Ghazi and the Garden is a new and modern collection of English translations of poetry by Muhammad Iqbal. Considered by many to be the last of the great classical Persian poets, and the first of the modern Muslim philosophers, Iqbal’s work has been pivotal in anti-colonial movements and revolutions throughout the Muslim world in the 20th century. Though he is a household name in the Indian subcontinent, Iran and Turkey, he remains largely unknown in the West. This collection brings together some of his most beautiful and powerful Urdu poems taken from Bang-e Dra (Call of the Marching Bell) and Bal-e Jibreel (Gabriel’s Wing), as well as some of his finest Persian ghazals from Zabur-e Ajam (Persian Psalms).
Each poem includes the original Urdu or Persian text, and where necessary, detailed footnotes with explanations have been provided. The hope is for those already familiar with Iqbal to enjoy the original, but also allow those new to Iqbal, and who might possess the lingual familiarity, to experience the vastness of Iqbal’s mind as they read the translation.