Sir Muhammad Iqbal was a great poet, philosopher and politician. He is commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal, Allama meaning "Scholar".
After studying in Cambridge, Munich and Heidelberg, Iqbal instead of establishing law practice, concentrated primarily on writing scholarly works on politics, economics, history, philosophy and religion. He is best known for his poetic works, including Asrar-e-Khudi, Rumuz-e-Bekhudi, and Bang-e-Dara.
Iqbal was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilization across the world. He delivered a series of famous lectures which were published as “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam”. One of the most prominent leaders of the All India Muslim League, Iqbal encouraged the creation of a "state in North Western India for Muslims" in his 1930 presidential address. Iqbal encouraged and worked closely with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and he is known as Muffakir-e-Pakistan ("The Thinker of Pakistan"), Shair-e-Mashriq ("The Poet of the East"), and Hakeem-ul-Ummat ("The Sage of Ummah"). He is officially recognized as the national poet of Pakistan.
In 1933, after returning from a trip to Spain and Afghanistan, Iqbal suffered from a mysterious throat illness. He spent his final years helping Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan to establish the Dar ul Islam Trust Institute at Jamalpur estate near Pathankot. Iqbal ceased practicing law in 1934 and he was granted pension by the Nawab of Bhopal. Iqbal died in Lahore in 1938. His tomb is located in Hazuri Bagh, the enclosed garden between the entrance of the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort, and official guards are maintained there by the Government of Pakistan.
Iqbal is commemorated widely in Pakistan, where he is regarded as the ideological founder of the state. His Tarana-e-Hind is a song that is widely used in India as a patriotic song speaking of communal harmony. His birthday(9th November) is annually commemorated in Pakistan as Iqbal Day, a national holiday. Iqbal is the namesake of many public institutions, including the Allama Iqbal Medical College, Allama Iqbal Open University and the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore. Government and public organizations have sponsored the establishment of colleges and schools dedicated to Iqbal, and have established the Iqbal Academy to research, teach and preserve the works, literature and philosophy of Iqbal.