Adviser to Prime Minister on National History and Literary Heritage Irfan Siddiqui Thursday said Allama Iqbal lived in the heart of every Pakistani however, people needed to understand his poetry and message and get spiritual guidance from him.
Talking to media at the inauguration of a photographic exhibition in connection with Iqbal Day at Aiwan-e-Quaid here, he said the poetry of Allama Iqbal was not just poetry but was a message.
“This is the message of Oneness of Allah and La Illah illa Allah,” he added.
The event was organized to mark the 139th birth anniversary of Allama Iqbal.
Irfan said the message of Iqbal was about “Khudi” or self, peace and love and this message would continue to be spread among people for all times to come.
He said the message of poetry of Allama Iqbal helped people in creating a self, adding it was a matter of pride for people of Pakistan that Iqbal belonged to their land.
From this land, the message of Allama Iqbal spread to humans living in other parts of the world, he noted.
He congratulated the Nazriya Pakistan Council for arranging the exhibition.
Meanwhile, a seminar was also held about the life and works of Allama Iqbal at the auditorium of the council. Speakers paid glowing tributes to poet philosopher and Poet of the East Allama Iqbal and shed light on his efforts to bring unity and create an identity for the Muslims of the sub-continent.
They said the concept of self was a central theme in the poetry of Iqbal, who stressed that a self that had a strong belief could achieve goals.
Dr Sabir Ayub, a researcher on Iqbal, said Iqbal emphasized on education of youth and children and his message was also about eradication of poverty.
He said there were many similarities in the thoughts of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal.
He pointed that Pakistan needed to do a lot more in the field of education as still 25 million children were out of schools in the country.
He said Iqbal was of the belief that one should seek help of Allah instead of looking towards other people.
Iqbal also put emphasis on adopting the values of freedom, equality and solidarity.
Dr Fateh Malik said the message of Iqbal was also for children and youth and the great poet urged that life could be changed with consistent hard work.
Students of different colleges of Islamabad attended the seminar.

Source: APP