Chapter – V

THEISTIC PHILOSOPHY OF IQBAL

The debate pertaining to the existence of God has been carried on by

some of the most profound thinkers across the globe. Historically speaking,

ancient, medieval and modern thinkers have soulfully participated in this

debate. It is a perennial debate. Contemporary philosophers are engaged in the

God-Debate as fervently as ancients and medievals were Theologians, mystics,

historians, scholars and even natural and social scientific researchers have

carried on their interpretations, investigations and extrapolations against the

backdrop of God –Debate carried out throughout the annals of human history.

This perennial as well as global debate has had most crucial social, political,

ethical, philosophical cultural, educational and spiritual implications for the

upkeep of human civilization. Although God-Debate has been central to human

civilization, its impact has been most vitally felt within monotheistic. Semitic

religious societies comprising of Jews, Christians and Muslims. Broadly

speaking, two distinct approaches have been adopted by philosophers of

religious in their long drawn-out God-Debate:

1- Theological / rational

2- Mystical/spiritual

Most theistic philosophers and philosophical theologians, throughout

history, have adopted the theological/ rational approach. They have advanced

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theological/ rational arguments approach with a view to proving the existence

of God. They have offered scores of proofs. The most important proofs for the

existence of God are knows as -

1- Cosmological proof.

2- Ontological proof.

3- Telelogical proof.

Outstanding philosophers and theologians such as Aristotle, St.

Augustine, St. Anslem, St. Thomas Acquinas, Descartes, Al-Farabi, Ibn-Sina,

and Al-Ghazali etc., have offered different variants of these proofs. On the

other hand, mystics and spiritualists found across the domains of all the three

religions have always undermined the validity, truth and fruitfulness of all such

theological /rational attempts to demonstrate the existence of God. They have

put forward the thesis that God is essentially beyond the ken of rationalistic

argumentation and theological apologetics. He is beyond the beyond and

beyond the human cognitive faculties operating within space-time-causality

parameters .It is through faith that we can appropriate God and it is through

reason that we can ultimately vortex ourselves into Skepticism, agnosticism

and nihilism or logically demonstrable God need not be believed in. It is

through love, submission and commitment that God becomes the most

powerful spiritual force impacting and restructuring all the planes of human

existence; individual, societal, historical and civilizational. God is to be

realized not to be proved by any rational strategy. Experimentally verifiable

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God is not an object of rational investigation. Iqbal following Kant assembles a

critique of the classical proofs for the existence of God. Following mystics and

spiritualists of all times and climes, he advocates the appropriation of God by

recourse to mystical or what he calls religious experience.

Iqbal can’t be pigeonholed in any one of the three epistemological

schools of thought; the empiricist, the rationalist and the intuitionist .In his

philosophy sense –perception, reason and intuition are all synthesized together

to form an organic whole. Rationalism though not admired, is not wholly

condemned and discarded by him. According to him, rationalism, if not

divorced from concrete reality, represents truth. This is visible from his own

attitude and is also betrayed by his admiration for rationalists, whose endeavor

and yearning for coherent system of ideas on rational foundations is well

known (Reconstruction, p. 3). Iqbal says “Now since the transformation and

guidance of man’s inner and outer life is the essential aim of religion, it is

obvious that the religious truths which it embodies must not remain unsettled.

‘Religion stands in greater need of rational foundation of its ultimate principles than even the dogmas of science. Science may even ignore rational metaphysics; indeed it has ignored it’. Religion can hardly afford to ignore the search for a reconciliation of the opposition of experience and a justification of the environment in which humanity finds itself (Ibid., p.2).

However, rationalism as advocated by Iqbal was not based on logical

categories or more abstract representations, born and nurtured in the realm of

purely abstract ideas. Therefore, even while Iqbal embracing rationalism, Iqbal

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is not prepared to justify it at the cost of sense–perception. He criticized Plato

for avoiding visible reality as unreliable and misleading. Plato accuses sense-

perception as capable of giving mere opinions and not true and authentic

knowledge. He rests all knowledge upon pure reason and weaves the whole

fabric of supreme and Ultimate Reality out of ideas, taken as eternal and really

Real. Iqbal also attacks Ibn-Rushd on account of his doctrine of immortality of

Active intellect, taking a view opposed to what Qur’an teaches the value and

fate of human ego, and therefore obscuring man‘s vision of himself, his God

and his world. Similarly Al-Ghazzali’s philosophical skepticism is held by him

as an unsafe basis for religion; it is also not wholly consonant with spirit of

Islam (Reconstion, p. 4.7). He doesn’t encourage man’s contemplative spirit to

the extent that it lead’s to his withdrawal from the world of matter, which with

its temporal flux and shifting phenomena, is organically related to the Ultimate

Reality. Hence, for the purpose of knowledge it’s entirely inconceivable to turn

away from the material world and to withdraw into purely contemplative

circuit. There is no possibility of isolating thought from concrete experience

.One should take ones start from here because it is the intellectual capture of

and power over the concrete that make it possible for intellect of man to pass

beyond the concrete (Reconstion, p. 131). The concrete phenomenon are the

signs of Ultimate Reality or Godhead and it is the duty of man to reflect on

these signs and not to pass by them as if he is like the deaf and blind ,for he

who doesn’t see these signs in this life will remain blind to the realities of life

to come (Ibid, p. 128) .

