THE latest publication of the prolific literary genius, who is not only the author of many books, but adept in many languages, has been a pleasure to read. I hereby present the wonderful book titled “Akbar Banam Iqbal”, which presents a bouquet of letters written by Akbar Alahabadi to Dr. Iqbal, during the period spanning eleven years, from January 1910 to August 1921, by author cum compiler Dr Zahid Munir Amir.
Firstly, I feel morally obligated to analyze the introductory portion, the most important segment of which happens to be the “Preamble” Dr. Zahid Munir Aamir has fulfilled a moral and national obligation, due to Akbar Alahabadi, the iconic Muslim revivalist poet. Akbar is, perhaps, more famous for his wit and satire than for his passionate advocacy of resurgence of Islamic culture and ideology among the Muslims of India. In his elaborate tribute titled “Letters of the Century”, Professor Zahid has done ample justice to Akbar’s significant contributions to the cause of Muslim revivalist movement in India, which ultimately led to the creation of Pakistan.
It was generally surmised that the equation between Akbar Alahabadi and Allama Iqbal developed owing to his famous address at Alahabad in 1930, in which Iqbal had heaped a lot of praise on Akbar, identifying him as a leading nationalistic poet. Akbar, through his unusual genre of poetry, had vehemently brought forth the fact that the Muslim nation had drifted away from its centre of gravity, alluding to Islamic nationalism. Besides this, Iqbal also expressed that a subtle aesthetic sense is required to grasp the essence of Akbar’s craft. A dive into the letters exchanged between the two iconic intellectuals clarifies what became the foundation of their ultimately solid friendship.
Professor Zahid has deployed a lot of his intellectual energy and hard work in discovering the vast expanse and depth of Akbar’s passion for communicating through the medium of letter writing. In this field, Akbar found a willing partner in Iqbal, who also eagerly expressed his views on various contemporary issues through letters. Dr. Zahid has diligently traced sources that provide solid evidence of Akbar’s extensive engagement in this medium, serving as a vital channel for his thoughts, anxieties and propositions regarding national objectives. Through his research on the correspondence between Akbar and Iqbal, the learned professor underscores that both poets valued each other’s letters dearly, highlighting the warmth of their relationship.
In a letter in 1914 Iqbal wrote “My Lord, I revere you as my religious guide and mentor.” Professor Zahid’s extensive research led him to many more pieces of evidence of the close affinity between the two highly venerated Muslim poets of their time, one of which is of Iqbal confessing to rereading Akbar’s letters in solitude. Through his painstaking research, Dr. Zahid has fully established that both of them acknowledged each other’s merit wholeheartedly and expressed their appreciation and approbation for each other with complete sincerity.
In the light of the huge plethora of evidence presented by Prof Zahid, Iqbal’s veneration of Akbar stands fully established. The book under review is primarily meant to present to the reader the love and approbation expressed by Akbar for Iqbal. It is essential to balance the equation established between the two leading Islamic nationalist poets, hearkening the Muslims of India towards the cherished pinnacle of Islamic glory in the Indian subcontinent.
“Lost and Found” could be an apt acronym of the confusion that had prevailed in many official and literary circles that while Iqbal’s letters written to Akbar had been preserved, the letters written by Akbar to Iqbal had been deliberately concealed or destroyed. The ones mostly blamed were those who did not wish for Iqbal to be projected as an iconic Muslim leader. Such divisive elements did not want Iqbal to claim the distinction of having spearheaded the Islamic revivalist movement and presented the idea of an independent Islamic state.
The loss of Akbar’s letters to Iqbal had almost been accepted as a gospel truth. A statement to this effect, attributed to a specialist of Iqbal studies and senior researcher, Mohammad Abdullah Qureshi, seemed to have sealed the fate of the missing epistles, much like the Dead Sea Scrolls, courtesy the haste that we are generally accustomed to. Likewise, the general, rather sad, belief that Iqbal and Akbar had never been able to meet each other, caused a lot of anguish amongst the followers of both poets. Contrary to the above perceptions, both false, our dedicated Professor Dr Zahid Munir Amir unearthed the truth, proving unequivocally that the two elders not only wrote to each other frequently, but also met each other three times.
The last part of this review pertains to the saga of “Lost and Found”. While many rather laid-back souls like us would have been satisfied with the commonly believed perception, our resilient academic remained steadfast. Lo and behold! Professor Zahid’s efforts bore fruit. His faith-inspired extra sensory perception was ready at hand. He had ingenuously pinned his hopes on Late Chaudhry Muhammad Hussain’s progeny to find the missing jewel. Late Chaudhry Muhammad Hussain’s son and Doctor Saqif Nafees’ father Chaudhry Nafees Ahmad Bajwa had kept all documents pertaining to Allama Iqbal in their custody. The missing letters are now the precious content of the book titled “Akbar Banam Iqbal,” painstakingly compiled for us and our future generation by Dr. Zahid Munir Aamir which will ever remain an illuminating testimony to the iconic poets who provided the intellectual stimulus to the Islamic revivalist movement of India.
—The writer is contributing columnist.
