When Allama Muhammad Iqbal visited the Great Mosque of Córdoba, 1933 CE
Famous Muslim thinker, philosopher, and Urdu and Farsi poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal visited the Great Mosque of Córdoba (Masjid e Qurtuba) during his visit to Spain in 1932/33 CE.
The Great Mosque of Córdoba was converted into a Catholic Church in 1236 CE. However, Iqbal was fortunate that he was allowed to offer his prayers in the mosque (as you can see in the photo).
After paying his visit to the Great Mosque, Iqbal wrote a poem called Masjid e Qurtuba that was later published in his collection Baal e Jibril (The Wing of Gabriel) in 1936 CE. A couplet from that poem is as follow:
اے حرم قرطبہ عشق سے تیرا وجود
عشق سراپا دوام جس میں نہیں رفت و بود
Ae Haram-E-Qurtuba! Ishq Se Tera Wujood
Ishq Sarapa Dawam, Jis Mein Nahin Raft-o-Bood
English translation:
To Love, you owe your being, O, Harem of Cordoba,
To Love, that is eternal; Never waning, never fading.
You can read the full poem with English translation here:
https://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/04/bal-e-jibril-124-masjid-e-qurtaba.html
