Seven popular poetic verses you didn't know were wrongly attributed to Allama Iqbal

As Pakistan prepares to celebrate the birth anniversary of the eminent poet and philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal, who holds a central place in the country’s national identity, many remain unaware of the true brilliance and depth of his literary contributions, attributing inferior verses to his name.

This trend of misattributing poetry is not limited to Iqbal, other renowned Pakistani poets, including Parveen Shakir, Ahmad Faraz, Mirza Ghalib, Wasi Shah, and Faiz Ahmad Faiz, have also been victims of having inferior or inaccurate verses associated with them, particularly on social media.

Such misattributions reflect a lack of familiarity and a disturbing neglect of our literary heritage, particularly the works of these globall-acclaimed poets.

Here, we highlight some of the popular verses often wrongly associated with Allama Iqbal:

One verse that frequently circulates under Iqbal’s name actually belongs to Indian poet Sarfraz Bazmi Falahi from Madhopur, Rajasthan, according to Rekhta. 

This verse has been misquoted numerous times.

Another famous line often attributed to Iqbal is actually from the celebrated poet Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar.

Countless other verses, as well as some overly simplistic rhymes, have been wrongly attributed to Allama Iqbal. If  Iqbal were alive today, he might well have taken these misquoters to court.