Iqbal, Sir Muhammad

Iqbal, Sir Muhammad

(born Nov. 9, 1877, Si)lkot, Punjab, India—died April 21, 1938, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan) Indian poet and philosopher. He first won fame for his poetry, which was written in the classical style for public recitation and became known even among the illiterate. His perspective grew increasingly Pan-Islamic, as revealed in the long poem The Secrets of the Self (1915), which he wrote in Persian in order to address a broader Muslim audience. Calling for a revitalization of Islam, he advocated the separate Muslim state that would eventually be realized with the founding of Pakistan in 1947, and he was acclaimed after his death as the father of that country. His poetic masterpiece is “The Song of Eternity” (1932). He is considered the greatest 20th-century poet to write in Urdu.