THE LIFE AND TIMES OF 'ALLÿMAH IQBÿL
Influence of his Parents and Family
‘All«mah Iqb«l's origin is traced to a Kashmârâ Brahman family who lived in Kashmâr till about the second half of the 19th. century. His grandfather, Shaikh Rafâq migrated from Kashmir soon after 1857, primarily to escape from the oppression of the new Hindu Dogra rulers of Kashmâr to whom the British had transferred Kashmâr through the Treaty of Amritsar (1846). Shaikh Rafâq settled in the city of Sialkot in Punjab to which many other Kashmârâ families had migrated for the same reason. As a result of this ‘All«mah Iqb«l always remained attached to Kashmâr through the bonds of Islamic love, coupled with his origin. He has frequently expressed concern over the atrocities perpetrated over the Muslims in Kashmâr by its Hindu rulers throughout the period of their rule.
His father, Shaikh Nër Muhammad belonged to the lower middle working class. Though he was neither rich nor much educated he was famous for his honesty, integrity, piety and inclination towards sëfism. The influence of his father was very deep on ‘All«mah Iqb«l. Though the father made him read the Holy Qur’«n reverently every morning he made sure that it was read with full understanding and not just as a ritual. Shaikh Nër Muhammad often instructed ‘All«mah Iqb«l to study the Holy Qur’«n as if it had been revealed to him personally. ‘All«mah Iqb«l reflects this sentiment in several places in his works. Cf.
(5) As long as the Qur’«n
does not descend on your inner most self.
R«zâ 2 and the author of Al-Kashsh«f 3 will not
unravel its mysteries
His mother, Imam Bâbi, was an equally pious lady. Perhaps her upbringing of ‘All«mah Iqb«l coupled with her midnight supplications for her son went a long way in building up the piety and the strong influence of Islam in him. He has referred to this in Poem 122 "W«lidah Marhëmah Kâ Y«d Main" (In Remembrance of the Blessed Mother ) in "B«ng-i-Dar«".
Thus, ‘All«mah Iqb«l, not only inherited piety and other Islamic values from both parents but, under their patronage , found an environment which was very conducive to the full development of Islamic character and its full blooming early in his youth.