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Following the Qur’an, Iqbal brings out that the Ultimate Reality

reveals its symbols both within and without (Reconstruction, p. 15). His

revelations within are mystical or intuitive. The realization furnished by

mystical or religious experience can neither be wished away nor explained

away. Iqbal while trying to figure out the nature and character of the mystical

or religious experience brings out its various salient features.

Firstly, this experience is immediate. Just as the normal sense data of

our sense experience can be interpreted into the world, so immediate data

supplied to our consciousness through intuitive experience can be interpreted

into God. Just as we can know the external world through immediate-sensory-

experience, so we can know God by recourse to immediate mystical experience

(Ibid., p.18).

Secondly, the mystical experience is characterized by unanalysable

wholeness. The mystic state brings us into immediate contact with the total

Reality. In such an experience all the diverse stimuli merge into one another

and form a single unanalyzable unity. In such an experience, the ordinary

distinction between subject and object is fizzled out (Ibid., pp.18, 19).

Thirdly the mystic state is a moment of intimate association with the

unique Other Self. It is a transcending and encompassing experience. It

suppresses, for the moment, the private personality of the subject of experience

(Ibid., p. 19).

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Fourthly, the quality or plenitude of mystical disclosure is such that it

can be experienced but not communicated. The mystic can interpret the

contents of his revelation in the form of a proposition but the content as such

cannot be so transmitted. Mystical experience is not discursive or intellectual

but essentially a matter of inarticulate feelings. These feelings when expressed

unavoidably mix up with cognitive elements. In view of the same a religion

starts with mystical or prophetic feelings and culminates into metaphysical

thought or theology (Ibid., pp. 21,22).

Fifthly, the mystical experience is an intimate association with the

Eternal. This gives the mystic a sense of the unreality of serial time. However

there is no complete break with serial time. The mystic state is soon followed

by the return of normal level of experience. However, so long as the mystical

state lasts, so long it can be deemed to be oblivious with the pangs of

incursions of serial time.

In view of these considerations, Iqbal claims that God can be

appropriated by recourse to mystical or religious experience. However the

realm of mystical or religious experience can’t be deemed to be merely

comprised of affective states and shorn of all cognitive content. Iqbal in his

first lecture in ‘Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’ writes:

“For the purposes of knowledge, then the region of mystic experience is as real as any other region of human experience and cannot be ignored merely because it can’t be traced back to sense perception. Nor is it possible to undo the spiritual value of the mystic state by specifying the organic conditions which appear to determine it. Even if the

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postulate of modern psychology as the interrelation of the body and mind is assumed to be true, it’s illogical or discredit the value of the mystic sate as a revelation of truth” (Ibid., p. 23).

Iqbal on God:

In keeping with the world-view and value-system outlined in the Qur’an,

Iqbal believed in One God who is the First and the Last, the Manifest and

Hidden, the Originator, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Master and the Lord. The

Holy Qur’angives Him proper name Allah and defines Him in the Qur’an,

Surah Ikhlas (No. 113) as –“Say God is One, all things depends upon Him, He

begetth not, and He is not begotten, and there is none like unto Him. Therefore

God is Infinite, the most Unique Individual”.

Iqbals’ conception of God is the nucleus of his thought. It dominates his

whole philosophy and permeates his entire system. God in his eyes is not

something of an enchanting phantom conjured up by man’s imagination or a

dazzling fabrication of human reason. He believes God to be the Most Real,

and Ultimate Being, as the Self-Subsisting, Primordial and Necessary

Existence.

His God is the source of all existence varied and colorful as it is. He is

the ground of space and time and of the complexities of life and mind. He is the

Supreme Ego, the Supreme Self, the Supreme and Perfect Individual. He is the

creative Will and Dynamic Power, the Real and Eternal Light and Real and

Eternal Beauty .In short the vistas of Reality as Iqbal unrolls them comprise the

Ultimate Divine Existence or God-head. Iqbal conceives Ultimate Reality as

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Ego, the Creative Energy of the Ultimate Ego in whom deed and thought are

identical and function as Ego unities (Reconstruction, p.76).

Iqbal holds that He is everlasting Energy. There is none besides Him, to

put Him in limits. He is absolutely Free Creative Spirit. He is also Infinite.

God’s Infinity is intensive not extensive (Ibid., p. 64). It consists in the infinite

inner possibilities of His creativity. God is a Free Living Energy with infinite

creative possibilities. God is All-Powerful, Omniscient and Omnipotent. He is

Independent, Unique, Knower of every hidden and manifest entity. God, For

Iqbal, is not only Eternal Beauty, the source of all quests; but He also loves

Himself. The conception of Love dominates the whole philosophy of Iqbal, but

doesn’t present it only as a force of feeling that enables man to approximate to

God and have full vision of Divine Reality or Eternal Beauty. For Iqbal, love is

not only the means to an end but also in its essential nature an end in itself; an

Eternal and Infinite cosmic power. It is spaceless and Timeless (Jawaid-namah,

pp. 17-18).

