Iqbal's Quotes & Sayings

Jahan mein ehle-e-imaan soorat-e-khursheed jeetay hain,
Idhar doobey, udhar nikley; udhar doobey, idhar nikley

In this world, men of faith and self-confidence are like the sun,
They go down on one side to come up on the other. — Allama Iqbal

People who have no hold over their process of thinking ara likely to be ruined by liberty of thought. — Muhammad Iqbal

The history of Europe over the last several centuries provides clear evidence of the transformative power of commerce. — Iqbal Quadir

The great point in Christianity is the search for an independent content for spiritual life which, according to the insights of its founder, could be elevated, not by the forces of a world external to the soul of man, but by the revelation of a new world within his soul. Islam fully agrees with this insight and supplements it by the further insight that the illumination of the new world thus revealed is not something foreign to the world of matter but permeates it through and through.
Thus the affirmation of spirit sought by Christianity would come not by the renunciation of external forces which are already permeated by the illumination of spirit, but by a proper adjustment of man's relation to these forces in view of the light received from the world within. — Muhammad Iqbal

For centuries Eastern heart and intellect have been absorbed in the question Does God exist? I propose to raise a new question new, that is to say, for the East Does man exist? — Muhammad Iqbal

British physician, West African Countries and Peoples Man's place is higher than the sky. Respect for man is the underlying spirit of civilization. — Muhammad Iqbal

Conduct, which involves a decision of the ultimate fate of the agent cannot be based on illusions. — Muhammad Iqbal

The Westerners have lost the vision of heaven, they go hunting for the pure spirit in the belly. The pure soul takes not color and scent from the body, and Communism has nothing to do save with the body. — Muhammad Iqbal

-To Javed-
My way of life is poverty, not the pursuit of wealth;
Barter not thy Selfhood; win a name in adversity. — Muhammad Iqbal

It is the mysterious touch of the ideal that animates and sustains the real, and through it alone we can discover and affirm the ideal. — Muhammad Iqbal

Let this be our beautiful departure from stagnation; let our minds come alive; enter another dimension; go beyond the stars eagerly struggling to find that ... which our naked eyes did not know existed; rise like a falcon born to soar and not be alone but be present amongst others. — Muhammad Iqbal

I am a gardener
I plant hearts
I have no other knowledge
No language now
Close the language door and
open the heart portal
Where everything connects as ONE. — Gabriel Iqbal

Divine life is in touch with the whole universe on the analogy of the soul's contact with the body. — Muhammad Iqbal

The truth is that the religious and the scientific processes, though involving different methods, are identical in their final aim. Both aim at reaching the most real. — Muhammad Iqbal

The intellect of two thousand asses cannot bring forth a single man's thought. — Muhammad Iqbal

The rapid proliferation of cell phones in Afghanistan proves that anything that adds value to people's lives spreads like brushfire - and commerce is certainly a force that could add value for Afghanis. — Iqbal Quadir

But the perception of life as an organic unity is a slow achievement, and depends for its growth on a people's entry into the main current of world-events. — Muhammad Iqbal

It may, however, be said that the level of experience to which concepts are inapplicable cannot yield any knowledge of a universal character, for concepts alone are capable of being socialized. — Muhammad Iqbal

Death was a friend to her; she was unafraid of it: bringing to to others, meeting it herself. And yet, she'd flinched from it today... What was it about that man that she just couldn't let go? Couldn't conquer the part of her heart that had loved him? — Anam Iqbal

The standpoint of the man who relies on religious experience for capturing Reality must always remain individual and incommunicable. — Muhammad Iqbal

He philosophy of Islam will be shown in terms of the modern philosophy, and if there are imperfections in the old ideas then they shall be removed. My task is merely constructive, and in this construction I shall take into consideration the best traditions of Islamic philosophy. — Muhammad Iqbal

The causality-bound aspect of Nature is not the whole truth. Ultimate Reality is invading our consciousness from other directions as well, and the purely intellectual method of overcoming Nature is not the only way. — Muhammad Iqbal

God is not a dead equation! — Muhammad Iqbal

The Ego is partly free. partly determined, and reaches fuller freedom by approaching the Individual who is most free: God. — Muhammad Iqbal

The thought of a limit to perceptual space and time staggers the mind. — Muhammad Iqbal

When you are all wasted
by the battles of life
And finally,
given up on ideologies
An embalming hand comes out of Grace
Race towards it
Hold it
Embrace it
Cut off your garments
Expose your wounds
Bare your heart
Heal
Forget
Live — Gabriel Iqbal

