KARACHI: It’s only by using fair means in life and seeking more and more knowledge that one can truly achieve and realise what Allama Iqbal described as Khudi in his poetry, said retired justice Haziq-ul-Khairi at an inter-university declamation contest held on Friday at a local hotel.

Titled ‘Allama Iqbal’s Khudi is a clarion call to revive a stagnant nation’, the competition was organised by Pakistan Women’s Foundation for Peace.

In his brief speech, Justice Khairi, who was presiding over the event, said that Iqbal’s concept of Khudi was opposed to the Sufi idea of self-abandonment taught by great mystic poets like Hafiz.

“Absolute denial of one’s self ends the relationship between God and man. What Iqbal thought of is a man having a good relationship with God,” he explained.

Sharing a few other points, he said that everyone knew about Nov 9 being celebrated as Iqbal Day in the country; few knew that it’s also the death anniversary of Allama Iqbal’s mother.

The great thinker and philosopher, he noted, showed signs of his poetic brilliance at a very young age, impressing many reputed authors of his time.

On his Khudi, he said: “The first step towards Khudi is to earn an income and support your family absolutely through honest and fair means. Then, read and understand the Quran.”

Continuing on the same theme, he emphasised the need for reading and understanding the Quran.

“Unfortunately, most of us read the Quran and say their prayers without any understanding. The Quran asks us to explore the universe but how we can do that without having knowledge. We have lost the desire to seek knowledge.”

This attitude, he said, was the reason behind Muslims’ present dismal state reflected by the fact that they failed to make any invention in past 500 to 600 years.

Noted poet and writer Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, currently serving as the vice chancellor of Ziauddin University, said that in today’s hi-tech world, everyone seemed to have lots of information about who was doing what.

“But, the least we know [about] is ourselves. What’s our weaknesses and potential? We really never try to explore them,” he said.

He also regretted youth’s lack of understanding of Iqbal’s poetry and said that there was no short-cut to progress, that could only be achieved through a knowledge-based society.

“If we want to establish our name, we must establish a knowledge-based society. There is no other option,” he said.

Earlier, students representing eight universities and two colleges participated in a debate contest and presented their views on the subject. Speakers from two schools participated as guest speakers.

The students tried to define Khudi and highlighted its relevance to today’s time.

One common thread running in most speeches was references to some great Muslim scholars, leaders and warriors, their aspirations of what they wanted Muslims to be like and the present poor state of Pakistan.

Talking about Iqbal’s struggles, Nargis Rahman, chairperson of PWFFP, said that the boy who started his education as a madressah student became an expert of the giants of European thought.

But, throughout his focus was on his spiritual growth and the resurrection of the Muslim masses.

“It’s extremely unfortunate that the condition of Muslim masses in the present time is very similar to what prevailed in the 18th, 19th and 20th century. We need Iqbal today as much as he was needed in those times,” she said.

The declamation contest winners were: Syed Iqbal Rizvi of Hamdard University (first position), Javaria Rais of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University Lyari (second) and Kashaaf Iqbal of Karachi University (third).

Mahnoor Zubair of Fatima Jinnah School got a special prize.

Other participating academic institutions were Aga Khan University, Habib University, Iqra University, Szabist, S.M. Law College, St. Joseph’s College for Women and Nasra School.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2018