مطالب

The concepts used in Iqbal Lahori's poetry indicate that the political, social, and cultural settings of the time had greatly influenced his ideas. Influenced by three sources, namely the philosophy based on spiritual perfection, a kind of pan-Islamic approach to propagate among Muslims, and a political view toward his own country, Iqbal deals with the modern socio-political crises plaguing Muslims and drawing upon guidelines received from Molavi-his master whose ideas can be a great source of inspiration to solve new problems of the Islamic world and the colonized nations-he addressed many of these problems. In Javid Nama, he believes that desperately romantic poets are the hearts of the nations and give the body the life-giving blood. Such poets create liveliness in their nations. Iqbal calls them "the Prophet's heirs", who carry the burden of guiding people. Jalal-e-din Mohammad Balkhi, is the symbol of a committed and passionate poet who is the source of life to his nation and transforms the universe through his burning voice. To Iqbal, he is the pioneer of the lovers, whom he is the guide. In Iqbal's view, Rumi master us a fellow-traveler whose company brings salvation and bliss. He advises the followers of the path of divine love to accompany him so that, through his blessings, they know themselves and do great things inspired by strong belief and reach their eventual goal.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between epic poetry and national self-consciousness and in particular study how Shahnameh may be analyzed from this angle. What is the relationship between the Shahnameh and the Iranian national self-consciousness? What can one say about the Iranian national self-consciousness on the basis of this text? What does the text reveal about the Iranian identity? A related question should also be answered, is the Shahnameh an epic? This is not a pedantic question concerned merely with definitions and labels. As will become clear, an epic reveals a great deal about the national consciousness of the people to whom it belongs (or who belong to it); to identify a poem as an epic, is to be making an important statement about the national consciousness of a people. The question of whether the Shahnameh is an epic or not is hence far from a pedantic one. It takes us right into the heart of Iranian national consciousness