A Mother's Dream

Allama Muhammad Iqbal 1877 (Sialkot, Punjab) – 1938 (Lahore, Punjab)



As I slept one night I saw this dream
Which further increased my vexation

I dreamt I was going somewhere on the way
Dark it was and impossible to find the way

Trembling all over with fear I was
Difficult to take even a step with fear was

With some courage as I forward moved
I saw some boys as lined in nice array

Dressed in emerald-like raiment they were
Carrying lighted lamps in their hands they were

They were going quietly behind each other
No one knew where they were to go

Involved in this thought was I
When in this troupe my son saw I

He was walking at the back, and was not walking fast
The lamp he had in his hand was not lighted

Recognizing him I said 'O My dear!
Where have you come leaving me there?

Restless due to separation I am
Weeping every day for ever I am

You did not care even a little for me
What loyalty you showed, you left me'!

As the child saw the distress in me
He replied thus, turning around to me

'The separation from me makes you cry
Not least little good does this to me'

He remained quiet for a while after talking
Showing me the lamp then he started talking

'Do you understand what happened to this?
Your tears have extinguished this'!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 21, 2023

1:09 min read
238

Quick analysis:

Scheme XX AA BB XA CC CX DD XX XX EE FF FF DF GG HH
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,154
Words 231
Stanzas 15
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Allama Muhammad Iqbal

Muhammad Iqbal, known as Allama Iqbal, was a poet, philosopher, theorist, and barrister in British India. He is held as the national poet of Pakistan. He has been called the "Spiritual Father of Pakistan" for his contributions to the nation. Iqbal's poems, political contributions, and academic and scholarly research were distinguished. He inspired the Pakistan movement in Subcontinent and is considered a renowned figure of Urdu literature, although he wrote in both Urdu and Persian. Iqbal is admired as a prominent poet by Indians, Pakistanis, Iranians, Afghans, Bangladeshis and other international scholars of literature including the west. Though Iqbal is best known as a poet, he is also an acclaimed "Muslim philosophical thinker of modern times". His first poetry book, The Secrets of the Self, appeared in the Persian language in 1915, and other books of poetry include The Secrets of Selflessness, Message from the East and Persian Psalms. His best known Urdu works are The Call of the Marching Bell, Gabriel's Wing, The Rod of Moses and a part of Gift from Hijaz. Along with his Urdu and Persian poetry, his Urdu and English lectures and letters have been influential in cultural, social, religious and political discourses. In the 1922 New Year Honours, he was made a Knight Bachelor by King George V. While studying law and philosophy in England, Iqbal joined the London branch of the All-India Muslim League. During the League's December 1930 session, he delivered a speech, known as the Allahabad Address, in which he pushed for the creation of a Muslim state in north-west India. more…

All Allama Muhammad Iqbal poems | Allama Muhammad Iqbal Books

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