Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938)
Born 1877 CE, died 1938 CE.
Sir Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 1877 – 21 April 1938) was an Islamic philosopher and poet. His poetry in Urdu is considered among the greatest of the 20th century, and his vision of a cultural and political ideal for the Muslims of British India is widely regarded as having animated the impulse behind the Pakistan Movement. The honorific commonly refers to him as Allamah (Persian: علامه, romanized: 'Allāma, lit. 'learned') and is widely considered one of the most important and influential Muslim thinkers and Islamic religious philosophers of the 20th century. Iqbal was born and raised in Sialkot, Punjab, British India and studied at Scotch Mission College in Sialkot and Government College University in Lahore. He taught Arabic at the Oriental College, Lahore, from 1899 until 1903, during which time he wrote prolifically. Notable among his Urdu poems from this period are "Parinde Ki Faryad" ("A Bird's Prayer"), an early contemplation on animal rights, and "Tarana-e-Hindi" ("Anthem of the Indians"), a patriotic poem—both composed for children. In 1905, he departed from India to pursue further education in Europe, first in England and later in Germany.
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