Background of Allama lqbal
Iqbal was born on 9 November 1877 in Sialkot within the Punjab Province of British India (now in Pakistan). His grandparents were Kashmiri Pandits, Brahmins of the Sapru clan from Kashmirwho converted to Islam.[12][17] In the 19th century, when the Sikh Empire was conquering Kashmir, his grandfather's family migrated to Punjab. Iqbal often mentioned and commemorated his Kashmiri lineage in his writings.[18][12]
Iqbal's father, Sheikh Noor Muhammad (died 1930), was a tailor, not formally educated but a religious man.[19][20]Iqbal's mother Imam Bibi was evidently a Sialkoti Punjabi. Iqbal's mother Imam Bibi, a local Punjabi Muslim, was described as a polite and humble woman who helped the poor and her neighbours with their problems. She died on 9 November 1914 in Sialkot.[17][21] Iqbal loved his mother, and on her death he expressed his feelings of pathos in a poetic form elegy.[19]
Early education[edit]
Iqbal was four years old when he was admitted to the mosque to learn the Qur'an. He learned the Arabic language from his teacher, Syed Mir Hassan, the head of the madrasa and professor of Arabic at Scotch Mission College in Sialkot, where he matriculated in 1893. He received Intermediate with the Faculty of Arts diploma in 1895.[12][21][22] The same year he enrolled at Government College University, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, English literature and Arabic in 1897, and won the Khan Bahadurddin F.S. Jalaluddin medal as he performed well in Arabic.[21] In 1899, he received his Master of Arts degree from the same college and had the first place in University of the Punjab.[12][21][22]
Marriages[edit]
Iqbal married three times. His first marriage was held in 1895, when he was 18 years old, shortly after he had completed his Intermediate and enrolled at Government College, Lahore. The bride, Karim Bibi, was the daughter of physician Khan Bahadur Ata Muhammad Khan. Her sister was the mother of director and music composer Khwaja Khurshid Anwar).[23][24] The match was arranged by their families in the usual Indian manner, and the couple were blessed with two children, a daughter Miraj Begum and a son, Aftab Iqbal. Later Iqbal married Sardar Begum, and they became the parents of a son, Javed Iqbal, who was to become a judge. Iqbal's third marriage was with Mukhtar Begum and it was held in December 1914, shortly after the death of Iqbal's mother in November the same year.[11][21]
Higher education in Europe[edit]
Iqbal was influenced by the teachings of Sir Thomas Arnold, his philosophy teacher at Government college Lahore. Arnold's teachings determined Iqbal to pursue higher education in the West, and in 1905, he travelled to England for that purpose. Iqbal qualified for a scholarship from Trinity College, University of Cambridge and obtained Bachelor of Arts in 1906, and in the same year he was called to the bar as a barrister from Lincoln's Inn. In 1907, Iqbal moved to Germany to pursue his doctoral studies, and earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 1908. Working under the guidance of Friedrich Hommel, Iqbal's doctoral thesis entitled The Development of Metaphysics in Persia was published.[12][25][26][27]
During Iqbal's stay in Heidelberg in 1907 his German professor Emma Wegenast taught him about Goethe's Faust, Heine and Nietzsche.[28] During his study in Europe, Iqbal began to write poetry in Persian. He prioritised it because he believed he had found an easy way to express his thoughts. He would write continuously in Persian throughout his life.[12]
Iqbal had a great interest in Islamic studies, especially Sufi beliefs. Much of it can be evident from his poetry, in which apart from the independence ideologies he also explores concepts of submission to Allah and following the path of prophet Muhammad.
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