Iqbal's Love for the Prophet & the Muslim Ummah

By:Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak

Department of Fundamental & Inter-Disciplinary StudiesKulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences

(maarji@iium.edu.my)

Presented at: Mercy & Love :Model of Prophetic Love of Rumi & IqbalJointly organized by: Solace, Unikita, Madrasah Tarbiyyah Nurul Islam & PNI

Place: Main Hall of the Madrasah Date: 18 th Jan. 2015

1

Allama Muhammad Iqbal

1879-1938

2

My Research Works on Iqbal

1. Konsepsi Pendidikan Akhlaq Menurut Muhammad Iqbal, 1992, Banda Aceh, Indonesia

2. Iqbal’s Theory of Personality: A Contrastive Analysis with Freud, 2013,SaarbrÜcken, Germany

3

Personal Information

• Born in Sialkot Punjab• His ancestors were of Kashmiri Brahmins• Pakistan was Iqbal's brainchild• Poet-philosopher, thinker, Sufi-scholar,

statesman, religious- reformer, advocate, educationist

4

Personal Information

• He was given titles like Allama Iqbal (Iqbal the learned)

• Shaire-e-Mashriq (Poet of the East) • Hakeem-ul-Ummah (The sage/physician of

the Ummah)

5

Poetry and Philosophy

To Iqbal, poetry and philosophy are the two vehicles through which he conveyed his ideas to the intellectuals as well as the

masses in the East and West

6

Iqbal's Enthusiasm

What can I do? My nature is averse to rest;

My heart is impatient like the breeze in the poppy field:

When the eye beholds an object of beauty

The heart yearns for something more beautiful still;

From the spark to the star, from the star to the sun

Is my quest;

I have no desire for a goal,

For me, rest spells death!

With an impatient eye and a hopeful heart

I seek for the end of that which is endless! (Iqbal and Saiyidain,1995: 11)

7

Areas of Interest

• Iqbal had keenly studied philosophy of both the East and the West. He was well versed in literature, history and law. A student of science he perhaps never was, yet he kept a keen eye on the latest scientific discoveries and theories. Being thus equipped intellectually he was in a position to pick up good points from different systems of polity, philosophy, economics and what not, and weave them into a new pattern (Munawwar,1985,p.18)

8

Learned Man

• Iqbal was deeply interested in the issues that have exercised the best minds of the human race—the issues of the meaning of life, change and constancy, freedom and determinism, survival and progress, the relation between the body and the soul, the conflict between reason and emotion, evil and suffering, the position and role of human beings in the universe—and in his poetry he deals with these and other issues. He had also read widely in history, philosophy, literature, mysticism, and politics, and, again, his catholic interests are reflected in his poetry (Mir, 2009)

9

Iqbal's Philosophy (An Eclectic Approach)

10

Mohd Abbas,2013,p.227

Iqbal’s Theory of Personality came as a Response to:

Mohd Abbas, 2013, p.315

11

Iqbal’s concept on Ego/Khudi/Self

Efficient Ego

AppreciativeEgo

Mohd Abbas, 2013, p.338

12

Stood Firmly on his Principles

I am the voice of the poet of To-morrow

My own age does not understand my deep meanings,

My Yusuf(Joseph) is not for this market

I despair of my old companions (Iqbal,1983)

13

Professor Nicholson on Iqbal:

“He is a man of his age and a man in advance of his age;

he is also a man in disagreement with his age”

(Nicholson in Iqbal 1983,p.xxxi)

14

Iqbal’s Magnum Opus

The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam

(Iqbal’s Philosophical Ideas)

My personal experience in trying to understand Iqbal’s Philosophical Ideas

15

Other Great Works of IqbalPoetic books in Persian

Asrar-i-Khudi (1915)Rumuz-i-Bekhudi (1917)Payam-i-Mashriq (1923)

Zabur-i-Ajam (1927)Javid Nama (1932)

Pas Cheh Bayed Kard ai Aqwam-e-Sharq (1936)Armughan-e-Hijaz (1938) (in Persian and Urdu)

Poetic books in UrduBang-i-Dara (1924)Bal-i-Jibril (1935)

