth of this poem and this is but a poor attempt to explain the ten lines of the poem here to the best extent my limited understanding of Iqbal's Urdu poetry allows. The poet writes, "The limits of your Love is what I desire; Look at my naivete, to what I aspire;". What the poet implies here is that Ishq i.e. Love for God has no limits. It can be infinite. Yet, he wants to achieve the unachievable - crossing the limits of Ishq whereas Ishq has no limits. After all, can there be something greater than what is infinite? Thus, so naive and full of love is he that he wants to have more of this love.
