Iqbal was born on 9th November, 1877 at Sialkot. his Father Nur Mohd was a deeply religious man with mystic knowledge and his mother Imam Bibi was also a religious woman.
Iqbal began his education in a Maktab (Religious School). He was, however, fortunate to have a teacher in the person of Moulvi Syed Mir Hassan (1844-1929)
who was an excellent teacher and a great scholar of Persian and Arabic. Syed Mir Hassan was quick to recognize Iqbal’s talent.
It was under Mir Hasan that Iqbal developed interest in Persian and Arabic languages and literature.
It was on Mir Hassan’s advice that Iqbal was sent to the Scotch Mission School at Sialkot.
He passed his matriculation in 1893, and joined the Scotch Mission College (now called Murray College) for his intermediate examination.

The Balkan wars and the Battle of Tripoli, in 1910, shook Iqbal powerfully and inflicted a deep wound upon his heart. In his mood of anger and frustration, he wrote a number of stirring poems, which together with portraying the anguish of Muslims were severely critical of the West.The spirit of change is evident in poems like Bilad-e-Islamia (the lands of Islam), Wataniat (Nationalism), Muslim, Fatima Bint Abdullah (who was killed in the siege of Cyrainca, Siddiq, Bilal, Tahzib-e-Hazir (Modern civilization) and Huzoor-e-Risalat Maab Mein (in the presence of Sacred Prophet).

In these poems, Iqbal deplores the attitude of Muslim leaders who lay a claim to Islamic leadership and yet are devoid of a genuine spiritual attachment to the blessed Prophet.
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The turning point in Iqbal's Life
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Iqbal was shaken by the tragic events of World War I and the disaster the Muslims had to face. The genius had passed through the formative period. He had attained maturity as a poet, thinker, seer and crusader who could read the signs of tomorrow in the happenings of today, make predictions, present hard facts and unravel abstruse truths through the medium of poetry and ignite the flame of faith, Selfhood and courage by his own intensity of feeling and force of expression. Khizr-e-Raah (The Guide) occupies the place of pride among the poems he wrote during this period. Bang-e-Dara (The caravan bell) published in 1929 has held a place of honor in Urdu poetry and world poetry.

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Iqbal in Politics
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In 1927 the poet was elected to the Punjab Legislative assembly. In 1930, he was elected to preside over at the annual session of Muslim League. In his presidential address at Allahabad, Iqbal for the first time introduced the idea of Pakistan. In 1930-31, he attended the Round Table conference, which met in London to frame a constitution for India.

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Iqbal in Spain / Cordoba
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While in England, Iqbal accepted the hospitality of Spain. He also went to Cordoba and had the distinction of being the first Muslim to offer prayers at its historical mosque after the exile of Moors. Memories of the past glory of Arabs and their 800-year rule over Spain were revived in his mind and his emotions were aroused by what he saw.

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Meeting with Mussolini
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In Italy Iqbal was received by Mussolini who had read some of his works and was aquatinted with his philosophy. They had long meetings and talked freely to each other. The Universities of Cambridge, Rome and Madrid and the Roman Royal society organized meetings in his honor. On his way back he also went to Jerusalem to attend the International Conference of Motamar-i-Isalami.

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Iqbal in Afghanistan
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At the invitation of King Nadir Shah, Iqbal visited Afghanistan in 1932. The king received the poet with great honor and met hi privately, as well during which he laid bare his heart.
The two talked and wept. It was about this time that Iqbal sent some of his verses mostly lyrics to the well-known Urdu poet Dagh for correction. After correcting some poems, Dagh Dehelvi wrote back to Iqbal that his poem did not need any revision. It may be mentioned that Dagh lived long enough to see young Iqbal acquire countrywide popularity and he often used to refer with pride to the fact that at one time he had corrected Iqbal’s poems. When Iqbal passed intermediate with honour he was awarded a scholarship from the Scotch Mission College. The same year he shifted to Lahore and joined the Government College. The subjects Iqbal studied for the bachelor of arts degree included Arabic and English literature and philosophy. He graduated cum-laude and was also awarded a scholarship for further study leading towards a master’s degree in Philosophy. Two years later in 1899, he won a gold medal for the unique distinction of being the only candidate who passed the final comprehensive examination. Iqbal obtained his master’s degree in 1899. He was recognized as a promising young poet in the literary circles of Lahore. By far the most pervasive influence on Iqbal’s intellectual development at Government College came from Sir Thomas Arnold,An accomplished scholar of Islam and modern Philosophy.Unlike most western missionaries,who presented Islam as the religion of the sword, Sir Thomas wrote at Aligarh a monumental study, The Preaching of Islam, Emphasizing the peaceful "propagation of the Muslim faith".
In Arnold,Iqbal found a loving teacher,Who combined in himself a profound knowledge of western philosophy and a deep understanding of Islamic culture and Arabic literature. This happy mélange of the East and West, Arnold helped to develop in Iqbal. also Arnold became a bridge of friendship between Shibli Numani and Iqbal.

