The story of the strained father-son relationship
 |
Aftab Iqbal was the eldest son of Allama Iqbal who was born in 1899 in Pind Dadan Khan district of Shahpur.
His mother was Kareem Bibi Allama's first wife whom he married in 1893 Karim BB died in Gujarat in 1946, eight years after Allama's death and is buried there.
From the womb of Karim Bibi Allama also had a daughter, Meraj Begum who died at the age of 19 Although Aftab.
and his sister Meraj lived in Nana's house in Gujarat with their mother since childhood Aftab was the father of Iqbal's Noor Mohammad and Noor Mohammad named him Aftab.
Allam
a Iqbal enrolled Aftab Iqbal in the Scotch Mission High School where he passed the matriculation examination in 1916 in the first class.
He also passed the BA examination from St Stephen's College Delhi with honors in philosophy and obtained his MA degree in philosophy in 1921.
Aftab's uncles Captain Ghulam Mohammad and Nana Dr Ata Mohammad sent him to England for higher studies where Aftab graduated from the University of London in 1922 with a BA in Philosophy.
After completing his MA from the same university in 1924 he came to India for two years and then went to England and worked there for three years in the School of Oriental Studies.
At the same time he got admission in Lincoln Inns and succeeded in Bar at Law but could not practice law due to financial difficulties.
Aftab worked for some time as the President of English Department in Islamia College Lahore but started his practice as a Barrister in 1942.
After the establishment of Pakistan he moved to Karachi permanently and remained engaged in Barrister Practice till his death.
Married to Aftab Iqbal died in London on August 14, 1979 at the age of 81 His body was brought to Karachi and buried in Sakhi Hassan Cemetery.
It is a fact that Allama Iqbal's marital life was plagued with all sorts of problema Allama was not happy with his first marriage and wanted to divorce Karim Bibi.
But Kareem Bibi preferred to live a separate life instead of divorce and Allama Iqbal continued to bear their expenses till the end of his life.
Atiya writes to Faizi on April 9, 1909 about this marriage My only wish is to get out of this city but you know that I am grateful to my brother who is against me leaving this city.
My life is in dire straits These people want me to live with Karim Bibi in some way which is not possible I was not happy with this marriage already I am here to bear the expenses but not to live with her.
Atiya Faizi attributed the failure of the marriage to a sharp difference in their intellectual abilities and differences in temperament.
Due to the differences and distance of this marriage, Aftab Iqbal lost the love and affection of Allama and because he was like-minded of his mother and considered Allama to be responsible for the defeat of this marriage.
Therefore, the relationship between him and Allama deteriorated day by day Nazir Niazi writes about this marriage in Danaaye Raz that the reason for the defeat of this marriage was Kareem Bibi's morals and her dry nature.
Javed Iqbal himself wrote in his book Zinda Road that I have no hesitation in stating these demands that the method adopted by Allama though it was not excellent but the method was reasonable.
Aftab was stubborn and always stood against Allama and took advantage of the accusations leveled against him.
Aftab Iqbal was facing severe difficulties during his stay in England so when he came to know that a delegation from Hyderabad led by Sir Akbar Haideri had come to England he met Sir Akbar Haideri and mentioned his financial difficulties.
He said that the university has not given him the certificate due to non-availability of examination fee.
So Akbar Haideri got him a loan of 190 pounds but in Hyderabad Maharaja Kishan Prasad converted this loan into a donation.
In reference to Allama Iqbal, Akbar Haideri wrote a letter of recommendation to Fakhr-e-Yar Jang on January 1 1931, asking Aftab to be employed at the Ottoman University but there was no suitable place for him at that time.
Aftab came to Lahore from England in 1931 and in a letter to Sir Akbar Haideri on March 29, he complained about his financial difficulties disregard of Allama and deprivation of property in such a way that Sir Akbar Haideri wrote to Allama on April 11, 1931.
Although I do not know the reason for your frustration with the sun, I dare say that you should consider its restoration.
Allama Iqbal wrote to Akbar Haideri on May 2, 1931
The story is long and its narrative is painful In fact, I was reluctant to meet you in Delhi because I thought it might be the subject of our conversation.
And it will ruin my peace of mind for a while I have already helped him more than I can handle Despite this behavior, he has been doing it with me and other family members.
No father can patiently read the naughty letters he has written to me What he is doing now is just part of a blackmailing scheme that he has been doing for some time.
However it is not possible for me to help her I am an old man whose health is also in dire straits There is no hope from either side, there are two small children to be brought up.
If I were a rich man I would probably help him a little more even though he doesn't deserve it I don't think you know anything about my situation.
Nature has given me some things and not given me. I am completely satisfied and I have never had a word of complaint on my lips You may be the first person I have written to.
I know you have helped her, partly because she has impressed you and partly because of me Your generous nature could do nothing but that.
But I would be very grateful if he could get a suitable job in the Ottoman University.
The letter was replied to by Sir Akbar Haideri on 11 May 1931 acknowledging Allama's compulsion and assuring him that he would continue his efforts to get him a suitable place at the Ottoman University.
Allama Iqbal wrote in response to this letter on May 14
This young man has so far spent Rs 70,000 on himself This young man has so far spent Rs 70,000 on himself.
According to him, he has borrowed Rs 50,000 in the UK I gave his mother ten thousand rupees which she spent on him and this money is in addition to what he and his father gave to this boy.
Just a couple of months before his return from England I was forced to pay a thousand rupees. Even so, owning one is still beyond the reach of the average person.
I wanted to send you a copy of his latest letter, but I do not, especially since I thought you would no longer sympathize with him.
The Persian poem suits my current state of mind. The first thing we talked about was the liver If you are bitten by a lion, you will be eaten by a liver
I mean, this piece of liver is exactly what I said at the beginning When the milk is wiped off the mouth the liver will become malnourished.
However according to some reports discussions were going on between Akbar Haideri and Allama on this issue.
Therefore, Akbar Haideri writes in his letter dated February 12, 1937 If I had known in advance the unfortunate situation you have pointed out I would certainly have ignored this appeal.
Aftab Iqbal lived for forty 40 years after the death of Allama but now he was always praising Iqbal and always talking about his father's virtues.
Those who have attended Iqbal Day meetings in Karachi know that Aftab Iqbal used to give pleasant and philosophical speeches in these meetings every year and comment on the words of Allama.
Posts
