Allama Iqbal Family Tree: The Story Behind Sare Jahan Se Accha's Poet

Sir Muhammad Iqbal, known as Allama Iqbal, born 9 November 1877 in Sialkot, Punjab, British India (now in Pakistan), was a poet, philosopher, politician, and academic — wrote in Persian and Urdu; composed Sare Jahan Se Accha (1904) and Tarana-e-Milli; knighted by King George V in 1922. He died 21 April 1938 at age 60.

The Family's Roots: A Kashmiri Pandit Muslim Family in Sialkot

The Iqbal family was of Kashmiri Pandit ancestry that converted to Islam four generations before Iqbal's birth; settled in Sialkot, Punjab.

His Parents

Father: Sheikh Noor Muhammad — tailor in Sialkot; deeply religious.

Mother: Imam Bibi — homemaker.

His Brother

Sheikh Ata Muhammad — Iqbal's elder brother; engineer.

His Sister

Talib Bibi — Iqbal's elder sister.

His Wives

Iqbal had three wives at various points in his life:

Karim Bibi — first wife from 1893 (Iqbal was 15); they had children together; she died in 1916.

Sardar Begum — second wife from 1910s.

Mukhtar Begum — third wife from 1914.

His Children

Miraj Begum (1895–1915) — daughter with Karim Bibi.

Aftab Iqbal (1899–1979) — son with Karim Bibi; barrister-at-law.

Javed Iqbal (1924–2015) — son with Mukhtar Begum; Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court (1981–82); senator of Pakistan.

Munira Bano (1930–) — daughter with Mukhtar Begum.

The Iqbal Family Tree at a Glance

Father: Sheikh Noor Muhammad — tailor.

Mother: Imam Bibi.

Brother: Sheikh Ata Muhammad — engineer.

Wives: Karim Bibi (m. 1893, died 1916); Sardar Begum; Mukhtar Begum.

Children: Miraj Begum (1895–1915); Aftab Iqbal (1899–1979); Javed Iqbal (1924–2015) — Pakistani Chief Justice; Munira Bano (b. 1930).

Allama Iqbal:

  • Born 9 November 1877, Sialkot
  • Scotch Mission College, Sialkot; Government College, Lahore (MA Philosophy 1899)
  • Cambridge University (Trinity College): 1905–08 — BA degree
  • Lincoln's Inn, London: barrister-at-law
  • University of Munich: 1907–08 — PhD (The Development of Metaphysics in Persia)
  • Practised law in Lahore from 1908
  • Urdu poetry: Bang-i-Dara (1924), Bal-i-Jibril (1935), Zarb-i-Kaleem (1936), Armughan-i-Hijaz (1938)
  • Persian poetry: Asrar-i-Khudi (1915), Rumuz-i-Bekhudi (1918), Payam-i-Mashriq (1923), Zabur-i-Ajam (1927), Javid Nama (1932)
  • Sare Jahan Se Accha (1904) — Indian patriotic song
  • Knighted: 1922
  • Muslim League president 1930 — Allahabad Address introduced the concept of a separate Muslim homeland in NW India
  • Pakistan's national poet (referred to as Muffakir-e-Pakistan "Thinker of Pakistan")
  • Died 21 April 1938, Lahore, age 60

What the Iqbal Family Story Teaches Us

A tailor father from a Kashmiri Pandit Muslim-convert lineage. A homemaker mother. Three wives across his life. Four children — including a son who became Pakistan's Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court. A career that combined poetry, philosophy, law, and Muslim political identity.

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the Iqbal story carries the same lesson. Some families produce both a poet and a Chief Justice across two generations.

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