73rd Anniversary of Allama Iqbals passing away

[Kambojaric]

I dont know if anybody has started a thread on this topic, i for one didnt see one.
Anyways 21st April is the youm e wafat of shair e mashriq. I was watching a program with Javed Iqbal, the son of the Allama on TV and i really liked some of the stuff he said.

He said that the Allama choose for the muslim youth the Shaheen (eagle) as a symbol. There are specific reasons for this. The Shaheen has 5 characteristics that he found particularly desirable.

1) Long sight i.e. to be able to foresee what the future holds
2) The Shaheen flies high in the skies i.e. Go for your goals
3) Hunts alone i.e. doesn't require the aid of others
4) Doesnt steal another eagles prey i.e. doesnt steal others rights
5) Prefers solitude in contrast to company i.e. is strong enough to survive on its own.

The Allama had high hopes of the muslim youth, we should try and implement these characteristics in our daily lives as much as possible.

 

[Kambojaric]

This is an article from a blog also dealing with Iqbals view of the Shaheen.

Iqbal’s ‘Eagle’ & the need for change

The genius of Iqbal forces me to write again. He was a man ahead of his time; he not only saw the present but foresaw the future and stirred a revolution in the apathetic masses through his words. A very dynamic and potent symbol in his poetry is that of “Shaheen” (Eagle in English) and Allama has several times referred to Muslim youth as “Eagle”. Why did Iqbal choose Eagle? And what has the basic traits of an eagle got to do with our present circumstances?


It is not difficult to connect the dots, specially now, when the entire world is a ‘global village’ with millions of words passing through our sight, pinching and at times helping to answer the questions we weren’t able to before. The only requirement is to ‘care’ – whether you care about unveiling the mysterious that enshroud your limited capacity, is the defining inquiry of the day.

Iqbal could have used the symbol of a Tiger or Leopard or Lion or some other ‘fast and furious’ animal when he addressed the Muslim youth., but he keenly selects eagle because of its courage, great strength, self-reliance, superb aerial skills and spectacle In his poetry Shaheen stands for courage and self-respect, purity of soul and character, devotion and dedication, struggle and endurance, prestige and perseverance, self-control and self-reliance – that I knew.

But what I did not know was eagles basic characteristic of “transforming” (read: changing) during its mid-life. That I discovered after watching animal planet TV documentary on it and suddenly the dots connected. The ingenuity of Iqbal did not choose eagle and preferred it over the other animals with similar traits for nothing!

The need for change in eagle’s life and its outstanding ability to transform according to the needs of time and its age is really interesting. The eagle has one of longest life-spans amongst the birds. It can live up to 70 years, but to make it to the 70’s, it needs to make a hard decision. During its 40’s, its long and flexible talons can no longer grab prey which serve as food to it. Its long and sharp beak becomes bent. Its old thick feathers stuck to its chest and become a hurdle to fly freely and catch its prey on ground. The mighty eagle, which once hunted its prey with its sharp sight and aerodynamic dive, now is left with only one option. i.e. to adapt a change.

The period of transformation required by the old eagle to regain its hunting capability is painful for it. It usually makes its nest on top of a mountain and realizes the need to change; THE NEED TO TRANSFORM, THE NEED FOR ITS SURVIVAL. Once it has realized the need, it starts the painful process which includes knocking its beak on solid rocks, plucking its talons and waiting for the new talons to grow, and plucking its thick aged feathers stuck to its chest.

Only after the transformation process is complete, it can fly again and hunt its prey with the same vigor it used to.

Only after knowing this capability of the eagle, I realized why Iqbal had preferred it over other animals with similar traits. The apathetic Muslims of sub-continent in particular, and the Muslim nation in general needed a change. They needed to adapt to the requirements of the new age, they had to realize the NEED for change, only after such realization had they been able to transform and live the change necessary for their survival. Yes, change could not be brought overnight; it took Iqbal and other great leaders of the Pakistan movement years to make the lazy nation realize how important it is for them to change. Like an eagle in its 40’s has to go through a painful process and sacrifice, the Muslims needed to realize their own impotence and rise above their differences, to unite for a common cause; the need of the hour.

Once again, after the re-birth of the new nation, after 62 years of pain, suffering, bloodshed, injustice, cruelty, ignorance, short-sightedness, preferring foreign agendas over internal peace and personal lust of power of some ignorant rulers and dictators, the eagle yearns for a change.

 

[Burger Boy]

I thought shaheen meant falcon, not eagle.

 

[Kambojaric]

Apparently it means both, there is no specific word to distinguish the two. Similar in a sense to "sher" meaning both tiger and lion. I dont think there is a specific word for lion or tiger. Instead both are group as "sher". Correct me if im wrong.