Iqbal Day speech in English: the short answer
This page gives you two complete Iqbal Day speeches in English, both written fresh for 2026 functions. The main one runs about 2 to 3 minutes and suits school and college students; the second is a simple 1-minute speech for young kids. Use them word for word, or lift the opening couplet and the closing lines into a speech of your own. If your teacher has asked for the speech in Urdu instead, the companion page has the full Iqbal Day speech in Urdu script and Roman Urdu.
Iqbal Day 2026 is on Monday, 9 November 2026, and it is a public holiday in Pakistan, so most schools hold their speech competitions in the week before — in 2026, mainly between 2 and 6 November. That means the best time to choose and memorise your speech is the last week of October.
Iqbal Day speech in English for students (2 to 3 minutes)
Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Raheem.
Respected Principal, honourable teachers, worthy judges, and my dear fellow students — Assalam-o-Alaikum!
Today, on the 9th of November, we remember a man who did something no army and no wealth could do: he woke up a sleeping nation with nothing but words. I am talking about Allama Muhammad Iqbal — the Poet of the East, the thinker whose dream later took the shape of Pakistan.
Iqbal was born on 9 November 1877 in Sialkot. He studied at Government College Lahore, and then at Cambridge, London and Munich. But degrees are not why we remember him. We remember him because, at a time when the Muslims of the subcontinent had lost hope in themselves, Iqbal told them they were not weak — they had only forgotten who they were.
His answer was one word: Khudi. Khudi means knowing yourself, trusting your own ability, and building your character so high that destiny itself has to ask your permission. In his most famous couplet, Iqbal says: Raise yourself to such heights that before every decree of fate, God Himself asks you what your will is.
To the youth, Iqbal gave the example of the Shaheen — the falcon that flies high, builds no permanent nest, and is never afraid of the storm. His message to students was simple: do not wait for someone to give you a future. Read, work hard, and make one.
It was this awakened generation that Iqbal addressed in 1930 at Allahabad, where he presented the idea of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent. Seventeen years later, that idea became Pakistan. That is why we call him the dreamer of Pakistan — he saw this country in his mind before it existed on any map.
My friends, celebrating Iqbal Day is not only about praising a poet. It is about answering one question honestly: are we the Shaheen Iqbal wanted us to be? If we study with sincerity, speak the truth, and serve this country, then we are. And if we are not yet, then Iqbal Day is the day to start.
I will close with Iqbal's own lines: There are worlds beyond the stars, and more tests of love yet to come. Let us not stop at what we have already achieved.
Thank you! Pakistan Zindabad!
Short Iqbal Day speech in English for kids (1 minute)
For children in the early classes, keep it to one minute, three facts and one famous line. This version is built for exactly that:
Assalam-o-Alaikum, respected teachers and my dear friends!
My name is ____ and I study in class ____. Today I will tell you about Allama Iqbal. Allama Iqbal was born on 9 November in the city of Sialkot. He was a very great poet. He wrote the famous prayer that we sing in school every morning: "Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri" — my longing comes to my lips as a prayer.
Iqbal loved children and students. He wanted us to study hard, speak the truth and love our country, Pakistan. He said that a student is like a Shaheen, a falcon, who always flies high.
So let us promise today that we will study hard and become good Pakistanis.
Thank you! Pakistan Zindabad!
How to deliver your Iqbal Day speech well
Memorise the shape, not just the words. Every good Iqbal Day speech has four parts: the greeting, one part about Iqbal's life, one part about his message, and a promise or call to action at the end. If you forget a line on stage, knowing the shape lets you jump to the next part without freezing.
Learn the couplet separately. The Urdu couplet in the middle is where most students stumble. Practise it ten times on its own, slowly, until it flows — then put it back into the speech. Judges always notice a couplet delivered with confidence and a small pause after it.
Slow down. A 2-minute speech delivered in 80 seconds sounds nervous and loses marks. Aim for a calm pace, look up at the audience at the end of each paragraph, and keep your hands still. One loud, clear voice is worth more than dramatic shouting.
Practise out loud three times. Reading silently is not practice. Say the whole speech standing up, out loud, three full times — once for the words, once for the pace, and once as if the hall is full. If your school limit is 2 minutes, time the second practice and cut biography first, never the closing lines.
A short paragraph on Allama Iqbal (about 150 words)
Many students are asked for a paragraph or a short essay on Allama Iqbal in the same week as the speech competition, so here is a compact one you can learn alongside your speech: Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the national poet of Pakistan, was born on 9 November 1877 in Sialkot. He received his early education in Sialkot and Lahore, and later studied in England and Germany. Iqbal wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian that awakened the Muslims of the subcontinent and taught them self-respect, which he called Khudi. His famous books include Bang-e-Dra and Bal-e-Jibril. In his Allahabad Address of 1930, he presented the idea of a separate homeland for Muslims, and that is why he is called the dreamer of Pakistan. He died on 21 April 1938 in Lahore and is buried beside the Badshahi Mosque. Every year, Pakistan celebrates 9 November as Iqbal Day in his honour.
Speeches by class
Many schools ask for a speech matched to the child's own class, so two ready versions now have their own pages: Speech on Allama Iqbal in English for Class 3 — short and simple, about 1 minute, in easy words for young children. And Speech on Allama Iqbal in English for Class 4 — a fuller 2-minute speech with the message of Khudi and the dream of Pakistan. The two speeches on this page suit older students.
Iqbal Day 2026: date and holiday facts
When is Iqbal Day 2026? Monday, 9 November 2026. It marks the 149th birth anniversary of Allama Iqbal.
Is Iqbal Day a public holiday in Pakistan? Yes. It appears in the federal government's official list of public holidays for 2026, so schools, colleges, banks, government offices and most businesses remain closed. Older web pages sometimes call it an "observance" — that was the position from 2015 to 2021; it has been a full public holiday again since 2022.
How is Iqbal Day celebrated? Official ceremonies are held at Iqbal's tomb in Lahore, and schools and colleges hold speech competitions, poetry recitations and tableaus — usually in the days just before the holiday, because schools are closed on the day itself. Media channels air special programmes, and Iqbal's poetry, especially the children's prayer "Lab pe aati hai dua", is heard everywhere for one week of the year.
What do students search for most on Iqbal Day? A ready speech — in Urdu or in English — a few famous couplets to open with, and the holiday facts above. This page and its Urdu companion cover all three, so you can prepare from one place.
One last tip: whichever speech you choose, write your name and class into the greeting line the night before, print the page, and keep the paper in your pocket. If nerves strike on stage, a confident start is usually all you need — the rest of the speech follows on its own.
New for 9 November: the free Iqbal Day DP & Poetry Card Maker puts an Iqbal Day frame on your photo and turns Iqbal's famous couplets into shareable cards — no app to install, and your photo never leaves your device.
