Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Iqbal is not just a name but an ideology which sprouted the initial hope of an independent land for Muslims of subcontinent in the form of Pakistan,” said Adnan Nasir, principal of Pakistan International School- English Section (PISJ-ES), in a ceremony organized at the school’s auditorium to celebrate the 140th birth anniversary of national poet Dr. Allama Mohammed Iqbal. The event was celebrated with great reverence and enthusiasm.

In his opening remarks, Nasir appreciated the students and teachers for their tireless efforts in putting up such a remarkable program.

He urged the youth to read Iqbal’s pre-eminent masterpieces like ‘secret of life’ and relate to the teachings to self-actualize rather than being the captive of conceptualization.

Nasir emphasized, “Merely organizing events and forums on this day doesn’t fulfill the purpose, if we do not adapt our lives according to the guidelines of our spiritual father whose poetry reminds us of the past glories of Islamic civilization and delivers the message of a pure, spiritual focus on our religion as a source for sociopolitical freedom and greatness.”

Students from the junior and middle school presented spectacular performances on Iqbal’s thought-provoking poems including the ever-popular hymn (Lab peaati heydua bun k tamannameri) and poems, highlighting the significance of the attribute like “self-actualization” through apparently very tiny creatures like spider and honey bee, whereas, the senior school students revived the essence of Iqbal’s undying thoughts in the form of poetry competition (Bait-Bazi). The passionately perfect delivery of Iqbal’s verses stimulated the overall aura of the auditorium and gave a positive insight to contemplate on Iqbal’s perceptions to become a complete human being and a true Muslim.

On the theme of ‘Hamdardi (kindness & compassion), an enormously creative and very well-coordinated shadow theater was presented by the students. PISJ-ES every year, in the month of November, marks the retro of commemoration for the inspirational poet of the East, Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

With the strong conviction of keeping PISJ students connected with the legendary personalities from our history, PISJ-ES never fails to provide exposure to the future generation to establish their aspirations on their footsteps. The celebration was intended to pay tribute to the great philosopher and breathe in our youth the spirit of Iqbal’s timeless ideologies of ‘Khudi’ and ‘Shaheen’.