God is the source and ground of the very space and time (Bal-i-Jibrail

p.18) . He is Comprehensive and Encompasses over and above all space -

events and all time-events (Payam-i-mashriq, p.18). Love forms the basis of

individuality; it covers the multitude of different rainbow color rays, the

dazzling and receding of lights and shadows, the constellation of atoms and

galaxies etc. The whole fabric of passing scenes and sights and smells has its

source and ground in it. It is divine in essence. It is the directing value of

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human existence. The Love of God gives the vision of dynamic power,

Creative Will and Super Celestial light. God as Self-Conscious Will as brought

out by Shaqiq Balkhi, Rabia and others Sufi Masters. According to this school

of thought, Ultimate Reality is Will the and universe is the visible

manifestation of it (Iqbal, The Development of Metaphysics in Persia, p.112).

For Sheikh-ul-Ishraq, God is Absolute Light and an Absolute and Eternal

Beauty. He is Reality and He is Beauty Himself and He is Beauty in Love of

Beauty. He is Absolute, Unqualified and Pure Beauty whose realization is

essential for the perfection of finite beings (Hafiz Malik, Iqbal Poet and

Philosopher, p. 229).

The whole world is reflected image of Eternal Beauty (Ibid., p.113). Al-

Jilli presents his God or Absolute undergoing three stages; Oneness, He-ness

and I-ness, reaching its external manifestation, self-redemption and

objectification (Asloob Ahmad Ansari, Iqbal the Visionary, p. 9). Iqbal doesn’t

identify his God with any single element in order to maintain the indivisible

unity of Divine Reality. He presents his God as Ego, as a Creative and

Dynamic power, as Infinite Thought. Iqbal doesn’t depict God in a mere

abstract and impersonal terms as some unifying and guiding and controlling

universal principle; as static, immutable and rigid law that underlies different

and multiple phenomena.

The Supreme Ego or God is Creative. He is a Conscious and Purposive

Being. He pervades, controls, directs and sustains the Universe as an Immanent

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and Transcendent Being. ‘God is the Great I am’. As a matter of fact, the

degree of the intuition of ‘I am’ determines the place of a thing in the scale of

Reality.The Infinite Ego or Allah is also capable of saying ‘I am’ but in His

case ‘I-amness’ is Absolute. It is Unconfined and Independent and arises out of

the distinction and differentiation between Self and Not-Self. ‘I am’ in the case

of Divine Reality is not confined and determined. Iqbal found the self -

revelation of ‘Great I am’ and the proof of God an Ego taken from the Quranic

verse “call upon me I will answer you” (Al-Ghaffir 40:60). Iqbal believes that

God is so near to man that he has to realize his consciousness and elevate

himself to such a height that he merges himself and knows true meaning of

God.

To the Ultimate Self, not- self presents itself as confronting other or as

an external Reality. Ego cannot afford to dispense with the entire world. It has

no spatial relation with the not-self or confronting other, hence not-self or

nature is only a fleeting moment in its life. Therefore, Divine ‘I am –ness’ is

truly, Independent, Necessary and Absolute (Reconstruction, p. 57). As

Leibnitz believes, God alone is the primary unity or original substance; monads

are products of His continuous exercise of Will. He through His continuous

exercise of His will allows the monads to unfold or develop their nature.

Monads have the faculty of perception and appetition. In the created monad

there is the limitation of God’s attributes. The influence of one monad over the

other can only have effect from the very beginning of thing; one monad

depending upon other monad. The Ego (monad) for Iqbal may be conscious of

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its individuality. All monads have perception but all are not self-conscious.

Iqbal aims at the development of individual ego to the extent that it may be

able to absorb God into itself; he doesn’t see eye to eye with those mystics or

Sufis who aim at the extinction of the individual ego by merging into the

Ultimate Ego. God is a Creator who called the world into being, giving it

certain definite constitution. God has given man the highest status in His

creation. An engineer makes a machine by fitting its parts together; so

constructing an instrument by means of which certain desired results can be

accomplished. God having great purpose in view, created the universe. We

ourselves and every living being and every element in nature are in continuous

intercourse and contact with God. Therefore, there is a moral relationship

between God and man which is the very essence of monotheistic creed and

foundation of all faith in the efficacy of prayers ( Encyclopedia of Religion and

Ethics edited by James Hasting vol-x, Edinburgh T and T Clark New York

p.175).

For Iqbal, God is Perfect Ego, the Most Perfect Individual but perfection

of Individuality means ‘Oneness’ that is over and above the tendency of

reproduction. As Bergson states, reproduction means separating of part from

individual organism to reproduce. It amounts to harbour one’s own enemy at

home, leading to the non- Absoluteness and imperfection of the Self. Iqbal’s

God is Creative power but he is above the tendency of reproduction and

hence fulfills the condition of Absoluteness of Existence. Iqbal says, God or

Allah, as the Qur’an puts forth “Is the one upon whom all things depends, who

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neither begets nor is begotten and none is like unto Him”. This is the evidence

of perfect individuality of the Divine Reality (A Critical Exposition of Iqbal’s

Philosophy, p.136).

