''Asrar-i-Khudi'' (, ''The Secrets of the Self''; published in Persian, 1915) was the first philosophical poetry book of

Allama Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

. This book deals mainly with the

individual An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...

, while his second book ''

Rumuz-i-Bekhudi ''Rumuz-e-Bekhudi'' (; or ''The Secrets of Selflessness''; published in Persian, 1918) was the second philosophical poetry book of Allama Iqbal, a poet-philosopher of the Indian subcontinent. This is a sequel to his first book '' Asrar-e-Khudi'' ...

'' discusses the interaction between the

and

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

Introduction

Published in

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

, ''Asrar-i-Khudi'' (Secrets of the Self) was the first

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

book of Iqbal. Considered by many to be Iqbal's best book of poetry, it is concerned with the philosophy of

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. In a letter to the poet Ghulam Qadir Girami (d.1345/1927), Iqbal wrote, "The ideas behind the verses had never been expressed before either in the East or in the West." R.A. Nicholson, who translated the Asrar as'' The Secrets of the Self'', says it caught the attention of young Muslims as soon as it was printed. Iqbal wrote this in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

because he felt the language was well-suited for the expression of these ideas.

Overview

In 1915, he published his first collection of poetry, the ''Asrar-e-Khudi'' (''Secrets of the Self'') in Persian. The poems emphasize the spirit and self from a religious, spiritual perspective. Many critics have called this Iqbal's finest poetic work In ''Asrar-e-Khudi'', Iqbal has explained his philosophy of "Khudi," or "Self." Iqbal' s use of term "Khudi" is synonymous with the word of "Rooh" as mentioned in the Quran. "Rooh" is that divine spark which is present in every human being and was present in

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

for which God ordered all of the angels to prostrate in front of Adam. However, one has to make a great journey of transformation to realize that divine spark which Iqbal calls "Khudi". A similitude of this journey could be understood by the relationship of fragrance and seed. Every seed has the potential for fragrance within it. But to reach its fragrance the seed must go through all the different changes and stages. First breaking out of its shell. Then breaking the ground to come into the light developing roots at the same time. Then fighting against the elements to develop leaves and flowers. Finally reaching its pinnacle by attaining the fragrance that was hidden within it. In the same way, to reach one's khudi or rooh one needs to go through multiple stages which Iqbal himself went through, spiritual path which he encourages others to travel. He notes that not all seeds reach the level of fragrance. Many die along the way, incomplete. In the same way, only few people could climb this

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

of spirituality, most get consumed along the way by materialism. The same concept had been used by the medieval poet and philosopher Farid ud-Din Attar of Nishapur in his "Mantaq-ul-Tair" ("

The Conference of the Birds ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

"). Iqbal proves by various means that the whole universe obeys the will of the "Self." He condemns self-destruction. For him, the aim of life is self-realization and self-knowledge. He charts the stages through which the "Self" has to pass before finally arriving at its point of perfection, enabling the knower of the "Self" to become the vicegerent of God.

Topics

*Introduction *Prologue *Showing that the system of the

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

originates in the

Self In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes. The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...

, and that the continuation of the

life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

of all individuals depends on strengthening the Self *Showing that the life of the Self comes from forming desires and bringing them to birth *Showing that the Self is strengthened by Love *Showing that the Self is weakened by

asking A question is an utterance which serves as a request for information. Questions are sometimes distinguished from interrogatives, which are the grammatical forms, typically used to express them. Rhetorical questions, for instance, are interrogat ...

*Showing that when the Self is strengthened by Love its gains dominion over the outward and inward forces of the universe *A tale of which the moral is that negation of the Self is a doctrine invented by the subject races of mankind in order that by this means they may sap and weaken the character of their roles *To the effect that

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

, whose thought has deeply influenced the mysticism and literature of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, followed the sheep's doctrine, and that we must be on our guard against his theories *Concerning the true nature of poetry and the reform of

Islamic literature Islamic literature is literature written by Muslim people, influenced by an Islamic culture, Islamic cultural perspective, or literature that portrays Islam. It can be written in any language and portray any country or region. It includes many lite ...

*Showing that the education of the self has three stages : Obedience, Self-control, and Divine Vicegerence *Setting forth the inner meanings of the names of

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

*Story of a young man of

Merv Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian peoples, Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium& ...

who came to the saint

Ali Hujwiri Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Uthman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri (; -1072/77), known reverentially as Data Sahib (), was an Islamic scholar and mystic who authored , the earliest treatise on Sufism in the Persian language. Born in the Ghaznavid Empire, al- ...

– God have mercy on him and complained that he was oppressed by the enemies *Story of the bird that was faint with thirst *Story of the

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

and the

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

*Story of the Sheikh and the

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

, followed by a conversation between

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

and

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

to the effect that the continuation of social life depends on firm attachment to the characteristic traditions of the community *Showing that the purpose of the Muslims 's like is to exalt the Word of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, and that the

Jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

(to strive or to struggle), if it be prompted by land-hunger, is unlawful in the religion of Islam *Precepts written for the Muslims of India by Mir Najat Nakshbandi. Who is generally known as Baba Sahr'ai *

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

is a sword *An invocation.

Introduction

Overview

Topics

Editions

See also

Notes

External links