In 1904,when Arnold left lahore for London, Iqbal composed a beautiful poem
Naala-i-Firaq (Lament of Separation)
Indicating the student’s devotion to his teacher and his determination to follow Arnold to England in Quest of knowledge and his love for him.

In May 1899 a few months after Iqbal’s graduation with a master’s degree in Philosophy, he was appointed Macleod - Punjab reader of Arabic at the University Oriental College of Lahore. However, he resigned from the position of reader and taught as assistant professor of English at Islamia College and at the Government College at Lahore.
The first period of Iqbal’s poetic career ended in 1905, when he left for higher studies in Europe. During his three years of residence in Europe,Iqbal composed 24 small poems and lyrics. Iqbal studied in both Britain and Germany. In London, he studied at Lincoln’s Inn in order to qualify at the Bar, and at the Trinity College of Cambridge University, he enrolled as an undergraduate student to earn a bachelor of arts degree. This enrollment was unusual since he already had a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of the Punjab, Lahore, and was simultaneously preparing to submit a doctoral dissertation in philosophy to Munich University. The German University not only allowed him to submit his dissertation in English, but also exempted him from a mandatory stay of two terms on the campus before submitting his dissertation, titled: "The Development of Metaphysics in Persia". After his successful defense of the dissertation, Iqbal was awarded Doctorate Degree. This dissertation, which was published the following year in London, was dedicated to T.W. Arnold.
Philosophy being first love, Iqbal probably wanted to benefit from the lectures of the neo-Hegelians, John McTaggart and James Ward, who lectured at Cambridge to the undergraduates. Moreover, the two outstanding orientalists, E.L. Browne and Reynold A. Nicholson, were also at Cambridge lecturing on Persian literature. In view of this, Iqbal’s admission as an undergraduate at Cambridge, though unusual, is understandable. Iqbal’s intellect was sharpened and his mental horizon widened under these eminent scholars who admired him and recognized his philosophic and poetic talent.

In 1915, Iqbal published his major Persian philosophical Poem
"Asrar-i-Khudi".
Its Continuation,
"Rumuz-i-bekhudi" (Mysteries of the selflessness)
Appeared in 1918.
These poems initiated a series that included
Payam-i-Mashriq (The message of the East, 1923)
A response to Goethe’s West Ostriches Divan
Zubur-i-Ajam (Iranian Psalms,1927)
And
"Javid Nama"(an Oriental Divine Comedy,1932).
His generally shorter, more lyrical Urdu poems were also published in several collections, notably
Bang-e-Dara (The Sound of the Bell, 1924)
Bal-e-Jabril (Gabriel’s wing, 1936).
A collection of his English lectures on Islamic philosophy was published titled:

The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (1930).

At his best, Iqbal is one of the great Urdu poets and a great Indo-Persian Poet as well.
A few critics who clearly ignore the anti-Muslim aspect of European expansion in Asia have claimed that
the message of Iqbal was meant above all for the Muslim world and that
it would not have a universal value. He Himself Explained clearly his point of view on this fundamental question.
He Said That:-