Iqbal says that everything is changing from moment to moment. He

believes that the world is a continuous flow but even God is ever active .He

never sits idle for a single moment. The Qur’an says; ‘Everyday He is

employing Himself in an affair’ (Prof. Mohd Munawwer ; Iqbal and Quranic

Wisdom, 1988, Noor Publication, Delhi p.86). He can’t be said to be a static

God. It’s a wrong idea to believe that because everything perishes, therefore

God remains static. Life means continuity and activity and progress. We have

desires and ideals. We have success and failure. Life from our perspective is

change; change always indicating imperfection. Iqbal says, ‘The Ultimate Ego

exists in pure duration wherein change ceases to be succession of varying

attitudes and reveals its true character as continuous creation untouched by

weariness and unseizable by ‘slumber and sleep’ (Reconstruction, p. 61). To

conceive the Ultimate Reality as changeless in this sense of change is to

conceive Him as an utter inaction, a motiveless stagnant neutrality ,an absolute

nothing .The perfection of creative self consists not in mechanically conceived

immobility ,but it consists in the vaster basis of His creative activity and the

Infinite scope of His creative vision .God’s life is self-revelation, it is not the

pursuit of an ideal to be reached, the ‘not-yet’ of God means unfailing

realization of infinite creative possibilities of His being which retains its

wholeness throughout the entire process.

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The Ultimate Reality is rationally directed creative life, it can’t be

conceived except as an organic whole, something closely knit together and

possessing a central point of reference. This being the character of life, the

Ultimate Life can only be conceived as an Ego. The true nature of Reality is

very often darkened by our limited outlook, it conceives it as a kind of

universal current flowing through all things. God’s Light is like a niche in

which is a lamp and which in its own turn is encased in a glass which sparkles

like a lustrous star (Qur’an, 24:35). Hence it is quite clear that metaphor of

light used here to depict Divine Reality doesn’t present it as a formless Cosmic

Reality. Divine Light is not formless element identified with the universe ,it is

depicted as centralized ,which is further individualized by its encasement in a

glass likened unto a well-defined star (Reconstruction, p.64). The metaphor of

Light is not meant to suggest the Omnipresence of God, negating the

individualistic conception of Divine Reality. It is the nearest approach to God

when it is applied to God; it signifies His Absoluteness and not Omnipresence.

(Reconstruction, p. 64-65). The Infinity of Allah consists in the infinite inner

possibilities of His creative activity of which the universe as known to us ,is

only a partial expression. God entails an infinite series, but He is not in that

series (Ashraf, p.137). Hence unity of God is expressed through a multiplicity

of things. Iqbal asserts “I have conceived the Ultimate Reality as an Ego and I

must add that now from the Ultimate Ego only ego proceeds”. There are ego-

units in creative activity of God, Time in its ultimate nature is not spatialised, it

is Pure Duration, a single ‘now’ that is pulverized into a series of ‘nows’, like

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pearl beads in a thread (Reconstruction, p.49). As Fichte holds, the Ego is the

only Ultimate Reality. To Kant, the thing-in-itself is unknowable, to Fichte

thing-in-itself is Ego. In Ego’s self-consciousness both knowledge and

existence are identified; to know and to exist are not two things but one and the

same thing (Rastogi; Western Influence on Iqbal, p. 34). If the ego is to know,

it follows that there must be something to be known, and therefore the ego

posits non-ego. But non-ego which the ego contemplates and which is

necessary to make knowledge possible is not something alien to ego, its source

is self itself. The non-ego is posited by the ego to render evolution possible.

Beyond this conception of ego there is complete divergence between the views

of Iqbal and Fichte. Iqbal insists on the ego maintaining its individuality.

For Iqbal, the Ultimate Reality as a Self expresses itself in the laws and

behavior of nature .He is the Absolute ‘First’ and the ‘Last’. He is the Most

perfect Ego. For Iqbal space and time are not external and objective realities.

On the contrary, their concept arises out of the relation of events and these

events result from the creative activity of Divine Reality. They are mere

interpretations which thought places upon the creative activity of the Ultimate

Ego (Reconstruction, p.65). Hence it is Infinite that keeps alive within it the

flame of aspiration and serves as the sustaining power, the driving force of

human and universal evolution. It is a mistake to conceive it as an inconclusive

and fictitious unity because it is in its own way, the greeting of the finite with

the In finite (Reconstruction, pp. 6-7). Again Iqbal depicts God as Eternal,

Infinite and Ultimate Light underlying the entire spectrum of life, minds and

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matter. God is the Glorious Sun and the whole Cosmic and sensible reality is

grounded and pervaded by His Divine light (Zaboor-i-Ajam, pp. 207, 223, 215,

226). All the finite luminaries, the Sun, the Moon, forests, rivers etc., sparkle in

it (Payam-i-Mashriq, p.5) and has their source in it (Ibid., p.100).

Qur’an emphasizes on several occasions the unique Individuality and

Oneness of Allah. Islam for the first time declared in bold and clear voice that

God is One and we should pay reverence to and bow before One God. Islam’s

monotheistic conception of God was colored by many Muslim mystics; their

main purpose to interpret the Ultimate Reality pantheistically was perhaps to

emphasize the Absoluteness of God and His Omnipresence out of religious

fervor. Deistic conception of God is also not acceptable because it emphasizes

the transcendence of God and deems world to be apart from Him. God merely

becomes contriver .Iqbal believes both in Immanence as well as Transcendence

of God.

