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See also Chapter 87, 'Palestine' in The Republic of Rumi: a Novel of Reality

“In the Muslim’s heart is the home of Prophet Muhammad,” says Iqbal in the first book of his poetry, Secrets and Mysteries (1915-1922). Invariably all his works emphasize the centrality of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), but while the classical poets used to offer an ode to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) immediately after the initial praise of God, Iqbal introduced some innovations.

For instance, the second half of Gabriel’s Wing (1935) starts with a series of monologues addressed to God, and is followed by God’s response to these prayers (see Chapter 86 in A Novel of Reality). The very next poem after this series is ‘Ecstasy’, an ode to the Holy Prophet (see Chapter 87 in A Novel of Reality). Hence the classical convention of praising God and the Prophet, respectively, at the beginning of a work is followed here with more subtlety.

In ‘Ecstasy’ itself, Iqbal addresses the Prophet with a couplet that has been used in his works three times before (once in Urdu translation): “Give my heart no time to agitate;/ Add a curl or two to your tress!” This couplet was first addressed to God in Persian Psalms (see Chapter 55 in A Novel of Reality), and then addressed to Gautama Buddha by one of his devotees, a repentant coquettish dancer (see Chapter 69 in A Novel of Reality). Hence the same search for self-development, which inspired a seeker in Persian Psalms to say these words to God, seems to be inspiring the coquettish dancer when she addresses her prophet, Buddha.

In Gabriel’s Wing, the Urdu translation of the same couplet is first addressed to God in Poem 3 (see Chapter 83 in A Novel of Reality), and then the original Persian is addressed to the Holy Prophet in ‘Ecstasy’. Hence, the earlier pattern gets repeated again instead of the coquettish dancer addressing Buddha, her it is Iqbal addressing the Holy Prophet.

Hence, Iqbal gets equated with the repentant dancer: he is repenting for his intellectual pursuits just as she is repenting for her coquettishness. In some ways it is also a reversal of the gender-defined roles, since dance is more symbolic of action than poetry-singing.

On another level, it draws a parallel between a Buddhist’s devotion to Buddha and Iqbal’s devotion to the Holy Prophet. The implications could be interesting, to say the least.