Shikwa By Iqbal Apr 2026

As long as there are believers who question, and lovers who ache, Iqbal’s complaint will continue to echo through the ages.

Iqbal saw a generation that had lost its faith—not in God, but in themselves . They had traded their boldness for begging bowls, their swords for servitude. Shikwa was born from this pain. It is the voice of a believer who feels abandoned, questioning why divine favor seems to have shifted to their oppressors (the British and Hindus). Shikwa is written in a traditional musaddas (six-line stanza) form, but its content is radically untraditional. The poem is a dramatic monologue directed at Allah. Iqbal uses the royal "we" to speak for the entire Muslim community. shikwa by iqbal

For the modern reader—Muslim or not— Shikwa teaches a profound lesson: True devotion is not blind submission. It is the courage to stand before the Almighty and say, with respect and fire: “I love You, but I do not understand this pain.” As long as there are believers who question,