A national webinar on “Legal Philosophy of Sir Muhammad Iqbal (Allama Iqbal) was organised by the Law Society, Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University. People from 15 different countries of the world participated in this webinar.
Chief Guest of the webinar, Prof. Abdul Haq, Professor Emeritus, University of Delhi and an authority on Allama Iqbal, said that if we look at the history of poets, we cannot find any match of Allama Iqbal. He is the greatest poet in the world. Allama Iqbal has done a lot of work in the field of law but people have not highlighted it.
Prof. Abdul Haq further said that law was an important part of Iqbal’s life and one can find many legal terms in Iqbal’s poetry. Legal terms from Urdu like daleel, gawah, insaaf, huqooq, etc. are repeated simultaneously in his writings. He practised law for 30 years in his life. Allama Iqbal was the only Urdu poet who was a very successful barrister and wrote successfully in three different languages, that is, English, Persian and Urdu. He said that Iqbal was a farsighted man who advocated modern education in the early 20th century and gave the concept of compulsory education. He said it is the duty of the Law faculties throughout the subcontinent to do research in the legal works of Allama Iqbal. He also suggested that AMU must have a Chair in his name.
Presiding over the webinar, Prof. Shakeel Samdani, Dean, Faculty of Law and President, Law Society said Allama Iqbal’s song ‘ Sare Jahan Se Accha, Hindustan Hamara ‘ is a song which takes our patriotic spirits to the next level and is a gift to all Indians from him. Prof. Samdani further said that about 90 years ago, Iqbal was a human rights activist who talked about fundamental rights, freedom of expressions, labour rights, compulsory education and patriotism. Iqbal has contributed a lot in Urdu poetry and there is no substitute for him.
Giving a detailed information on Iqbal, Prof. Samdani said that Iqbal’s poetry is based on social justice. Over 4500 books in all major languages have been written on Allama Iqbal which is a record in itself. He promised to make all efforts to establish a chair in the Faculty of Law, AMU in the name of Sir Muhammad Iqbal and also announced that a lecture on the legal aspect of Sir Muhammad Iqbal will be organised every year by the Law Faculty.
Chief Speaker of the webinar, Prof. Saud Alam Qasmi, Former Dean, Faculty of Theology, AMU said Iqbal was very much fond of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Aligarh Muslim University and this can be seen in his writings. He praised Sir Syed for bringing Muslims in the mainstream of education. Prof. Qasmi further said that Iqbal was of the view that both old and new laws should be taught in AMU.
This webinar was inaugurated by Prof. Zahiruddin, PVC, AMU who said that Allama Iqbal was a great poet, reformer and politician. He was a highly educated man who has contributed a lot to the development of Indians.