IQBAL—A muslim scholar and reformer    By Dr. Sohail Khalid

Review       By Ziauddin Ahmed 

The personality of Dr. Iqbal has somehow been impinged on the mind of every Muslim

child of the Indo-Pakistan sub continent, specially of those born in Undivided India.

The impression and image Iqbal’s individual personality created on their minds differs

from  person to  person, as has been pointed  out by Dr. Khalid   in his article.  However,

Iqbal’s philosophic poems have had a similar effect on all –  that of raising  the feelings

and enthusiasm for the revival of Islamic values.  In  this  regards Iqbal’s poetry was

definitely a great awakening and a rejuvenating force. Now, whether he was an original

and outstanding  philosopher  is  debatable,  for the gist of his inspiration was based on

the philosophy of  Islam and its glorified past.

Dr. Khalid has aptly described the psyche of the period and the people when he says:

‘ Those extreme and sometimes contradictory interpretations of Iqbal’s life are       not only reflections of his creative genius but also the sentimental nature of the   Asian and  Muslim communities he belonged to.’ 

       And how true:

"They are loved or hated, worshiped or despised. Rather than accepting creative people as human beings they are perceived as saints or sinners and subsequently blessed or cursed."
 
 

Iqbal seems to have been well versed with the mood and morale of his own people  and

had his finger on their pulse when he said: 

          Masjid to banalee shab bhar main, Iman ke harart waloon nain

            Mun apna purana papee tha barsoon bhee namazee bun na saka

            The mosque they made in just one night by shear strength of burning faith.

            The heart was  yet still full of sin,  and did not  worship or get its taste.  

          Tarr anakhaan to hoe jatee hain, pur lazat kaya iss ronae main

            Jub khoon e jigar ki aahmayzesh say ashkk piyazee bun na saka

            The eyes bedew and  get surely wet, but to what end or   what avail,

            When the heat of blood cannot turn the tears a little pink or even pale.

Waking up such a people out of their slumber was certainly a Herculian task and Iqbal

was prominent among many who tried to arouse them.

Dr. Khalid has laboriously traced Iqbal’s multifaceted biography and has covered it from

various sides. While it is difficult to review the  facts of a biographical narrative, I have  

taken a few points from the individual’s life and given a personal opinion on some.   

 In his ‘Reconstruction of religious thought,’ Iqbal pointed out a direction and felt that it

has to be followed for  muslims to progress. Prescribing that the method of Islam was

the only means of deliverance from their ills.  It is felt that most  Islamic reformists, Iqbal

included, suggested the medicine in its full strength which was perhaps not the right doze

for their malady. Islam maybe the prescription for the ills of society but  it has to be 

viewed from a slightly different angle. Its stance of BALANCE is to be maintained,  as

its  preaching  itself teaches this.  I am by no means suggesting the change of the message

or its contents. My only suggestion is that it should be seen in the light of the  time and  

 prevalent  conditions. I must elaborate this to make it absolutely clear. The message i.e.

The ‘Qur’an’, needs to be studied from three main angles. (a)  Its  PHILOSOPHIC

content  (b) Its HISTORIC  narratives,  and   (c) Its LEGAL pronouncements.  The

historical episodes are perhaps firm and cannot be changed. Its philosophy  will be

viewed differently by  individuals depending on their approach to it, their knowledge and

awareness. But its legal content is to be seen in the  original historic context. It may not

be applicable  in Letter,   but  its spirit is definitely adaptable even in the present time, for

the basis of that   spirit is constructive and reformative, by no means derogatory or

deprivational.    Iqbal stressed this point wholeheartedly, but was perhaps ahead of the

time and  thus fell out with the fundamentalists.

Further along in the article Dr. Khalid illustrates the recital of  ‘Shikwah’   and feels that 

Iqbal had to compromise with the adamant  orthodox school of thought and so he wrote

its reply the‘ Jawab e Shikwah’.  Whatever may have been the reason for the ‘jawab’,

it was a stroke of genius by the poet for he not only silenced the critics, he  even gave a

brilliant reply and explanation to his own earlier queries, those that would be raised by

any sensible and sensitive  person and which were  perhaps also the hidden feelings or

subdued misgivings of the populace. Those  which he had highlighted in the ‘Shikwah.’   

The reply may not have convinced all of his opponents, yet it has a strength of its own

and has  since become a valuable piece of Urdu literature. 

The article then continues to highlight Iqbal’s political  aspirations and endeavours. It

reveals how Iqbal  tried his hands in  different arenas. He tried to merge Socialism and

Islam in order to convince and carry the multitude of the populace and get his message

across, but the fundamentalists rejected him. 

At one point Dr. Khalid writes:

            “ Iqbal, like Gandhi, was not impressed by Western civilization and found it dangerous for human evolution. He wanted Asians, especially Muslims to follow their own religious traditions rather than the Western secular traditions.”  

Even great leaders, though full of zeal and enthusiasm, can sometimes tend to overlook

the dictates of reason and ignore the lessons of history. What  both Gandhi and Iqbal

seemed to have forgotten and thus refute, is the fact that the wheel of evolution  is 

perhaps unidirectional and irreversible.  Despite its many defects the Western culture was

the progressive force at the time and was the reality of the moment which should have

been  made use of. What could have been beneficial then was to learn from ones mistakes

of the past and accept  the present and to fruitfully participate in the process of

industrialisation of the West. While traditions can be outdated, their  essence could be

desirable.   Use of this essence could have been bound with the methods of the existing

period to produce gainful results. 

Dr. Khalid then points out a turning phase of Iqbal’s life and political career, for he

writes:

“It is ironic that Iqbal did not realize that he was replacing nationalism with religion….” 

He then traces Iqbal’s change of heart and mind to the birth of his dream of a separate

muslim nation. Iqbal finally managed to convert Jinnah to the same pursuit. Both having

learnt in their own peculiar way that muslims may not have a future in undivided India.

 If one were to go into the intricacies of the ‘movement of independence’ it would lead to

an emotional debate. Suffice it to say that though the muslims did get their separate land

 after all, they had perhaps never thought it through. Later events would show this. 

History is witness that any ancient religious ideology, however pure, has not

been  successfully employed in totality  to become the  basis of  a progressive modern

state.  The basic axioms of  all religious ideologies  are the same and need not be

changed;  they are to be adapted and implemented according to the needs of time and

situation. The negation of the reality of a period is not a solution, it is its acceptance and

ones own moulding and adjustment according to particular conditions that  leads to

progress and success.  

 All great personalities leave behind their peculiar legacies but one  lessons is common

that the progeny is well advised to remember and reflect . It has been aptly summed up in

the verse of Sir Walter Scott.  

                        The heights by great men reached and kept,

                        Were not attained by sudden flight.

                        For they, while their companions slept,

                        Were toiling upwards in the night.

Add to this Iqbal’s own message and reminder  which is equally meaningful and

motivating.  

                        Tou shaheen hai parwaz hai kaam tera

                        Sitaroon say aagay jehan aur bhee hain.

                        You’re the golden eagle, to  fly and soar is your identity.

                         Other stations beyond the stars, may be your true destiny.  

In the end I  would like to felicitate Dr. Khalid for making such a lucid and simple

presentation about such a complex and revered personality,  ---  and,  I thank you for your

patience and forbearance in hearing me out.   

Send questions or comments to Family of the Heart