INTRODUCTION

The struggle between good and evil has been the saga of the human race since eternity. God created S. ÿdam, the primeval Man, after creation of the universe (Qur’an 2:29-30), designated him as the masterpiece of His creation and made him His vicegerent on earth (Qur’«n 2:30-39; 7:11; 15:28-30; 17:61; 20:115-19; 38:71-73). This was so because only Man was endowed with appreciation and knowledge of the purpose of creation of the universe and only he had the potential for its management and beautification. Simultaneously, Iblâs was degraded from a favorite Jinn to the lowest of the low on account of his arrogance in disobeying the God's Command for paying homage to S. ÿdam by prostrating before him (Qur'«n 2:34; 7:12-18; 15:31-35;17:62-65; 20:120; 38:76-78). Iblâs vowed to misguide mankind, but God warned him that good persons would not be misled by him and would fight against him (Qur’«n 7:18; 15:39-44; 17:62-65; 20:120; 38:79-85). Thus the above mentioned struggle started which has continued till today. ‘All«mah Iqb«l has alluded to this phenomenon frequently.

Struggle against evil is incumbent upon Man and is his duty and destiny as the vicegerent of God. It is more so upon a Mu'min because he has been endowed with the Holy Qur’«n and all previous Divinely revealed books for guidance. This struggle is in spiritual, intellectual as well as material fields. It requires creation and development of spiritual, intellectual as well as material strength. Spiritual and intellectual strength can be achieved only by developing Khudâ, so as to create appreciation of one's potential and develop spiritual and moral strength to face evil. The most important component of the development of Khudâ is an ardent and sincere Love of God and appreciation of "‘Abdiyat". A living faith, not just blind belief, in the Existence of God as well as comprehension of His Essence and Attributes is needed. The more important part of this is the belief in God being the sole Arbiter of human destinies. It is necessary to understand that He is not only the Creator of the universe but is also its eternal and sole Lord and Master. (Qur’«n 2:29, 255). The Holy Qur’«n provides the recipes for developing the spiritual strength necessary to struggle against the evil and to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

Early in his life ‘All«mah Iqb«l realized his duty to prepare the Muslim Ummah for this struggle so that it may be able to attain its rightful place from which it may be able to free all mankind from the evils from which the Ummah had freed itself.

His approach and mission was to create an ideological revolution in the Muslim intelligentsia, as a first step. He talks about revolution extensively in his works. This revolution does not consist of political slogan mongering and destructive activities for solving mundane and transient economic and political problems. His revolution is at the intellectual and philosophical level. It aims at freeing humanity in general and Muslims in particular from the slavery of the pessimistic and fatalist Greek philosophy in the intellectual sphere and from the two mutually contending extremist Western socio-economic philosophies of capitalism and communism. Thus he set upon the task of re-starting and completing the work initiated by previous fighters against evil, like Im«m Ibn Taymiyyah, Im«m Ghaz«li and Mawl«n« Rëmâ. He was convinced that after these freedoms his audience (humanity in general and the Muslim Ummah in particular) would gravitate towards the dynamic Islamic intellectualism and would be close to the middle path of the Islamic socio-economic system, which is closer to human nature than the two extremes of capitalism and communism. With this in view he sent a message to his audience in his later book "Pas Che B«yad Kard Ai Aqw«m-i-Sharq" (So What Should be done O Oriental Nations), which says inter alia

‘All«mah Iqb«l was a very deep thinker and a prolific writer. With these qualities and life-long dedication to this mission he produced 15 books for conveying his message to all who had the ears to listen and a will to work for this cause. These books are listed below in chronological order:

1. ‘Ilm al-IqtiÅ«d (The Science of Economics)- In Urdu prose (ca 1901)- It is the first book on Economics in Urdu.
2. Islam as an Ethical and Political Ideal. In English prose (1908)- The name is self explanatory. (Delivered as a lecture in 1908 and first printed in 1955)
3. The Development of Metaphysics in Persia. In English prose (1908)- It is a contribution to the history of Islamic philosophy.
4. Asr«r-i-Khudâ (The Secrets of the Self). In Persian verse (1915)- As the name shows it discusses the philosophy of Khudâ.
5. Rumëz-i-Bekhudâ (The Mysteries of Selflessness) In Persian verse (1917)- It discusses the philosophy of pooling the individual's Khudâ into the nation's Khudâ.
6. Pay«m-i-Mashriq (The Message of the East). In Persian verse (1923)- It was written in response to "West-Oestliche Dâw«n" of Goethe to present the values of the Eastern (Islamic) culture in contrast with the Western culture.
7. B«ng-i-Dar« (The Call of the Marching Bell). In Urdu verse with some Persian (1924)- It covers many fields and many kinds of poetry as will be seen in the translation.
8. Zubër-i-`Ajam (The Psalms of Persia). In Persian verse (1927)- Most of it is in ghazals which carry Islamic themes.
9. The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. In English prose (1930). The learned author has tried to meet the general demand of attempting to reconstruct Muslim religious philosophy with due regard to the philosophical traditions of Islam and the more recent developments in various domains of human knowledge. This was his master plan and can be considered as a seed which germinated, grew and blossomed in his poetical works.
10. J«vâd N«mah (The Book of Eternity). In Persian verse (1932)- It is an allegory containing the climax of the flight of imagination. It is written on the lines of Mi‘r«j N«mahs (Books of the Celestial Ascension of the Holy Prophet S.A.W. He soars through the celestial world in the company of Maul«na Rëmâ and meets the heroes and heroines of the past who provide him with opinions on some of the problems of the modern age.
11. B«l-i-Jibrâl (The Gabriel's Wings). In Urdu verse with some Persian (1933)- This is a treasure of Islamic knowledge and wisdom.
12. Pas Che B«yad Kard Ai Aqw«m-i-Sharq (So What Should be Done O Oriental Nations). In Persian verse (1936)- It exhibits the secrets of the destinies of nations.
13. Mus«fir (The Wayfarer)- In Persian verse (1936). It deals with his reflections on his trip to Afghanistan
14. Zarb-i-Kalâm (The Blow of Moses) In Urdu verse with some Persian (1936)- This is a declaration of war against the modern age.
15. Armagh«n-i-Hij«z (The Gift for Hij«z). In verse in separate Persian and Urdu Parts (1938)- Among other things it contains expression of his Love for God, the Holy Prophet S.A.W. and the Muslim Ummah. He wrote it at the time he was preparing for pilgrimage to Makkah-i Mu`azzamah. However, the pilgrimage did not materialize due to fast deterioration of his health and ultimate death in April 1938.

The message of ‘All«mah Iqb«l is primarily addressed to Muslims, because they are the only people in the present day world, one section of whom, i.e. Mu'mins, is endowed with the Divine blessing of fully developed and mature Khudâ, based on complete comprehension of the Holy Qur’«n and the readiness for molding their lives according to it. Except three books ‘All«mah Iqb«l's writings are all in Urdu or Persian verse. The spread of the Muslim Ummah beyond the Urdu and Persian knowing countries makes it necessary to translate them into other languages of the Pakistan-India-Bangladesh region as well as into languages beyond that region. His poetic works have been and are being translated into other languages, which include English and other foreign tongues. However, B«ng-i-Dar« has not been translated into English except five long poems. For that reason I have mustered courage to translate this book. In making this translation I have in view the needs of the persons, (Muslims as well as non-Muslims) who do not know Urdu and Persian but are anxious to know ‘All«mah Iqb«l and his message and to invigorate their intellect and activism through the inspiration derived from him.

Explanatory Note-

1. Khudâ- See Chapter 3, paragraph of the same name.