Rise above sectional interests and private ambitions ... Pass from matter to spirit. Matter is diversity; spirit is light, life and unity. — Muhammad Iqbal

The poet's nature is all searching, creator and nourisher of desire; the poet is like the heart in a people's breast, a people without a poet is a mere heap of clay. If the purpose of poetry is the fashioning of men, poetry is likewise the heir of prophecy. — Muhammad Iqbal

Why should I ask the wise men: Whence is my beginning? I am busy with the thought: Where will be my end? — Muhammad Iqbal

Sexual self-restraint is only a preliminary stage in the ego's evolution. — Muhammad Iqbal

A military or government hierarchy is anathema to the dispersed population and diverse tribes of mountainous Afghanistan. — Iqbal Quadir

China has an almost infinite need for energy, and frankly, the world would be better off if much of that need goes in the direction of wind power. — Iqbal Quadir

It is the lot of man to share in the deeper aspirations of the universe around him and to share his own destiny as well as that of the universe, now by adjusting himself to its forces, now by putting the whole of his energy to his own ends and purposes. — Muhammad Iqbal

Close all the books
Open the Heart's book
Read out loud and clear
And then you shall BE the TRUTH
And you shall be a mighty kindness. — Gabriel Iqbal

The flesh of the body does not make it conscious
its the unknown inside that does.
The arms of the galaxy do not make it turn around
its the unknown that holds it together and spin around.
The mind does not create the thought
it's the unknown consciousness
that is plugged to myriad's of portals that does.
A thing of beauty is not made of brick and mortar
it's made of an unknown divine spark.
The world is essentially that unknown
Drop the act and connect to the unknown. — Gabriel Iqbal

That is why, according to this newer psychology, Christianity has already fulfilled its biological mission, and it is impossible for the modern man to understand its original significance. — Muhammad Iqbal

Connectivity is productivity - whether it's in a modern office or an underdeveloped village. — Iqbal Quadir

Nations are born in the hearts of poets, they prosper and die in the hands of politicians. — Muhammad Iqbal

In order to harness the power of love
You have to learn to love first
It grows in return with due measure. — Gabriel Iqbal

Inside my heart there is
A temple, a synagogue,
a church, a mosque,
A monastery, a fish market
A serene lake, a tempestuous sea
Agreements and disagreements
Glory and failure
A big bang at dawn and
a little bang at dusk
All the cries, aspirations and
silent prayers
Yearning and seeking
Everything disintegrates
and dissolves
In a tempestuous ocean
Finally unifies
Collapses on one altar
In one Breath
In God — Gabriel Iqbal

The scientific observer of Nature is a kind of mystic seeker in the act of prayer. — Muhammad Iqbal

Reh Gyi Rasm-e-Azan, Rooh-e-Bilali Na Rahi
Falsafa Reh Gya, Talqeen-e-Ghazali Na Rahi
Azan yet sounds, but never now Like Bilal's, soulfully;
Philosophy, conviction-less, Now mourns its Ghazzali — Muhammad Iqbal

13.5 Mrs. Wolfe asks whether Mr. Iqbal expects her Susan to undertake compulsory headstands.
13.6 Mr. Iqbal infers that, considering Susan's academic performance and weight problems, a headstand regime might be desirable. — Zadie Smith

Life is a struggle and not a matter of privilege. It is nothing but one's knowledge of the temporal and the spiritual world. — Muhammad Iqbal

The heart is like a mirror. Do not prevent it from being broken. It's breakage is more dearer in the sight of its maker [Allah], than its safety. Almighty Allah being indeed the Maker — Muhammad Iqbal

Rather than starting a new inferno in Iraq, our energies would have been better spent in extinguishing the existing fire in Palestine. — Iqbal Sacranie

Indeed, in view of its function, religion stands in greater need of a rational foundation of its ultimate principles than even the dogmas of science. — Muhammad Iqbal

You remember what Goethe said in the moment of his death [ ... ] 'More light.' Death opens up the way to more light, and carries us to those regions where we stand face to face with eternal Beauty and Truth. I remember the time when I read Goethe's poems with you, and I hope you also remember those happy days when we were so near to each other spiritually speaking.
Iqbals Briefwechsel mit Emma Wegenast (S. 45, Iqbal and Goethe, Christina Oesterheld) — Muhammad Iqbal

The ultimate purpose of religious life is to make this evolution move in a direction far more important to the destiny of the ego than the moral health of the social fabric which forms his present environment. — Muhammad Iqbal

The highest stage of Man's ethical progress is reached when he becomes absolutely free from fear and grief. — Muhammad Iqbal

But only a brief moment
is granted to the brave
one breath or two, whose wage is
The long nights of the grave — Muhammad Iqbal

