Javed Iqbal was born in Sialkot on 5 October 1924 to Allama Muhammad Iqbal and his second wife, Sardar Begum. His mother died when he was 11, and his father died in 1938 when he was 14. Javed Iqbal received the following educational degrees and distinctions: BA (Honors) degree in 1944 from the Government College, Lahore; MA degree in English, and MA degree in Philosophy (Gold Medallist) in 1948; Doctor of Philosophy degree in Philosophy in 1954 from the University of Cambridge, UK; and Barrister-at-Law, Lincoln's Inn, London, in 1956. He has received honorary doctorates degrees from Villanova University, United States, and Seljuk University in Jordan. Javed began as an advocate in Lahore High Court, and later became a judge in 1971 and then Chief Justice of the court. He was also a judge in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and an Elected member in the Senate of Pakistan (Upper House of Parliament). He has published papers on Islamic political thought, political ideology in Pakistan and the philosophy of his father, Muhammad Iqbal, which were published in national and international journals. During the years 1960–62 and in 1977, he was the delegate of Pakistan to the United Nations General Assembly. He had argued in favour of reforms in the Hudud laws of Pakistan from General Zia Ul-Haq ruling period. Javed Iqbal ran against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on a Pakistan Muslim League ticket in the 1970 General Election in Pakistan, but eventually decided to leave politics. At one time, he even declined Bhutto's offer for him to join Pakistan Peoples Party.[1] He was married to Nasira Iqbal, a retired Lahore High Court Judge.

Works: Javed's publications include the following:

1. Ideology of Pakistan (1959)


2. Stray Reflections: A Note-Book of Iqbal (1961)


3. Legacy of Quaid-e-Azam (1968, published in English and Urdu)


4. Mai Lala Faam (1968, collection of papers on Iqbal, in Urdu)


5. Zinda Rood (1984, biography of Iqbal in three volumes, in Urdu)


6. Afkare-Iqbal (1994, interpretation of Iqbal's thought)


7. Pakistan and the Islamic Liberal Movement (1994).


8. Jahan-I Javed : darame, Afsane, Maqale


9. Islam and Pakistan's Identity


10. The Concept of State in Islam : A Reassessment


11. Apna Greban Chaak(autobiography) (2002)


12. Khutbat e Iqbal


13. Books on Dr Javid Iqbal


14. Life After Iqbal (2016, Fastprint Publishing, UK by Sabeena Khan)