Sha’ir-e-Mashriq
Semeen Ali
IQBAL: A SELECTION OF HIS URDU AND PERSIAN VERSE by Urdu by David J. Matthews Oxford University Press, 2017, 184 pp., 850
October 2017, volume 41, No 10

Khudi ko kar buland itna ki har taqdir se pahle

Khuda bande se khud puchhe bata teri raza kya hai

Shaikh Muhammad Iqbal

David J. Matthews’s translation of the Urdu and Persian verses by Iqbal opens up a world of ideas and events that Iqbal has witnessed/thought about in his works. The text of each poem included in this book is followed by a brief commentary to showcase the historical and the literary context. The book is divided into six parts which has handpicked poetry from his six poetry collections. Beginning with poem titled ‘Himalaya’, from his first poetry collection Bang e-Dara (The Call of the Camel Bell) celebrates the beauty of his homeland.

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