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"The object of my Persian masnavis is not to attempt an advocacy of Islam. My real purpose is to look for a better social order and to present a universally acceptable ideals (of life and action) before the world,
but it is impossible for me, in this effort to outlive this ideal, to ignore the social system and values of Islam whose most important objective is to demolish all the artificial and pernicious distinctions of caste, creed, colour and economic status... when I realized that the conception of nationalism based on the differences of race and country was beginning to overshadow the world and that the Muslims also were in danger of giving up the universality of their ideal in favour of a narrow patriotism and false nationalism, I felt it my duty as a Muslim and a well-wisher of humanity to recall them back to their true role in the drama of human evolution. No doubt, I am intensely devoted to Islam but I have selected the Islamic Community as my starting point not because of any national or religious prejudice, because it is the most practicable line of approach".
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A poet of deep, reflective wisdom and delicate sensitivity, Iqbal occupies a very distinguished position among the men of letters. His poems, apart from their philosophic content, are full of concentrated emotion. The poems have a drama-like quality that penetrates the unconscious, a haunting quality which characterizes all true Poetry. They are a record of his deepened insight and his experienced visions, a marvel of suggestiveness. Iqbal joined the keen intellect of the philosopher and the transcendental vision of the mystic, the exquisite expression of the artist.

Iqbal’s dream of a society in which true brotherhood would exist, and the social rank of man would not be determined by his caste, his colour or his fortune, but by the kind of life he leads. Iqbal always condemned the nationalism of the West as founded on mere animal ties of blood, instead of on harmony of ideals. Iqbal is a seer and a humanist who has pondered deeply over all the social, political and economic problems facing the East and examined them in the light of his Quranic ideology. A poet without a strong conviction can never conquer his milieu. In this sense, Iqbal was a great conqueror. He had a purpose before him. It was a high purpose. Iqbal had his own way. All his life, Iqbal toiled hard to make others see and feel what he saw and felt. For rising higher than animal level, a person has first to subjugate the animal within him. To overpower ordinary, selfish desires is not an easy undertaking. To make one’s capabilities conform to one’s ideas and ideals is another difficulty to surmount. To live according to the dictates of intellect and faith is to be truly human. "It is to become master in one’s own house such a master is a genuine SELF"~~
Iqbal was a "self" power with a will and an unfaltering faith, he composed poem after poem to mirror the position and condition in which the Muslims stood at that time. He tried to make them realize their shortcomings and regain their self-confidence as a nation. He had started as a nationalist poet, since the major portion of poetry concerns the Muslims and Islam.
But Iqbal was not only a poet but also a philosopher too.
The Nation calls him even HAKIMUL-UMMAT,which means the philosopher of the nation.
Iqbal represents that moderation which is enjoined by Islam. Almost all of his basic ideas are derived form Islam but he has presented them not only for the Muslims but for the entire world. He maintains that the best solutions of the world problems lie in the Islamic way of life.

Iqbal maintained that every human being has been endowed by nature various kinds of abilities and capabilities. The first duty of a person is to know himself or herself. By knowing oneself he means to know the nature of one’s capabilities. Life is meant for action. This world is a field for the action. The best of thought is meaningless if it is not translated into action. It is action which makes life good or bad. Iqbal says:

(Action makes life a Paradise or a hell. Man in his origin is concerned neither with light nor life).

Iqbal has compared the relationship between the individual and the society with the relationship that exists between the wave and river:

(The individual stands on his relation with his nation. As a solitary figure, he is nothing. The wave is in the river. Beyond the river there is nothing.)

A Philosopher by temperament he was not interested in politics although he had been associated with the Muslim League from his London Years. He was elected a member of the Executive Committee of the London branch of the Muslim League in 1908.
However, political circumstances of the last decade of his life forced him to take part in politics. In 1926, he was elected as a member of the Punjab Legislative Council; three years later he was chosen President of the All-India Muslim League which met for its annual session at Allahabad in 1930.
Earlier, a spilt leading to two factions of the All-India Muslim League had occurred in 1927 which forced Iqbal to side with one of these. This rift continued up to February 1930. Thereafter, the Fourteen Points of the Quaid became a charter of unification between the two factions. On 28 February, 1930, Sir Muhammad Shafi and Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah met in Delhi by which the two factions of the All-India Muslim League were merged. Thus the League again became united making Quaid as its President.

