IN a romantic Ghazal, Pakistani philosopher and poet Mohamed Iqbal has addressed the Arab and the non-Arab World with great passion where is the Arab who will bring back the golden period? He has lost his selfhood and has become colorless deprived of beauty. Iqbal reminds the Arab world of their old lesson that the Muslim empire has no boundaries his world has no limits. However, the concept of nationalism has led the Arabs astray. Same is the case with the non Arab World. “Where is the Arab, to revive The old night-revelry, And where the Persian, to bring alive The love-lute's minstrelsy? Under the Sufi elder's gown The flagon is bare and dry; Alas, for none can tell in the town Where young red wine's to buy. Every man in this grassy mead Fashions and takes his rest, But where is he, ah, where indeed, Who will make, and burn, his nest? A thousand caravan-trains have stared Like a stranger, and then passed on, But he that close as a lover dared To gaze"is there anyone? Rise like a wave, and surging flow In the ocean eternally? Thou seek'st the shore, and dost not know Where ever the shore may be. Hither (for in thy tendril's vein The fresh young blood doth bound) Hither hasten, nor ask again Where the Magian wine is found. Twist into one vast war-array All ages that ever were; Later and sooner are passed away; Where now is Time, ah, where?” He calls in distress for help the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and submits his writ before him. The Arabian Ocean has lost its vitality. In this situation, he turns towards the people of Egypt with hope. The academics know that Iqbal had visited Egypt more than once. He touched the Pyramids and the Sphinx with his creativity. In Zarb-e-Kaleem, Iqbal has given the message of making the craft free from the slavery of nature. He got this inspiration from the Pyramids of Egypt. “Set your craftsmanship quite free From Nature's chains that bind it tight For men endowed with gift of craft Aren't prey, of hunters need no fright.” In the same way, with the help of Sphinx (Abul Haul) he opened the mystery of Power's superiority over wisdom. As destiny of nations is changed. “That in one hour can swerve the fates of nations Admits no puzzling intellect for rival,” In Armghan-e-Hijaz, he tries to teach an important point. If Egypt gets a combination of kingship and humility, it will never see downfall. An Imaginative message of Hazrat Umar (RA) to the Egyptian King of that time goes like this: O breeze! Rise from the desert of Arabia and go to Egypt. Take a wave from the Nile and give a message from Hazrat Umar Farouq to the King Farouq of Egypt He should mix in his personality the qualities of Kingship and humility. If you combine humility with Kingship, it becomes Khilafat. This will never see the downfall. After addressing the King Farouq, he turns to the people of the Arab world with whom he was much expectations. This address is contained in Armghan-e- Hija under the title of O Son of the Desert “Ae Farzand-e-Sehra”: “When all the desert sides were bright from dawn, From tree a bird tuned to a youth in lawn. O desert's son! leave thy tent with haste, You lead a dull life which lacks journey taste.” At the dawn when light spreads in deserts and cities, a bird sitting in a tree calls: O, the sons of desert! Leave your tents now. There is no life without love for travel (struggle). In the beginning, God made them chief of the caravan. They had tested themselves with humility. Even now if the humility of people becomes their pride, they can conquer the world. Iqbal has given this message in prose also. He says that the Arabs should not depend on others. They should have confidence in their own powers. In a message with reference to the Palestine issue, he wrote: The Arabs must remember that they should not trust the representatives of the aliens. They should trust themselves and understand their problems. “But Iqbal complains that his poetic efforts, which have influenced the hundred year old slavery of India, have not touched the Arab ears. In Piyam-e-Mashriq, he said with a heavy heart: “My song has relit old fires In Persia, but Arabia Is still a stranger to My ardent lays.” In other words, he want to say; my voice has lighted the fire of Islam in India. Alas! The Arabs (who were my actual addressee) are still unaware of my thoughts. (This is the fifth in a six-article series.)