The universe we belong to is not yet be completed and perfected .it is

neither blocked nor locked universe. For Iqbal; “Every moment things are

being ordered to become and they are becoming”. Iqbal views that the process

of creation is still going on; to him it’s an organic world, he postulates the

process of recurrent creation and an ever expanding universe:

‘Everyday is He engaged in some new work’

‘He adds to creation what He will’. (Mohd Munawwer, p.86)

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As already underlined God for Iqbal is not a static perfection. For Iqbal,

perfection without change will render God as closed system with no

possibilities of novelty and spontaneity and this will deprive Him of His free

will .He brings about a compromise between eternity and change and conceives

perfection to be a synthesis of both. He applies all the three attributers to God.

God changes and moves along a line that is an organic whole which is itself

eternity and is revealed as change without succession and appears serial and

atomic because of the creative activity of the Ego (Reconstruction, p.77). Ibn

Arabi and his followers saw the world as a part of the eternal process of Divine

Breathing .Goethe recognized God’s breath in the systole and diastole of the

inherent polarities of creation ‘Be’. Iqbal sees the secret of man’s spiritual life

in his constant movement from prayer in the khalwa with God to jalwa.

Khalwa (concealment) and jalwa (public appearance) together form the fabric

of life, just as love and intellect constitute the warp and woof of human

existence (M. Ikram; Iqbal and Goethe, 2009, p.137).

Iqbal was against the Hellenistic interpretation of God ,which had turned

the living God of prophetic religion into an immovable Prima Causa and his

early sympathy with Nietzsche can be attributed to a certain extent to the fact

that the German philosopher attacked this Hellenized God of Christianity .Iqbal

wanted to emancipate the Islamic conception of God from such immobilizing

and paralyzing influences .To Iqbal God was Active ,Creative and Dynamic.

Since God is Eternal, therefore his Creativity and Dynamism are also Eternal.

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ATTRIBUTES:

Knowledge :

God is the Creative power and at the same time He is Omniscient, and

just as the Divine Creative activity is not limited or determined by any external

reality co-eternal with Him, Divine knowledge also doesn’t involve duality of

subject and object that characterizes finite knowledge, the fear of which had

induced thinkers like Mu’ammer and Abu-Hashim to divest Divine Reality of

its Omniscience with a view to saving its Absolute Identity. According to Iqbal

Divine knowledge, is not something in Himself, therefore implying duality in

His nature. It is not knowledge of something outside Himself, which leads to

duality and distinction of subject and object. The idea of subject moving round

and working upon a veritable other that confronts the subject as an external

entity per se can’t be predicted to Divine Reality without robbing Him of His

infinitude. Even if the term is widened and extended to Omniscience, it doesn’t

rise above the distinction between subject and object, perceiver and perceived,

knower and known. Knowledge in this sense is only relative and can’t be

attributed to the Supreme Ego, who is an All-Inclusive and All-Comprehensive

Reality with no external opposing object or confronting other existing per

se.He is rationally directed Reality, an organic Indivisible Whole, Supreme

Individuality or Self, a Reality closely knit together with a central point of

reference. The discursive knowledge or knowledge in the finite sense is

meaningless and even inconceivable with reference to God, who is the All-

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Inclusive Reality .He is the “Great I Am” and in Him thought and deeds and

cognition and creativity do not inhere as separate and distinct qualities but are

one and identical and form a single indivisible whole. He has no perspective or

knowledge as predicated to a finite self, but on the contrary, encompasses the

whole of Reality or the entire sweep of history as comprehended in an eternal

‘now’. It doesn’t mean that “eternal now” holds within it a determined and

fixed order of things and specific events. It will suggest the conception of

universe as a closed system of static and unalterable order of specific events

which like a superior fate, has once for all determined the whole direction of

Divine creation. The Omniscience of the Reality in this sense of fixed futurity

and pre -determined order, or in the same sense of a history which is only a

gradual revelation of a predetermined order of specific events, without any

possibility of spontaneity and novelty will imply passive reflection of an

already finished structure of things in all its details as perceived by finite

consciousness, imperfectly, partially and in a piecemeal manner. The

Omniscience that characterizes God is a single indivisible act which is identical

with His creative activity .Here we have no duality of subject and object and no

passive reflection of fixed order of events with definite contours and outlines

(Reconstruction, pp. 79-80).