Why hast thou made me born in this country, The inhabitant of which is satisfied with being a slave? — Muhammad Iqbal

Another way of judging the value of a prophet's religious experience, therefore, would be to examine the type of manhood that he has created, and the cultural world that has sprung out of the spirit of his message. — Muhammad Iqbal

The Angel of Death had sworn retribution, and she wasn't going to stop until she'd killed them all. — Anam Iqbal

When I was older, I found Iqbal's work hugely inspirational. He argued against an unquestioning acceptance of Western democracy as the self-governing model, and instead suggested that by following the rules of Islam a society would tend naturally towards social justice, tolerance, peace and equality. Iqbal's interpretation of Islam differs very widely from the narrow meaning that is sometimes given to it. For Iqbal, Islam is not just the name for certain beliefs and forms of worship. The difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim is not merely a theological one - it is a difference of a fundamental attitude towards life. — Imran Khan

A lot of technologies in the world were unusual in the beginning, and became standard. That's the beauty of bottom-up entrepreneurship and innovations. — Iqbal Quadir

During the Cold War, the U.S. instituted a policy of sending money to governments in poor countries to buy their political loyalty. While studies show that sending aid to foreign governments creates allegiance, it does not lead to economic progress. — Iqbal Quadir

The possibility of a scientific treatment of history means a wider experience, a greater maturity of practical reason, and finally a fuller realization of certain basic ideas regarding the nature of life and time. — Muhammad Iqbal

Ilm Ne Mujh Se Kaha Ishq Hai Diwana-Pan
Ishq Ne Mujh Se Kaha Ilm Hai Takhmeen-o-Zan

Knowledge said to me, Love is madness;
Love said to me, Knowledge is calculation

Band-e-Takhmeen-o-Zan! Kirm-e-Kitabi Na Ban
Ishq Sarapa Huzoor, Ilm Sarapa Hijab

O slave of calculation, do not be a bookworm!
Love is Presence entire, Knowledge nothing but a Veil. — Muhammad Iqbal

From love's plectrum arises
the song of the string of life
Love is the light of life
love is the fire of life — Muhammad Iqbal

The ultimate aim of the ego is not to see something, but to be something. — Muhammad Iqbal

All the power
in the
Cosmos
Exists
Inside You
Seek it not elsewhere. — Gabriel Iqbal

Khird-Mandon Se Kya Puchon Ke Meri Ibtida Kya Hai
Ke Main Iss Fikar Mein Rehta Hun, Meri Intiha Kya Hai

What should I ask the sages about my origin:
I am always wanting to know my goal. — Muhammad Iqbal, Sir

Inductive reason, which alone makes man master of his environment, is an achievement; and when once born it must be reinforced by inhibiting the growth of other modes of knowledge. — Muhammad Iqbal

I am an Ultimate," she vowed, the walls of her heart quaking with ferocity and determination. "And I have the
power to do the impossible. — Sheeza Iqbal

Unbeliever is he who follows predestination even if he be Muslim, Faithful is he, if he himself is the Divine Destiny. — Muhammad Iqbal

He was the one for her. She somehow knew that no one could make her feel the way did. Not if she lived for another hundred years. — Anam Iqbal

Become nothing...
hurry .... dissolve ...
end the fire ...
Drown in the ocean of love...
Disintegrate...
Become like water
No even lighter
Ethereal Vapour
Bellow across the hearts
Embalm spirits
Create Bliss. — Gabriel Iqbal

The wing of the Falcon brings to the king, the wing if the crow brings him to the cemetery. — Muhammad Iqbal

Look at the evils of the world around you and protect yourself from them. Our teachers give all the wrong messages to our youth, since they take away the natural flare from the soul. Take it from me that all knowledge is useless until it is connected with your life, because the purpose of knowledge is nothing but to show you the splendors of yourself! — Muhammad Iqbal

Fareb-e-nazar hai sakoon-o-sabaat
Tarapta hai har zarra-e-qayanaat
Thehrata Nahin Karwaan-E-Wajood
Ke Har Lehza Hai Taza Shaan E Wajood
Samjhta Hai Tu Raaz Hai Zindagi
Faqat Zauq-E-Parwaaz Hai Zindagi

Allama Iqbal

Steadiness is a deception from our eyes,
Every particle in this universe pulsates with a revolution.
Caravan of the existence does not rest,
Every moment life renews itself.
You might think life is a mystery,
Whereas life is merely a flight of desires.
*Translation by Jasz Gill — Allama Iqbal

