Allama Iqbal as Student and Teacher (Last Episode)

In the previous column, Allama Iqbal’s student days and his teachers at Government College Lahore and Cambridge University were mentioned. But many readers wrote that if the teachers of the poets of the East are mentioned and Syed Mir Hasan is not mentioned, the story remains incomplete. Therefore, I am starting today’s column with the mention of Syed Mir Hasan.

The personality of Syed Mir Hassan left a deep impression on the early student life of Allama Iqbal. According to Dr. Javed Iqbal, Syed Mir Hasan was a bright thinker who was an expert in modern sciences, literature, linguistics and mathematics in addition to Islamic sciences.

He taught Iqbal Arabic, Persian and Urdu literature and knowledge in the Scotch Mission School, Sialkot. The simplicity, contentment, simplicity and elegance of Allama’s personality were the reflection of Syed Mir Hasan’s temperament. As long as he was alive, Iqbal continued to attend his service and take guidance and guidance from him in academic problems. The companionship of Mir Hassan greatly expanded Iqbal’s field of poetry. In 1889 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan visited Punjab and gave speeches at many places. Syed Mir Hasan was among the people whom Sarsyyed trusted in Punjab.

Allama Iqbal’s Marakta Al-Ara’a Persian work Asrar-i-Khudi was translated into English and European scholars also recognized Allama’s academic expertise. In this background Allama Iqbal was offered the title of ‘Sir’ in 1923. Punjab Governor Edward McLagan invited Dr. Muhammad Iqbal to the Governor’s House to meet a well-known British journalist. The said journalist had heard the fame of Allama Iqbal’s academic and poetic status, so he was very eager to meet him. After the meeting, the Governor requested Allama Iqbal to accept the title of ‘Sir’.

Allama told the governor that he would not accept the title until the scholarly services of his teacher Syed Mir Hasan were acknowledged. The governor asked that there are any works of Syed Mir Hasan? Allama Iqbal replied that Syed Mir Hasan’s Zinda work is standing in front of him. I myself am their author. So, on the occasion of Allama Iqbal’s speech, Syed Mir Hasan also received the title of Shams Ulama. The proud disciple of the great teacher said that Syed Mir Hasan should not be bothered to come here for the certificate of address because he is weak. So the certificate of Shams Ulama was received by his son who was a medical officer in the Governor House at that time.

At Trinity College, Cambridge University, Allama Iqbal was allowed as a post-graduate scholar to write a thesis for the BA examination under special rules for advanced students on the subject of “The Genesis of Meta-Conceptions in Persia”. But got busy writing a research paper. Allama Iqbal wrote a letter to Khawaja Hasan Nizami on October 8 and made some inquiries for the supply of materials for the thesis.

Trinity College is the largest college of the University of Cambridge and one of the most prestigious colleges in England. Newton, Byron, Tennyson and Bertrandrussell studied at this college. Pictures of former students are displayed in the dining hall of the college. The portrait of Allama Iqbal, made by late Pakistani painter Gulji, was also installed there with the efforts of Dr. Saeed Akhtar Durrani, but I don’t know why it has been taken down and kept in a safe room.

At Cambridge, Iqbal had the opportunity to benefit from the able teachers of the university. He would also attend the lectures of the teachers and in his free time would discuss and debate with them, especially Professor McTaggart. The purpose of these academic seats was undoubtedly for academic use. Apart from the teachers of philosophy, Iqbal also established connections with famous orientalists like Professor RA Nicholson, Dr. EG Browne and Iqbal impressed everyone with his intelligence.

With the guidance and knowledge of teachers, Iqbal, like other research scholars, would go to different libraries in search of necessary materials for his research. Apart from the topic of the thesis, he used to study various sciences. Once he told Mr. Mumtaz Hasan that when I was in Cambridge, I used to study economics as well as philosophy and sometimes I attended lectures on economics to keep my balance.

During his stay in Cambridge, it is possible that Iqbal himself got the idea of ​​doing a PhD or Professor Arnold drew him towards it. It is possible that some teachers of Cambridge University were also involved in this proposal. At that time there was no PhD in England. The University of Cambridge laid down the rules for the PhD degree, initially, in May 1921 and the first student was admitted that year. Personally, Iqbal was an admirer of the Germans and used to say, “If you want to develop knowledge, go to Germany.” His circle of friends in England included many German scholars.

So Iqbal started learning German language. It started in Cambridge. Iqbal came directly from London to Munich and submitted a request to the university to be allowed to present a thesis entitled “The Development of Metaphysics in Persia” in English instead of German or Latin.

The university accepted his request, but with the condition that he would have to spend three months in Germany learning German as the oral exam would be in German. So they moved from Munich to Heidelberg where they settled in Scherer Manzil on the banks of the Necker River. Here he learned German. Prof. Hommel of Munich University also referred to Prof. Arnold’s opinion on Iqbal’s thesis. In his written opinion, Arnold described this paper as “an enormous addition to the history of Islamic thought”.

Five professors of the university took his oral examination and in their report openly acknowledged Iqbal’s ability and academic status. It is written on the certificate issued to him by the university that this certificate is being issued with great praise to a famous and learned man and exalted person.

After that Iqbal returned to London. On November 5, he gave his first lecture to students of the Arabic language at the University of London. He was appointed as a teacher of Arabic for six months as a substitute for his teacher Professor Arnold. This engagement was limited to only two lectures a week. Iqbal’s main preoccupation was preparing for the bar examination, which now remained the most important task for him in London. After that, he started a series of lectures on “Islamic Religion and Civilization” in Britain. It is narrated by Abdullah Anwar Baig that the subject of the first lecture was “Certain Aspects of Islam” and this lecture was held at Caxton Hall under the auspices of the Pan-Islamic Society.

According to Abdullah Baig, Iqbal’s fi al-badiha lecture enthralled the audience. Finally, the questions were answered. His report was published in several London newspapers. On July 1, 1908, he received his barat law degree from Lincoln. His son Javed Iqbal could complete his education in seven years, Allama Iqbal got the PhD and Barat Law degrees in just three years.

Allama Iqbal lived in the center of European civilization and observed it closely, then he became disgusted with its materialism, racism, superiority and immorality and he deeply studied Islamic history, the Qur’an and the biography of the Prophet. changed his life. Therefore, when Iqbal returned to his homeland, he was not a westernized youth, but he had become a bulbul-bagh-i-Hijaz.