Asrar-e-Khudi (Secrets of the Self)

by Allama Muhammad Iqbal · 1915 · Persian

PoetryPakistan

About the book

A long masnavi poem in Persian. Iqbal argues that the self (khudi) must be strengthened through love, faith and action, and criticizes the passive mysticism and pessimism that he believed weakened Muslims. Its companion, Rumuz-e-Bekhudi (1918), deals with the individual's place in the Muslim community.

Why it matters

Iqbal's first Persian poetry collection, setting out his philosophy of khudi (selfhood); translated into English by R. A. Nicholson in 1920.