Omnipotence :

God is Al-Mighty, All-Powerful and Omnipotent. His is not blind and

capricious Omnipotence. A limited quantum of power can’t be attributed to

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Divine Reality. He is, by definition All-Powerful. However all activity,

creational or otherwise, is a kind of limitation without which it’s impossible to

conceive God as a concrete operative Ego (Ibid, p. 81). God is Omnipotent but

at the same time He is All-wise and All-Good also. Divine will is rationally

directed and is also characterized with goodness. Divine Wisdom and Divine

Goodness put a limit upon Divine Omnipotence and Power. According to

Iqbal, in view of the ‘Divine Omnipotence as intimately related to Divine

wisdom, and finds the infinite power of God revealed not in arbitrary and

capricious ,but in recurrent ,the regular and orderly’(Reconstruction, p. 81). He

is Creative, Conscious Purposive Being in whom Power, Wisdom and

Goodness all are harmonized. He is personal Reality that is characterized with

Free Creative Activity. But He furnishes enough freedom to finite egos for the

fullest development of their personality. Thereby not leading to their

nullification and annihilation, but chooses them to be the participators of His

life. The limitation in His case is not externally imposed but is determined

internally and therefore brings a compromise between Power, Wisdom,

Goodness and Freedom.

Eternity :

God is Eternal, He is Eternal Will .He is Eternal Beauty and Eternal

Light and so on. He has no beginning and no end and is over and above

temporal and spatial order. According to Iqbal, time and space don’t exist as

external to and independent of the Supreme Ego. They are rather the outcome

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of Divine Creative Activity. Here he agrees with Mir Damad and Mulla Baqer

when they say that time is born with the act of creation by which the Ultimate

Ego realizes and measures, so speak, the infinite wealth of His own

undetermined creative possibilities (Ibid., p. 77-78).

Iqbal’s God is over and above space but this doesn’t mean that He is an

Unchangeable and Immovable Entity and is too Perfect to be amenable to

change or flux. God is dynamic and cannot be conceived as static Reality

whose perfection is disturbed even by the slightest idea of movement.

According to Iqbal, perfection without change will render God a closed system

with no possibility of novelty and spontaneity and this will deprive Him of His

free will .He works out a compromise between eternity and change and

conceives perfection to be a synthesis of both. God changes and moves without

succession and therefore comprehends in Himself change with permanence. He

doesn’t move in serial or atomic time. The movement of the Supreme Ego is in

pure time that is an organic whole which is itself eternity and is revealed as

change without succession and appears serial and atomic because of creative

activity of the human ego (Reconstruction, p.77). Hence “Divine Reality that is

All-Comprehensive Ego is Eternal. He has no beginning, no end. Liberated

from the net of causal sequence, the entire history is assimilated by the

Supreme Ego in a single super-eternal now (Ibid., p.76).

Hence Eternity is Divine Life or Reality in its entire wholeness, in its

completeness and permanence that comprehends in itself unity with variety and

change with permanence. It is identical with pure time or pure duration.

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Creativeness :

It is one of the important Attributes of Godhead. Iqbal’s God is the Real

Creative Power and the whole Reality is the outcome of His conscious and

purposive activity which is related to the universe as a creator to his creation.

But this doesn’t mean that He is related to His creation as a box maker is to his

box, because in such a scenario. He will be analogous to a finite personality

limited and restricted by external environment and circumstances. The world

will be reduced to a “manufactured article which has no relation to the life of

its maker, and of which maker is nothing but a spectator. That way, the

universe might be said to have been a mere accident in the life of God. It might

not have been created at all. However, for Iqbal Gods’ creative activity lies in

His self-revelation, in the manifestation of His own Reality and in the

actualization of His infinite creative possibilities. There is no reality apart from

and independent of Him opposing or confronting Him as “Other”. He creates

the universe as the not-self out of His self; He rather manifests or affirms His

Reality and the result is the outcome of not-self or the whole universe (Asrar-i

–Khudi, pp. 10-11). Hence universe is not constituted of inert and dead

particles and is not manufactured by God at some definite time out of the

matter that itself is co-eternal with Him. On the contrary, He is Ego and

Dynamic Reality, a Continuous and Dynamic flow and the universe is an

outcome of His creative and dynamic activity, of His self-revelation and in its

real and ultimate nature is itself a ceaseless flux, a dynamic flow and

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continuous act which thought breaks up into a plurality of mutually exclusive

things (Reconstruction, p. 67).

God is the Ego, egos proceed from His Living and Dynamic Reality and

the universe, which is a fleeting phase in the Divine Life or continuous act

having its source and ground in the creative activity of God and has conscious

will, is constituted of colonies of ego’s. Iqbal says, I have conceived the

Ultimate Reality as a Ego’s; and he must add now that from the Ultimate Ego,

in whom deed and thought are identical, Proceed as ego-unities. The world in

all its details, from the mechanical movement of what we call the atom of

matter to the free movement of thought in the human ego is the self-revelation

of the Great I Am. Like the pearls do we live and move and have our being in

the perpetual flow of Divine Life (Reconstruction, pp.72-73). Iqbal fully

establishes the creative activity of God without impairing His Infinitude.

Iqbal as a great theistic thinker conceives God as the Supreme Ego, and

Perfect Person. The finite self can have contact and communion with Him

through Love and prayer and ultimately can have the full perspective of God

through intuition with bold affirmation of his own personality. Divine attributes

do not smack of limitations and finitude. Iqbal depicts God as Dynamic Will,

as Thought, Light, Love and Beauty. God is identified with anyone of these

elements but all the above mentioned attributes are apprehended in His

Essence. He is attributed with Creativeness, Omniscience, Omnipotence,

Freedom, Wisdom and Goodness. But these attributes and aspects don’t spell

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restriction, differentiation, distinction and duality in Divine Essence. God is an

organic whole in which all the above mentioned attributes are comprehended.

