A Prayer

Allama Muhammad Iqbal 1877 (Sialkot, Punjab) – 1938 (Lahore, Punjab)



My invocations are sincere and true,
They form my ablutions and prayers due.

One glance of guide such joy and warmth can
grant,
On marge of stream can bloom the tulip plant.

One has no comrade on Love's journey long
Save fervent zeal, and passion great and
strong.

O God, at gates of rich I do not bow,
You are my dwelling place and nesting
bough.

Your Love in my breast burns like Doomsday
morn,
The cry, He is God, on my lips is born.

Your Love, makes me God, fret with pain and
pine,
You are the only quest and aim of mine.

Without You town appears devoid of life,
When present, same town appears astir with
strife.

For wine of gnosis I request and ask,
To get some dregs I break the cup and glass.

The mystics' gourds and commons' pitchers
wait
For liquor of your Grace and Bounty great.

Against Your godhead I have a genuine
plaint,
For You the Spaceless, while for me restraint.

Both verse and wisdom indicate the way
Which longing face to face can not convey.

[Translated by Syed Akbar Ali Shah]

*
The mystic's soul is like the morning breeze:
It freshens and renews life's inner meaning;
An illumined soul can be a shepherd's, who
Could hear the Voice of God at God's
command.

[Translated by Naim Siddiqui]

Not: This poem has been written in the Mosque of Cordoba.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 12, 2023

1:13 min read
91

Quick analysis:

Scheme AA XBB CDC EFE GHH DII JXJ XX XKK XBX GG X XFAXX X X
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,243
Words 239
Stanzas 15
Stanza Lengths 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1, 6, 1, 1

Allama Muhammad Iqbal

Muhammad Iqbal, known as Allama Iqbal, was a poet, philosopher, theorist, and barrister in British India. He is held as the national poet of Pakistan. He has been called the "Spiritual Father of Pakistan" for his contributions to the nation. Iqbal's poems, political contributions, and academic and scholarly research were distinguished. He inspired the Pakistan movement in Subcontinent and is considered a renowned figure of Urdu literature, although he wrote in both Urdu and Persian. Iqbal is admired as a prominent poet by Indians, Pakistanis, Iranians, Afghans, Bangladeshis and other international scholars of literature including the west. Though Iqbal is best known as a poet, he is also an acclaimed "Muslim philosophical thinker of modern times". His first poetry book, The Secrets of the Self, appeared in the Persian language in 1915, and other books of poetry include The Secrets of Selflessness, Message from the East and Persian Psalms. His best known Urdu works are The Call of the Marching Bell, Gabriel's Wing, The Rod of Moses and a part of Gift from Hijaz. Along with his Urdu and Persian poetry, his Urdu and English lectures and letters have been influential in cultural, social, religious and political discourses. In the 1922 New Year Honours, he was made a Knight Bachelor by King George V. While studying law and philosophy in England, Iqbal joined the London branch of the All-India Muslim League. During the League's December 1930 session, he delivered a speech, known as the Allahabad Address, in which he pushed for the creation of a Muslim state in north-west India. more…

All Allama Muhammad Iqbal poems | Allama Muhammad Iqbal Books

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