Zubair Qureshi
President Arif Alvi has said Pakistani nation would make strides in every walk of life and achieve progress by following the vision and philosophy of poet philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal.
Speaking at the Presidential Iqbal Awards ceremony, he said people of Pakistan could make progress and become at par with other nations by seeking knowledge and innovation and by moving ahead with vision and hope.
He said, “We are celebrating the birth anniversary of Allama Iqbal who was our national poet, philosopher, visionary, lawyer and as a person with knowledge of science.”
The president said Allama Iqbal gave Muslims the two-nation theory and stressed on renaissance of Islam.
Iqbal found Allah through creations in the universe, stars, atoms, Islam and philosophers like Rumi and pursued a path of discovery of the self, he observed.
He said the great poet propounded his viewpoint about revival of Islam through his book “The Re-construction of Religious Thought in Islam.”
In different phases of his life, the poet pursued different strains of thought as at one stage he praised Hindustan through his poetry and at a later stage he along with Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah went through a change of thought and emphasized on identity of Muslims in India and stopped supporting a united India, he explained.
The President said both were of the view that Muslims and Hindus were two different nations because their culture, religion, languages and festivals were different and they could not live together in a unified country.
He said Allama Iqbal in his poetry talked to the Muslim Ummah and his thinking and beliefs shook the Muslims in India.
“The thought of Iqbal deeply affected minds of the people.”
He said it was imperative that the Muslim Ummah should learn from the farsightedness of the visionary poet.
“Bricks and mortar do not make a nation but it is made by knowledge, wisdom and intelligence as happened in the case of Germany and Japan,” he opined.
Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood appreciated Iqbal Academy for holding the awards and increasing its activities regarding the poetry and philosophy of Allama Iqbal.
He said Iqbal raised the consciousness of Muslim youth and made them aware that with confidence they could move forward in life and achieve success in its every aspect.
The idea of Iqbal that Muslims were a separate identity led to the creation of Pakistan, he added.
Senator Waleed Iqbal talked about the message espoused in the poetry of Iqbal. He said Iqbal chose eagle as a symbol to explain his theory of self and the value of dignity and freedom.
Earlier the President gave away Presidential Iqbal Awards to Dr Khalid Almas, Dr Aslam Ansari, Dr Syed Abdullah, Zafar Ali Raja, Dr Muhammad Ejazul Haq, Dr Tehseen Firaqi and Khurram Ali Shafiq for their books on different aspects of life and poetic work of Allama Iqbal.