Iqbal while, describing all these attributes has the free use of human colours

portraying all in human light and shades and garbs Him in sensuous beauty

.Therefore Divine Reality is neither a personality in the anthropomorphic sense,

nor an abstract concept, but exists as concrete and Dynamic Reality, as

personal and transcendent and at the same time Infinite, Truly Perfect and

Immanent Reality.

Proofs of His Existence :

Religious experience according to Iqbal promises direct revelation or

vision of God. But this experience is personal and incommunicable.

Philosophers and philosophical theologians have advanced arguments with a

view to proving the existence of God. Kant has advanced compelling

philosophical considerations against the tenability of viability of the classical

proofs for the existence of God. Iqbal agrees with Kant. Iqbal begins with the

criticism of the classical proofs of the existence of God-Cosmological,

Teleological and Ontological as elaborated by scholastic philosophers.

Cosmological Argument - aims at scientific explanation or description of

God. It is based upon the principles of causality, hence reducing the whole

universe to a system of causes and effects. The Uncaused First Cause or the

Unconditional Absolute Necessity is conceived as the Divine Primordial

Reality. But this proof is not convincing because of the infinite regress from

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one contingent to another contingent. It stops at an Uncaused First Cause, causa

sui generic, that serves as the ground and source of all existence. This proof is

not conclusive. According to doctrine of causality, every cause itself is the

effect of the preceding one and so adinfinitum. Therefore, the assumption of an

uncaused First Cause implies only the glorification or the elevation of one of

the members of the series to the dignity of an Uncaused First Cause and

therefore nullifies the very principle from which it begins (Iqbal,

Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, (1985), Oriental Publishers and

Distributor, Delhi, p. 29). Iqbal points out that First Cause reached by the

theory excludes its effect from its being and is reduced to something finite.

This position contradicts the exclusive necessity of being for the First Cause

because in relation of cause and effect both the terms have an equal claim to

necessary existence (Ibid., pp. 20-29).

Iqbal asserts, “Real tries to reach the infinite by merely negating the

finite being. But infinite reached by contradicting the finite is a false infinite.

This couldn’t explain itself nor the finite which is therefore made to stand in

opposition to the infinite. The True Reality doesn’t exclude the finite being; it

embraces the finite without effacing its infinitude, and explains and justifies its

‘being’. The movement from the finite to infinite as embodied in the

cosmological argument is quite illegitimate and therefore argument fails in

Toto (Ibid., pp.30). Iqbal agrees with Kant in his criticism of this argument.

According to Kant “if the Supreme Being forms a link in chain of empirical

conditions, it must be a member of the empirical conditions, it must be a

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member of empirical series and like the lower member have its origin in some

higher member of the series. If on the other hand we disengage from the chain

and cogitate it as an intelligible being apart from the series of the natural

cause’s. How is it possible that latter is separated from the former? All laws

respecting the regress from effect to causes, all synthetical addition to our

knowledge relate solely to possible experience and the object of the sense

world apart from them, are without significance (Critique of Pure Reason, p.

348) .

Teleological argument - is entirely based upon the presence of design, purpose

and insight and adaptation in nature which renders it comparable with human

art (Critique of Pure Reason, pp. 350-351). It holds just as a sculpture implies a

sculptor, so does the world imply its creator or owner. According to Iqbal, this

argument gives only an external contriver or designer working upon an

independent, external and intractable matter co-eternal with His Divine

existence. The problem is not solved if God is assumed as a Creator of matter.

It will amount to a very illogical course on the part of God. First He creates

inert and intractable matter and then to work upon it as a potter works upon its

clay. Nature according to Iqbal, cant be explained as analogous to the work of

human artificer. A work of Art is a progressive selection or isolation of

material from, its natural integration, while nature is an organic systematic

whole with the perfect inter -dependence of its parts and with the evolution of

organic whole within it (Reconstruction, p.31).

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According to Iqbal, this argument leads us nowhere because it looks

upon thought as an agency working on things ab-extra; it creates an

unbridgeable gulf between ideal and real. Thought should be taken as potency

essential to the formation of its material and not as extraneous principle

organizing and integrating it. Consequently, thought or idea doesn’t remain

independent of original nature of thing but constitutes the very essence of their

being from the beginning to the end (Ibid., p.32). According to Iqbal, it is

discursive understanding which necessitates the dualism of thought and being.

The true significance of the argument can appear only when this dualism

disappears. It is possible if we carefully examine, interpret and analyze

experience. Conscious experience is the only privileged case of existence in

which we are in absolute contact with the reality and its analysis throws a flood

of light on the Ultimate meaning of existence. Here we find that life and

thought permeate each other and form a unity .It reveals the moment of life as

an organic growth involving a progressive synthesis of its various stages.

Progressive synthesis is determined by the ends and the presence of ends means

that it is permeated by intelligence. Therefore in conscious experience life and

thought permeate each other, and forms a unity. This interpretation of

conscious experience brings us to the conclusion that Ultimate Reality is

rationally directed, creative life an organizing principle of unity

(Reconstruction, p. 55-57). Nature is not a mass of pure materiality; it is a

structure of events organically related to Divine-Life.

