15 August
2020
In Iqbal’s words…
“Subh-e-Azal ye mujh se kaha Jibraeel ne,
Jo akal ka ghulam ho, woh dil na kar qabool.”
These are words from the immortal poet Allama Iqbal (Muhammad Iqbal). Iqbal, who is the national poet of Pakistan (I think his birthday used to be a national holiday in Pakistan but no more), is widely respected for his poetry in all Farsi, Urdu and Hindi speaking countries in Asia.
Jibraeel is the archangel in Islam that corresponds to Gabriel in all Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Modern Day Saints …). The meaning of the lines are:
“At the dawn of creation, Gabriel (Jibraeel) said this to me
Do not ever accept a heart that has surrendered to the mind”