---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never considered myself a poet…"
description: "\"I have never considered myself a poet. Therefore, I am not a rival of anyone, and I do not consider anybody my rival.\" — Muhammad Iqbal"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/muhammad-iqbal-7379_inspirational_i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-th_477810.jpg"
---

#  I have never considered myself a poet. Therefore, I am not…

![“I have never considered myself a poet. Therefore, I am not a rival of anyone, and I do not consider anybody my rival.” quote by Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/muhammad-iqbal-7379_inspirational_i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-th_477810.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/muhammad-iqbal-7379_inspirational_i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-th_477810.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/muhammad-iqbal-7379_inspirational_i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-th_477810.jpg)

> “I have never considered myself a poet. Therefore, I am not a rival of anyone, and I do not consider anybody my rival.”

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He denies poetical rivalry, emphasizing humility and the belief that poetry is not a competitive arena.

**In simple terms:** Not a poet, no rivals.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate humility over competition.

Themes

humility art self‑perception

Mood

reflective calm

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- teaching
- writing workshops
- personal development
- literary criticism
- public speaking

Key Concepts

philosophy of art ego identity creativity individualism

Questions to Reflect On

- Does humility limit self‑promotion?
- How can you balance confidence and modesty?

A Different Perspective

Some may view this as undervaluing one's talent.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Rivals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivals/)

## Related quotes

> [I have never considered myself a poet. I have no interest in poetic artistry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-i-have-no-interest-in-poetic/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [“What I would say is this: writing poems doesn't make you a poet. … It is only with poetry, for some reason, that everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-wright/what-i-would-say-is-this-writing-poems-doesn-t-make-you-a-poet-it-is/)

[Franz Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-wright/)

> [If you want to be considered a poet, you will have to show mastery of the petrarchan sonnet form or the sestina. Your musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/if-you-want-to-be-considered-a-poet-you-will-have-to-show-mastery-of/)

[Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/)

> [I've always considered myself a poet in everything that I do, whether it's photography or movie-making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-malanga/i-ve-always-considered-myself-a-poet-in-everything-that-i-do-whether/)

[Gerard Malanga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-malanga/)

> [The artist is not the transcriber of the world, he is its rival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-artist-is-not-the-transcriber-of-the-world-he-is-its-rival/)

[Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/)

> [Life is art's rival and vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/life-is-art-s-rival-and-vice-versa/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [There are people who, on meeting a successful rival, no matter in what, are at once disposed to turn their backs on everything good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/there-are-people-who-on-meeting-a-successful-rival-no-matter-in-what/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [IMPOSTOR n. A rival aspirant to public honors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/impostor-n-a-rival-aspirant-to-public-honors/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [As African economies boom and businesses are created, one of the big questions this growth raises is that of third-level education: how can Africa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-attias/as-african-economies-boom-and-businesses-are-created-one-of-the-big/)

[Richard Attias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-attias/)

> [Bosh. I find a rival - but no, I won't flatter myself that Tecumseh Fox would consider himself a rival of Dol Bonner -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/bosh-i-find-a-rival-but-no-i-won-t-flatter-myself-that-tecumseh-fox/)

[Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/)

> [Any man, however blase or depraved, finds his love kindled anew when he sees himself threatened by a rival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/any-man-however-blase-or-depraved-finds-his-love-kindled-anew-when-he/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [How much in love with himself, and that too without a rival!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/how-much-in-love-with-himself-and-that-too-without-a-rival/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [No matter how strong the rival, the just will always win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mas-oyama/no-matter-how-strong-the-rival-the-just-will-always-win/)

[Mas Oyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mas-oyama/)

> [Either you have a rival or you don't. If you have one, you must please in order to be preferred to him, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-choderlos-de-laclos/either-you-have-a-rival-or-you-don-t-if-you-have-one-you-must-please/)

[Pierre Choderlos de Laclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-choderlos-de-laclos/)

