Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — "The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam" is a compilation of lectures delivered by Muhammad Iqbal on Islamic philosophy published in 1930. These lectures were delivered by Iqbal in Madras, Hyderabad and Aligarh. The book reveals the philosophy of Iqbal to the modern Western readers. It informs us of the Islamic intellectual history, the renewal of Islam in the modern world, and political theory of Islam's relationship with the West. It shows that the endpoint of Iqbal's thought was nothing else than the Holy Haram. As Allama Iqbal says: Bhatke hue aahoo ko phir sooe Haram lechal; Is shahr ke khoogar ko phir wus'ate sahra de; Again guide the strayed-away deer toward the Haram; To the one habituated to city, grant vastness of wilderness Since childhood our ears were attuned to Iqbal's poetry. But our young generation is not giving Iqbal and Sheikh Saadi (the famous Persian poet and philosopher), the importance they deserve. Iqbal's poetry and philosophy is still relevant for the humanity," said Basit Maqsood Abbasi, welfare consular, Pakistani Consulate, Jeddah, while chairing Majlis-e-Iqbal's monthly literary gathering on Friday at Fine Grill Restaurant, Jeddah. He thanked and praised Aamir Khurshid chairman of Majlis-e-Iqbal and Athar Abbasi, president of Aalami Urdu Markaz, Jeddah, for organizing such literary events to commemorate Iqbal's contributions in the field of Islamic philosophy. "The chief guest Fizaur Rahman's informative key address regarding impressions of Persian poets on Iqbal's poetry will be remembered for a long period. I congratulate and thank him for successfully tracing philosophical traditions of great Persian poets in Iqbal's Urdu and Persian poetry, said Basit Abbasi. "I am honored by Majlis-e-Iqbal's invitation for delivering a lecture on such an important topic. As a subsidiary of Aalami Urdu Markaz, it's doing a great service to Urdu language and poetry. Within a span of 3 months, this is my second lecture on this topic. As I had already elucidated, I find the trace of golden tradition of Islamic philosophy and literary traditions of Islamic Persian poets of great repute, Imam Razi, Zamakhshari, Saadi, Fariduddin Attar, Rumi, Sanai, Urfi Shirazi, Umar Khayyam, Saaeb, Fakhruddin Iraqi, Danish Mashhadi, Ghani Kashmiri and Bedil, in Iqbal's Urdu and Persian poetry. As the great Indian Urdu critic Malik Ram asserted regarding Iqbal, ‘he (Iqbal) was able to pull out Muslims and Indian people from the cynical and gloomy condition of the British colonial rule,"' Fizaur Rahman said. Jeddah-based poets Mohsin Alawi, Athar Abbasi and Mujahid Syed paid their glowing tributes to Iqbal in the form of the couplets. Some examples are following: Mohsin Alawi: The poet laments that the Muslims have great reverence for the Holy Qur'an but they hardly follow its commands Paigham hai kya yeh to samajhte hi nahi hain; Aankhon se laga lete hain hum, choom ke Qur'an Athar Abbasi: Now there is no poet and thinker exalted in rank like Iqbal; Haif sad haif ke humsar nahin milne wala; Fikr e Iqbal sa, paiker nahin milne wala Mujahid Syed: Iqbal's broken heart turned him into a flame-voiced songster who took the world by storm and opened the doors of a new world for the Ummah; Ik naiee duniya ke darwaze khule; Sina e sad-chaak se aaiee sada "The Holy Qur'an is quite different from the literature and poetry available in all languages. Iqbal was fascinated by the style of the Holy Book. This fascination changed into a unique style in his Urdu and Persian poetry. Not only in Urdu language but also in other languages too. Iqbal excels among most of the great poets," said Dr. Munawwar Bodlah, an intellectual and a member of Aalami Urdu Markaz in his article. Aamir Khurshid, chairman of Majlis-e-Iqbal, recited Allama Iqbal's poem and explained it to the audience. He thanked Pakistani Consulate officials Basit Abbasi and his colleague Najibullah for helping Pakistani community whole-heartedly. He expressed his gratitude to the chief guest Fizaur Rahman and lavished praise on a young member Anas and a senior member Syed Shehabuddin for their valuable help. He highlighted salient features of Iqbal's collection of poetry Zarb e Kaleem. Aamir invited intellectuals from the community for panel discussions in future programs. The program began with the recitation of a few verses of the Holy Qur'an by Qari Muhammad Asif. The melodious Naat singer Muhammad Sher Afzal recited Dr. Khurshid Rizvi's Naat and Iqbal's poem. Hamid Islam Khan, secretary general of Aalami Urdu Markaz, conducted the event skillfully. The vote of thanks was proposed by Athar Abbasi. Who, thanked guests.