Zarb-i Kalim (1936)Books in English

The Development of Metaphysics in Persia (1908)The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (1930)

16

The Language of his Poems

-In the beginning he wrote in the Persian language and later in the Urdu language

- Former President of Iran Ali Khamenei spoke highly of Iqbal’s skillful usage of the Persian

language in his poems

17

Iqbal’s Love for the Prophet

Just like Ar-Rumi, Iqbal had a similar pattern of love for the Prophet of Islam,

expressed in his poems

He made the prophet to be the role-model in bringing the socio-political change within

the Muslim society of his time

18

Poems

In Armaghani Hijaz, Jawab-e- Shikwa, Javid Nama & other poems he referred to the

Prophet as:•Mustafa•The source of everything good and useful in human life•King of both poverty and sovereignty •He is the good role-model humanity•The visible and witness of God’s beauty & power

19

Poems (Cont.) • Muslims in the modern world have made

themselves strangers to ways of the prophet• As a lamp in the darkness • The ‘slave’ of God• The mercy of Allah sent to all the worlds• The self is strengthened by the love for the

prophet• The concept of Insan al- Kamil explained in his

theory of personality is the representation of the Prophet’s personality

20

Mawlid Celebration

In the year 1922, Iqbal stated his satisfaction in seeing the Mawlid celebration of Prophet in

South India:

In order to bind together the Islamic nations of India the most holy personality of the

honoured Prophet can constitute as our greatest most efficient power (Iqbal)

21

Personality of the Prophet (s.a.w.)

In scrutinizing the Qur’an and Sunnah, Iqbal found out that Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) as a messenger of God had a dynamic personality, which was anchored in

the teachings found in the Qur’an. Iqbal further thought that throughout his life and mission, the

Prophet always showed great vitality in toiling and struggling together with his companions to uphold the

message of Islam (Mohd Abbas, 2013, p.36)

22

Mystic & ProphetMuhammad of Arabia ascended the highest Heaven and

returned. I swear by God that if I had reached that point, I should never have returned’

(Abdul Quddus of Gangoh)

The mystic does not wish to return from the repose of ‘unitary experience’; and even when he does return, as he must, his return does not mean much for mankind at large. The prophet’s return is creative. He returns to insert himself into the sweep of time with a view to control the forces of

history, and thereby to create a fresh world of ideals (Iqbal, 1996, p.99)

23

A Response to George FoxMuhammad, we are told, was a psychopath. Well, if a psychopath has the power to give a

fresh direction to the course of human history, it is a point of the highest psychological interest

to search his original experience which has turned slaves into leaders of men, and has

inspired the conduct and shaped the career of whole races of mankind

(Iqbal,1996,p.150)24

Against Pseudo-Mysticism

Remember that Islam was born in the broad day light of history. The great democratic Prophet lived and

worked among intelligent men, who have transmitted to posterity every word that dropped from his sacred

lips. There is absolutely nothing esoteric in his teachings. Every word of the Qur’an is brimful of light and joy of existence. Far from justifying any gloomy, pessimistic mysticism, it is an open assault on those

religious teachings, which have for centuries mystified mankind. Accept, then, the reality of the world

cheerfully and grapple with it for the glorification of God and His Prophet (Iqbal, 1992: 151-152)

25

What to take from the West

The East in imitating the West is deprived of its true self.

It should attempt, instead, a critical appraisal!

The power of the West springs not from her music

Nor from the dance of her unveiled daughters!

Her strength comes not from irreligion

Nor her progress from the adoption of the Latin script

The power of the West lies in her Arts and Sciences

At their fire, has it kindled its lamps (Iqbal in Saiyidain, 1977:p. 20)

26

Dynamism In the West

To Iqbal, the dynamism of the West is the lost heritage of the Muslims of the past (Mohd Abbas,2011)

27

Criticism on the West

The European man of wisdom does not possess a wakeful heart, although he possesses a wakeful eye (Bazm-i-Iqbal, 1969: 510)

Believe me, Europe to-day is the greatest hindrance in the way of man’s ethical advancement (Iqbal, 1953: xii)

28

The Difference bt. West & East

The East perceived God and failed to perceive the world

The West lost itself in the World and fled from God!

To open the eyes on God is worship!

