There are many interesting facts about Allama Iqbal and his life but unfortunately, very few people are aware of them!
Allama Iqbal, real name Muhammad Iqbal, was born in Sialkot, Punjab, in 1877. He was an Indian Muslim poet and political philosopher.
His popularity is based on not only his poetry but also the development of ideas that led to Pakistan’s formation.
Interesting Facts About Allama Iqbal
Allama Iqbal married three times in his life.
Iqbal’s family arranged his first marriage to Karim Bibi, the daughter of a Gujrati physician, at the age of 18. They split up after having two children, Miraj Begum and Aftab Iqbal.
His second marriage, in 1914, was to Mukhtar Begum, who died during childbirth in 1924. Iqbal afterward married Sardar Begum, with whom he had a son, Javed, and a daughter, Muneera.
Allama Iqbal’s father was a tailor by profession.
Sheikh Noor Muhammad, Iqbal’s father, worked as a tailor. His specialty was embroidering caps for burqas (veils), therefore he did not raise the poet in a lavish lifestyle.
Iqbal’s further education was funded by his brother Atta Muhammad, who worked as a contractor for the British army and provided the funds.
Allama Iqbal has a street named after him in Heidelberg, Germany.
Allama Iqbal, one of Pakistan’s forefathers, spent six months in Heidelberg learning German for his Ph.D. thesis.
“Dr. Mohammad Iqbal, national philosopher, poet, the spiritual father of Pakistan, lived here in 1907,” says a plaque on a generic old building in Neuenheim.
On the bank of the Neckar, there is the Iqbal Ufer, a street named for him.
King George bestowed the title of Sir to Allama Iqbal in 1922.
Iqbal was famous around the world. In 1922, at the age of 45, King George V bestowed the title of ‘sir’ on Iqbal at the New Year Honors ceremony.
Furthermore, Wali Afghanistan Muhammad Nadir Shah presented him with a splendid carpet.
Two of Allama Iqbal’s books were inspired by the sad events of World War 1.
He was shocked by the sad events and tragedies that Muslims had to endure after World War I.
He authored Khizr e Raah (The Guide) and Bang E Dara (The Caravan Bell) to guide them via his poetry and words.
Allama Iqbal passed away from a mysterious throat illness.
Iqbal died in Lahore on 21 April 1938, after suffering for months from an undiagnosable throat illness.