Introduction
Though the decline of the Muslim world and society can be traced back to the replacement of Khil?fah-i- R?shidah by the monarchist rule of special dynasties, the last three hundred years have seen the constant fall of the Muslim world, which reached its lowest ebb after the first World War. The latter period witnessed the crumbling down of the last vestiges of the Khil?fah and the complete fragmentation and subjugation of the Muslim world by its perpetual adversaries in the Western world.
This deplorable state of affairs touched the hearts of many Muslim intellectuals all over the world, including the Indian sub-continent. These intellectuals started probing into the causes of the decline of Muslims and attempted to devise means of stopping and reversing it. Though these thinkers were richly endowed with Islamic learning and were fully aware of the virtues and blessings of Islam they were unaware of the poisons in the Western thought and society which damaged Muslim society most. ?All?mah Iqb?l, helped by the unique combination of the deep and profound knowledge of Islam as well as that of the world affairs and Western learning, stands out prominently among Muslim reformers as the one fully conversant with the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the Muslim world. The achievements of the Muslim world in all fields during the first eight centuries of the Islamic era and its ascendancy over Europe are well known. This was the result of some qualities and virtues of the Muslims of those times. When the downfall of the Muslim world started it proceeded unabated till only very recent years when the tide appeared to be turning. Determination of the causes of this degeneration is the sine qua non for Islamic renaissance. ?All?mah Iqb?l, true to the epithet of ?ak?m-i-Millat (the Millat?s sage or physician) spent the major part of his genius in investigating the causes of this downfall and in creating the consciousness of the situation in the Muslim mind. In addition to the damage caused by the machinations of the West the Muslim world suffered from their own increasing back-sliding from their original high spiritual, moral and ethical pedestal. The ?All?mah took great pains to elaborate these causes in the hope that the Muslim society would use them as the springboard for their revival. Though these thoughts are spread over this entire works in the form of poems and individual verses three long poems in B?ng-i-Dar? have detailed them. These poems are the present one, ?Sham?a-o-Sh??ir ? (The Candle and the Poet) and ?Jaw?b-i-Shakwah? (The Response to the Complaint), also in the same book. The present poem is a complaint to God in which ?All?mah Iqb?l describes the sacrifices made by the Muslim Ummah in the cause of Islam, as well as their achievements. He pleads that in view of this the present deplorable condition of the Muslim world is unfair. He prays for Divine help to Muslims to improve their condition and get back their old status of prestige and glory.
Though several reputed thinkers and literateurs in the Indian sub-continent and other parts of the Muslim world had earlier attempted to probe into the causes and suggest remedial and corrective measures for the poor condition of the Muslim Ummah ?All?mah Iqb?l?s two poems, viz Shakwah (The Complaint) and Jaw?b-i-Shakwah (The Response to the Complaint) stand out as the ones with exquisite literary grandeur and beauty. For this reason it was but natural for them to have special appeal to all Muslims in general and to the Muslims of the Indian sub-continent in particular. The poems did have this effect and made ?All?mah Iqb?l near and dear to the hearts of the Muslims everywhere. These poems have been translated and molded into music in Urdu as well as other languages including Arabic and important European languages.
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Sabri brothers (Qawalli) |||| اللہ باقی من کل فانی |||| PTV Liveby MTauseefAmin22,204 views
wounder full poetry and beautifully sung by ghulam fareed sabri and party may ALLAH SUBHANA U TAALA reward them highest status in jannat AMEEN
lordofthelord 3 months ago
its beautiful and impressive & heartening.
I sincerely pray from heart to ALLAH JALLE SHANUHU to award him the Jannatul Firdos to the Valiul-Asr Hazrat Allama Shaikh Muhammad Iqbal R.A.
aur Allah se Dua hai k woh Allama Iqbal k Tufail Mein mujh jaise Gunehgar ko bhi bakhsh de-AAMIN.Mubin Ahmad Sayed
mobinsayed1 1 year ago
I am speechless....
Subhan Allah...what a poetry..
May Allah Bless Allama Iqbal and reward him the highest status In Jannatul Firdous
Equally to Ghulam Fareed Sabri..Ameen Summa Ameen
pundadah 1 year ago
very good expression to say
drarkhan786 1 year ago
سبحان اللھ۔
meharjee036 1 year ago
ماشاء الله
minhajian47 2 years ago