To see oneself unveiled is life (Iqbal and Saiyidain, 1995: p. 19)

29

The Role of Science

Science is an instrument for the preservation of Life.

Science is a means of invigorating the Self.Science and art are servants of Life (Iqbal, 1983:p26)

30

Science

• To Iqbal, the exploration, observation and investigation done by the scientists is a kind of mystic behaviour trying to establish an intimacy with the Creator. Furthermore he believed that the physical sciences provide a sort of spiritual meaning to men who contemplate and ponder over God’s wisdom behind His creations (Mohd Abbas, 2013,p.248)

31

The Way Forward

“He (the Muslim) has to rethink the whole system of Islam without completely breaking with the past” (Iqbal, 1996: p.78)

32

The Way Forward

• In analyzing Iqbal's ideas and advice for the Islamic Ummah, one would come to recognize that as a religious reformer, all his works in poetry and philosophy were aimed at bringing the Muslims out of their backwardness, superstitious beliefs, conservatism and passivity in life towards a state of preparedness in facing the challenges of the modern world (Mohd Abbas, 2011)

33

In his view, the message of the Qur’an is not all rituals (Zikr) but also scientific (Fikr). As Muslims, we should possess both these two aspects mentioned in the Qur’an in order to fulfill our duties in this world as Allah’s vicegerents. In line with Iqbal’s vision for the survival of the Ummah, modern day Muslims should be prepared to learn from others, particularly from the West, the latest development in the areas of science and technology for the betterment of the Ummah and humanity at large (Mohd Abbas,2011)

Zikr & Fikr

34

Critique

• The scenario in the Muslim World has not changed very much from the time of Iqbal

• The Ummah is still lagging behind other nations in the areas of Science and Technology

• Many oil rich countries waste huge some of money buying armaments

• Muslim World lacks facilities to conduct scientific research. This caused the Muslim scientists and scholars to migrate

Critique

35

Critique• Due to brain drain phenomenon, there is a

poor rate of development and intellectual progress.

• To counter the phenomenon of brain drain, Muslim countries should use ‘brain gain’ and ‘brain retention’ to gain back the good brains and to prevent losing good brains

• Besides the revealed knowledge, Muslims should also give equal emphasis on human and natural sciences.

Critique…..cont.

36

CritiqueThe departed melody may or may not come,

The zephyr may below again from Hejaz or not!

The days of this Faqir have come to an end,

Another seer may come or not(Iqbal in Beg,1961, p.50)

Even as I depart from this world,

Everyone will say ‘I know him’

But the truth is, alas! that none knewWho the stranger was, or what he said, or when he came! (Iqbal in Nadwi,1979,p.i)

His Last Lines of his Poem

37

Reference

38

Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak. ( 2011). Contribution of Iqbal’s dynamic personality theory to Islamic psychology : A contrastive analysis with freud and selected mainstream western psychology.

Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak. ( 2013). Iqbal’s theory of personality : a contrastive analysis with freud. Iqbal, Muhammad. (1983).The secrets of the self (Asrar-i-Khudi). (Renold A. Nicholson, Trans.).

Lahore: SH. Muhammad Ashraf.

Iqbal, Muhammad, & Saiyidain, K. G. (1995). Iqbal’s poetry. Patna: Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library. Saiyidain, KG. (1977). Iqbal’s educational philosophy. Lahore: SH Muhammad Ashraf. Iqbal, Muhammad. (1996). The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam, Lahore: Institute of

Islamic Culture Munawwar, Muhammad. (1985). Iqbal and Quranic wisdom. (2nd.edn.) Lahore: Iqbal Academy Pakistan. Iqbal, Muhammad, Sir. (1953). The mysteries of selflessness: A philosophical poem (Rumuz-e-Bekhudi). (A.J. Arberry, Trans.). London: John Murray. Beg, Abdulla Anwar. (1961). The poet of the east: Life and work of Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal. Lahore: Khawar Pub. Cooperative Society. Nadwi, Syed Abul Hasan Ali. (1979). Glory of Iqbal (Trans. Mohammad Asif Kidwai).Lucknow: Islamic Research and Publications.

Syukran JazilanTerima KasihThank You

39