author
Sir Muhammad Iqbal
1877–1938
A major voice in Urdu and Persian literature, he brought poetry, philosophy, and public life together in work that still resonates across South Asia. His writing ranges from lyrical and spiritual to political, always driven by questions of selfhood, faith, and renewal.
2 Audiobooks
The Secrets of the Self (Asrar-i Khudi) — A Philosophical Poem
by Sir Muhammad Iqbal
About the author
Born in Sialkot on 9 November 1877, Muhammad Iqbal became one of the most influential poets and thinkers of the late colonial period in South Asia. He studied at Government College Lahore and later continued his education in Europe, including at Cambridge and in Munich, where he earned a doctorate. He was knighted in 1922, which is why he is often listed as Sir Muhammad Iqbal.
Iqbal wrote in both Urdu and Persian, and his poems made him famous far beyond academic circles. Readers know him for combining emotional force with big philosophical ideas, especially his reflections on the self, spiritual awakening, and the moral energy of individuals and communities. Among his best-known prose works is The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, which grew out of a series of lectures.
He also played an important public role, especially through his ideas about the political future of Muslims in British India. Because of that influence, he is widely remembered as a key intellectual figure in the history of Pakistan, where he is often honored as the national poet. He died in Lahore on 21 April 1938, but his poems and speeches continue to be read, recited, and debated.