Tracing Divine Beauty: The Poetics of Creative Love in Muhammad Iqbal

This talk explores the richly textured language of love in the writings of celebrated poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938). For Iqbal, love is the very fabric of which creation is woven: God "first" loved, and we are enjoined to reprise that love in pursuit of proximity to Him. Many signposts adorn this path of proximity—of the most luminous is beauty. In Iqbal's poetics, beauty brims with a life of its own: far from a mere object for static contemplation, beauty is the vibrant catalyst of dynamic, re-forming love. By thus drawing beauty and love into an animate, intimate kinship, Iqbal casts the spiritual life as an exquisitely creative dialogue with the divine. Please note that doors will close shortly before the advertised time, so we request that you arrive 15 minutes before the start time. About The Cambridge Festival of Islamic Arts The Cambridge Festival of Islamic Arts runs from 19 to 29 November 2026, bringing performances, exhibitions, lectures, and workshops to Cambridge's historic colleges, museums, and cultural spaces. Open to everyone, the festival celebrates the beauty and diversity of Islamic arts, and, fifty years on from the landmark 1976 World of Islam Festival, carries that spirit into our own time. Find out more at cfia.co.uk.