This Persian philosophical poem consists of 871 rhyming couplets in the “masnavi” form [a narrative poem composed of distichs corresponding in measure, each consisting of rhyming couplets]. The subject matter of the poem is individual selfhood or “khudi” within a re-imagined Islamic framework. As Nicholson put it soon after the poem appeared, Iqbal’s ideas were not “typical of any section of his co-religionists” and involved “a radical change in the Muslim mind” (Nicholson 1920, p. xxxi). The poem is divided into nineteen sections, including a prologue. The majority of the sections address the nature and value of individual selfhood, the necessity of self-assertion, the creative relationship of an assertive selfhood to external reality, and the importance of purposive activity in the life of an individual self. Other sections address the emotions, attitudes and educative processes...
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Citation: Majeed, Javed. "Asrar-e Khudi". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 July 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=30670, accessed 09 June 2026.]