Human intellect is natures attempt at self criticism — Muhammad Iqbal

If you start a chocolate company, you can't compete with Cadbury in the first ten years because they are a big company. — Tamim Iqbal

The Muslim community should not be treated as a problematic community, but treated as a community that is willing to play its role in the mainstream. — Iqbal Sacranie

I said, "The thing we quested after is never attained."
He said, "The unattainable - that thing is my desire! — Muhammad Iqbal

If faith is lost, there is no security and there is no life for him who does not adhere to religion. — Muhammad Iqbal

It never bored them to hear words, words; they breathed them with the cool night air, never stopping to analyse; the name of the poet, Hafiz, Hali, Iqbal, was sufficient guarantee. India - a hundred Indias - whispered outside beneath the indifferent moon, but for the time India seemed one and their own, and they regained their departed greatness by hearing its departure lamented, they felt young again because reminded that youth must fly. — E. M. Forster

She was floating in the midst of a black sea, in the darkest of nights, with no hope or care to see light again. She was a mere wave away from drowning in blackness. — Anam Iqbal

I, therefore, demand the formation of a consolidated Muslim State in the best interest of India and Islam. — Muhammad Iqbal

Top-down approaches do not work. The bottleneck is at the top of the bottle. — Iqbal Quadir

My ancestors were Brahmins. They spent their lives in search of god. I am spending my life in search of man. — Muhammad Iqbal

I have already indicated to you the meaning of the word religion, as applied to Islam. The truth is that Islam is not a Church. It is a State conceived as a contractual organism long before Rousseau ever thought of such a thing, and animated by an ethical ideal which regards man not as an earth-rooted creature, defined by this or that portion of the earth, but as a spiritual being understood in terms of a social mechanism, and possessing rights and duties as a living factor in that mechanism. — Muhammad Iqbal

I felt very bad and could not sleep until 1am. Maybe he could coach me defence. — Tamim Iqbal

But inner experience is only one source of human knowledge. — Muhammad Iqbal

I spend these days in confusion, trying my best to fathom the significance of that shade....

Trying to fathom the suitable answers to my ambiguities, if they can be called as such." - Basil — Amna Iqbal

Though the terror of the sea gives to none security, in the secret of the shell. Self preserving we may dwell. — Muhammad Iqbal

Pakistan is riddled with problems that are rooted in the disproportionate power of the state. Aid has only boosted that power. — Iqbal Quadir

Since love first made the breast an instrument
Of fierce lamenting, by its flame my heart
Was molten to a mirror, like a rose
I pluck my breast apart, that I may hang
This mirror in your sight
Gaze you therein — Muhammad Iqbal

Love is not for the faint hearted. — Gabriel Iqbal

Alas for a love whose fire is extinct,
A love that was born in the Holy Place and died in the house of idols! — Muhammad Iqbal

The soul is neither inside nor outside the body; neither proximate to nor separate from it. — Muhammad Iqbal

Failure is not fatal until we surrender
trying again is the key of glorious victory — Muhammad Iqbal

The immediacy of mystic experience simply means that we know God just as we know other objects. God is not a mathematical entity or a system of concepts mutually related to one another and having no reference to experience. — Muhammad Iqbal

Every hardship is relief,there is one hardship with two relief so one hardship can't over come two relief — Iqbal Ahmed

As he left, he saw the streets were just as deserted and quiet as before, but now he knew it was an illusion. There were ninjas, darker than a starless night, watching their territory and his every move from the rooftops high above. — Anam Iqbal

In America, people buy cars, and they put very little money down. They get a car, and they go to work. The work pays them a salary; the salary allows them to pay for the car over time. The car pays for itself. — Iqbal Quadir

If one cannot live the life of the brave, then it is better to die like the brave. — Muhammad Iqbal

Diyar-e-Ishq Mein Apna Maqam Paida Kar,
Naya Zamana, Naye Subah-o-Sham Paida Kar;

Khuda Agar Dil-e-Fitrat Shanas De Tujh Ko,
Sakoot-e-Lala-o-Gul Se Kalaam Paida Kar;

Mera Tareeq Ameeri Nahin, Faqeeri Hai,
Khudi Na Baich, Ghareebi Mein Naam Paida Kar

Build in love's empire your hearth and your home;
Build Time anew, a new dawn, a new eve!

Your speech, if God give you the friendship of Nature,
From the rose and tulip's long silence weave

The way of the hermit, not fortune, is mine;
Sell not your soul! In a beggar's rags shine. — Muhammad Iqbal

A community receives light from its history, it becomes aware of itself by remembrance of its history. — Muhammad Iqbal

Hatred is a louder exhibition of inability. — Qaisar Iqbal Janjua