> [The good is the greatest rival of the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/the-good-is-the-greatest-rival-of-the-best/)

[Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/)

## More by Muhammad Iqbal

> [Since love first made the breast an instrument Of fierce lamenting, by its flame my heart Was molten to a mirror, like a rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/since-love-first-made-the-breast-an-instrument-of-fierce-lamenting-by/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [The Ego is partly free. partly determined, and reaches fuller freedom by approaching the Individual who is most free: God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/the-ego-is-partly-free-partly-determined-and-reaches-fuller-freedom/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [I lead no party; I follow no leader. I have given the best part of my life to careful study of Islam, its law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/i-lead-no-party-i-follow-no-leader-i-have-given-the-best-part-of-my/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [We have strayed away from God, and He is in quest of us; Like us, He is humble and is a prisoner of desire:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/we-have-strayed-away-from-god-and-he-is-in-quest-of-us-like-us-he-is/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [Art: If the object of poetry is, to make men, then poetry is the heir of prophecy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/art-if-the-object-of-poetry-is-to-make-men-then-poetry-is-the-heir-of/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [I, therefore, demand the formation of a consolidated Muslim State in the best interest of India and Islam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/i-therefore-demand-the-formation-of-a-consolidated-muslim-state-in/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [From your past emerges the present, and from the present is born your future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/from-your-past-emerges-the-present-and-from-the-present-is-born-your/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [But inner experience is only one source of human knowledge. But inner experience is only one source of human knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/but-inner-experience-is-only-one-source-of-human-knowledge-but-inner/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [The soul is neither inside nor outside the body; neither proximate to nor separate from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/the-soul-is-neither-inside-nor-outside-the-body-neither-proximate-to/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [The immediacy of mystic experience simply means that we know God just as we know other objects. God is not a mathematical entity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/the-immediacy-of-mystic-experience-simply-means-that-we-know-god-just/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [Sexual self-restraint was only a preliminary stage in the ego's evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/sexual-self-restraint-was-only-a-preliminary-stage-in-the-ego-s/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [I have already indicated to you the meaning of the word religion, as applied to Islam. The truth is that Islam is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/i-have-already-indicated-to-you-the-meaning-of-the-word-religion-as/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [Life is a struggle and not a matter of privilege. It is nothing but one's knowledge of the temporal and the spiritual world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/life-is-a-struggle-and-not-a-matter-of-privilege-it-is-nothing-but/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [It cannot be denied that Islam, regarded as an ethical ideal plus a certain kind of polity - by which expression I mean a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/it-cannot-be-denied-that-islam-regarded-as-an-ethical-ideal-plus-a/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

> [Become dust - and they will throw thee in the air; Become stone - and they will throw thee on glass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/become-dust-and-they-will-throw-thee-in-the-air-become-stone-and-they/)

[Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

[Explore all 91 Muhammad Iqbal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/)

## More Inspirational quotes

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/)

[H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/)

> [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/)

[Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/)

> [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/)

[Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/)

> [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/)

[Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/)

> [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/)

[Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/)

> [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/)

[Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/)

> [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/)

[Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/)

> [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/)

[Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/)

> [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/)

[Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/)

> [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/)

[Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/)

[Browse all 114,561 Inspirational quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I have never considered myself a poet. Therefore, I am not a rival of anyone, and I do not consider anybody my rival.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Muhammad Iqbal"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-therefore-i-am-not-a-rival-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Inspirational"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-therefore-i-am-not-a-rival-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/muhammad-iqbal-7379_inspirational_i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-th_477810.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/muhammad-iqbal-7379_inspirational_i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-th_477810.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/muhammad-iqbal-7379_inspirational_i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-th_477810.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I have never considered myself a poet. Therefore, I am not a rival of anyone, and I do not consider anybody…” — Muhammad Iqbal",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Muhammad Iqbal",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I have never considered myself a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-therefore-i-am-not-a-rival-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/i-have-never-considered-myself-a-poet-therefore-i-am-not-a-rival-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