At that juncture of Muslim political struggle in India, one group of the Muslim intelligentsia favoured the struggle for the independence of a united India and had bound its fate with the Indian National Congress, whereas the other shared a belief in the necessity of Muslim’s self- determination and supported the All-India Muslim League, who later spread the movement for the creation of Pakistan. On the eve of the Round Table Conference in London when Federal Scheme was being discussed, the All-India Muslim League held its annual session at Allahabad on 29-30 December 1930, with Allama Iqbal presiding the Session. During the course of his Presidential Address, he emphasized that India comprised of different races, religion and languages which militated against the creation of organic national unity. Since persistent and patient efforts to forge communal harmony had proved fruitless and all out to be useless, the best solution of the intractable Hindu-Muslim confrontation lay in the division of the Sub-continent. On this occasion, Allama Iqbal presented the idea of Muslim India within India. He said:
"Punjab, N.W.F.P., Sind and Balochistan should be amalgamated into a single state. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of consolidated North-West Indian Muslim state appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims at least of North-West India". Two years later, Allama Iqbal presided over the meeting of the Executive Board of the Conference on 5 March, 1933. Prior to that, he had proposed the amalgamation of various Muslim organizations into one political body which should have its branches everywhere in British India. In this meeting of the Executive Board of the India Muslim Conference, the proposed amalgamation was approved. It was Allama Iqbal who, as Chairman of the India Committee, said in August 1934 in an appeal to the Muslims of the whole sub-continent,that, they should observe 14th August, 1934 as ‘KASHMIR DAY’ and said that the dream of Muslim India would be incomplete Without the freedom of the Islamic State of Kashmir.

It may be recalled that when Allama Iqbal proposed the idea of a separate Muslim State, the Muslim politicians and intellectuals failed to measure up to Iqbal’s prescient views and remained bogged down in the stereotypic politics. At that time, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had withdrawn from politics for the time being. Allama Iqbal was the dreamer of Pakistan and well-wisher of Muslim nation. He was a Muslim Leaguer and great admirer of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. In his opinion the Quaid was the only Muslim in India to whom the community had a right to look for safe guidance through the storm which was coming to North-west India and perhaps to the whole of India.


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In March 1938,Iqbal Fell ill Very Seriously.
Despite The Best Medical Help And The Most Careful Nursing
The poet-philosopher of Islam died in the early hours of 21st April,1938.
HE WAS GIVEN A FUNERAL WHICH KINGS MIGHT ENVY AND HIS REMAINS WERE BURIED
NEAR THE GATE OF THE HISTORIC BADSHAHI MOSQUE IN LAHORE LATE IN THE EVENING IN THE PRESENCE OF THOUSENDS OF MOURNERS..

A few days before his death he had told his brother:-
"I am a Muslim and I am not afraid to die".
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Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah Issued The Following
Statement on the death of Allama Mohammad Iqbal:-

"I am extremely sorry to hear the sad news of the death of Sir Muhammad Iqbal.
He was a remarkable poet of worldwide fame and his work will live for ever.
His services to his country and the Muslims are so numerous
That his record can be compared with that of the greatest Indian that ever lived.
He was an ex-President of the All-India Muslim League
And a president of the Provincial Muslim League of the Punjab
Till very recent time when his unforeseen illness compelled him to resign.
But he was the staunchest and the most loyal champion
Of the policy and programme of the All-India Muslim League.

“To me he was a friend, guide and philosopher and during the darkest moments through
which the Muslim League had to go he stood like a rock and never flinched one single moment
and as a result just only three days ago he must have read or been informed of the complete unity
that was achieved in Calcutta of the Muslim leaders of the Punjab,
and today I can say with pride that the Muslims of the Punjab are wholeheartedly with the League
and have come under the flag of the All-India Muslim League,
which must have been a matter of greatest satisfaction to him.
In the achievement of this unity Sir Muhammad Iqbal played a most signal part.
My sincerest and deepest sympathy go out to his family at this moment
in their bereavement in losing him, and it is a terrible loss to India and the Muslims particularly at this juncture."

On the death of Iqbal, Tagore Remarked That:-

"The Death of Iqbal Creates a Void In literature like,A mortal wound"
Which Will take a very long time to heal India whose place in the world is too narrow
"Can ill afford to miss a poet whose poetry had such universal value"....

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru held the view That:-

"Iqbal Was a Poet,An Intellectual And Philosopher Of a Great Order".
He writes in his Discovery of India that:-
"Iqbal Opposed, any society that seemed to him without a religious foundation".
"The vision of Iqbal is not very different from the ideal of democracy as understood in the"
"WEST............."