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The almost forgotten radical message of Iqbal
Yesterday was the Iqbal day- year after year it has become just another empty ritual. High sounding speeches and statements, visits to Iqbal’s tomb in the spectacular Hazoori Baagh and negligible focus on his message and vision.
In essence, Iqbal argued for the reformation of the Muslims and the Islam and was perhaps the boldest of voices in our times.
The stature of his poetry needs no introduction or tribute - it is universal, profound and truly original.
My post entitled Remembering Iqbal’s message for change was posted at Pakistaniatand later picked up by the blog Light Within. I am reproducing excerpts here:
Iqbal opposed exploitation, Mullahism, emphasised the principle of movement in Islamic thought; and highlighted “Ijtehad†(re-interpretation) of Islamic teachings through a modern parliamentary framework. Alas, all of that is nearly forgotten.
In the famous series of lectures – The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam – Iqbal held:
“….but since things have changed and the world of Islam is to-day confronted and affected by new forces set free by the extraordinary development of human thought in all its directions, I see no reason why this attitude (finality of legal schools) should be maintained any longer. Did the founders of our schools ever claim finality for their reasoning and interpretations? Never. …The teaching of the Qur’an that life is a process of progressive creation necessitates that each generation, guided but unhampered by the work of its predecessor, should be permitted to solve its own problems.â€
Read the full post and comments here
November 10th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
A really excellent article, dear Brother Raza
I will have to read more Iqbal’s works.
Ya Haqq!
November 11th, 2007 at 2:26 am
As Per his son Javed Iqbal.
“Agar aaj Iqbal zinda hote to judge ya wakeel hote, aur kahin dande kha rahe hote”
November 11th, 2007 at 6:40 am
How many people can claim to understand Iqbal’s message. The problem is that even though the poetry is part of syllabus, it is mostly not taught properly: the passion for the endeavour to comprehend is lacking. Thus, Iqbal day is a very good reminder that Iqbal’s poetry goes beyond the syllabus and the message survives beyond a single day.
November 11th, 2007 at 9:55 am
I love the irony that Iqbal has become a sort of idol when I think anyone who has understood him would say he is only a stepping stone. One must find one’s own vision…
Well, at least we get a holiday:)
As a fellow Kashmiri, I’m sure he’d approve of that!
Zzzz
November 11th, 2007 at 11:38 am
[...] this, courtesy of Raza Bhai, we should remember how Allama Iqbal was wary of Mullaism. I bet the Allama couldn’t conceive of a military that promoted the mullah. This entry was [...]
November 12th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
This may be completely tangential…but your post about Iqbal and his thoughts on ‘Ijtehad’ makes me think about ‘Revisionist’ writings in general be they in religion, history or Literature (one of which I have just posted on). For the last year or so I’ve been thinking about the need and the relevance of revisionist writing, and I’ve to admit I’m still very wary of this genre, especially in the historical context. On the other hand, I cannot agree more with Iqbal’s thoughts on Ijtehad that ‘life is a process of progressive creation necessitates that each generation, guided but unhampered by the work of its predecessor, should be permitted to solve its own problems.” Which makes me wonder on the duality of my stance on revisionism…!!
November 24th, 2007 at 7:47 am
I have been reading up on Iqbal for quite some time, and, forgive me for saying so, I have found him to be a conservative reactionary.
Many of us celebrate him for using the terms ‘democracy’ and ‘justice’ while forgetting the context in which he used these terms, which I find to be essentially similar to that of the orthodoxy.
The continuance of Ijtihad is not a genuine contribution of Iqbal. Many religious scholars of the past who gave ultra-conservative ruling - chief amongst them being Shiekh Ibn-e-Taimiya, considered to be the father of modern Islamic terrorism - have taken the same position vis-a-vis Ijtihad. Shiekh Mohammad Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab also agrees on the continuance of Ijtihad. In his article ‘The Principle of Movement in the Structure of Islam’, Iqbal has used the opinion of the aforementioned scholars to reach his opinion about Ijtihad.
In my opinion, therefore, there is need to re-evaluate Iqbal’s works. The positive sides should be highlight along with the negative values that he espoused.