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Ontological argument – This arguments runs like ‘if we say that an attribute

is contained in the nature or in the concept of a thing we seem to accept the

view that the attribute is true of this thing positively affirmed to be contained in

the nature or concept of God which ultimately proves that God exists’

(Reconstruction, p.31). Here Iqbal agrees with Kant in criticizing this

arguments. Objective existence can’t be inferred from the mere idea of a thing,

just as the existence of 100 dollars cant be proved from their notion in the

mind. Again this proof as Iqbal points out is reduced to the logical fallacy,

petittio-principii, because it passes from the logical to the real and hence for

Iqbal, it also falls down (Ibid. pp. 31-32).

Iqbal doesn’t reject the cosmological, Ontological and Teleological

arguments because reason is incapable of reaching God but because these

arguments create a dualism in Reality between thought and being, their true

significance can be realized only when the gulf between thought and being is

bridged. It means that he recognizes the validity of the arguments in true

forms. According to Iqbal, the organic unity of pure duration itself is not the

unity of all-embracing concrete self. He writes neither pure space, nor pure

time can hold together the multiplicity of objects and events. It is the

appreciative act of an enduring self only which can seize the multiplicity of

duration broken up into infinity of instants and transform it into the organic

wholeness of a synthesis (Reconstruction, p. 57).This Enduring and All-

embracing Self is Godhead or Divine Reality. Both the arguments of Iqbal

regarding the existence of God are supplementary to one another. He takes the

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idealistic stand according to which physical thing can’t be conceived except in

relation to the experiencing mind. Iqbal agrees with scientific and realistic

position which doesn’t stop there. It’s the demand of the consistency and

coherence that there must exist a “confronting other”. Therefore, world loses its

independence and external existence with reference to the Absolute Being or

Ego. But it retains its independent, strong and objective character with

reference to finite mind.

Iqbal’s Critique of Wahadat-al-wujud :

The ontocosmological doctrine of Whadat-al-Wujud (Unity of Being)

advanced by Ibn Arabi is apparently diametrically opposed to the philosophical

position of Iqbal. The philosophy of Ego so powerfully underlined by Iqbal is a

powerful critique of the redoubtable Ibn Arabi. Wahadat-al–Wujud

emphatically negates the importance of individuality and there lies the crux of

the conflict. Iqbal is vehemently opposed to the doctrine of the Unity of Being

of Ibn-Arabi to the extent that he calls his Fusoos-al-Hikam as the compendium

of atheism and blasphemy. Iqbal’s wide studies in history, sociology and

philosophy convinced him that the deteriorating condition of Islam was due to

importation of Platonic and neo-Platonic ideas, which regarded the world as a

mere illusion not worth striving for .These ideas corresponding to those based

on the Vedanta found their culmination in the doctrine of Wahadat-al-Wujud as

formulated by Ibn Arabi ostensibly with reference to certain verses of the

Quran.

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This doctrine engendered the belief in an Immanent God and the whole

world as His emanation.Therefore a pantheistic doctrine was substituted for a

personal and transcendent God of Islam. Ideas based on this doctrine,

according to Iqbal, sapped the energies of the people spurring a life of activity

and exertion. The doctrine of Wujud asserts that everything that exists can only

exist because it is an aspect of Divine Reality and hence an aspect of Divine

Unity itself.

For Iqbal popular mysticism was mere means of exploiting the ignorance

and credulity of the people. About the downfall of Ummah, Iqbal was of the

view that the masses of Islam were swayed by the kind of mysticism which

blinked actualities, enervated the people and kept them steeped in all kind of

superstition. It gradually and invisibly unnerved the Will of Islam and softened it

to the extent of seeking relief from the rigorous discipline of the laws of Islam.

His teachings can’t be understood without having a close look into Iqbal’s life,

and factors that influenced him. Since the age of four, Iqbal had been hearing

about Ibn-Arabi and his work (Fusus and Futuhat). Owing to this mystical

influence in the early periods of his poetic production, Iqbal exhorted mainly

Hindu masses of India to discard their old gods and worship the motherland.

There is a consensus that Iqbal also subscribed to the doctrine of Wujud

until at least 1907, the year in which he submitted his doctorial dissertation. (In

the Introduction, Iqbal has paid a glowing tribute to Ibn-Arabi).Iqbal’s

admiration for Arabi was not the outcome of his two years of research for his

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dissertation, but was the product of the philosophical orientation he inherited

from his parents and from his early teachers. Probably he had completed the

better part of his doctoral research before he arrived in Europe Iqbal’s

subsequent studies carried him farther away from Ibn-i-Arabi. Writing his

foreword to the first edition of Asrar-i-Khudi, in 1915, Iqbal repudiated Ibn-

Arabi’s philosophy of Wujud. He complimented Ibn-Taimmiyya and Wahid

Mahmud for raising their voice high against the life –negating impact of Al-

Arabi. Also he advised his readers to look to the western nations of Europe in

order to learn the meaning of life. By virtue of their will to action, the Western

nations are pre-eminent among the nations of the world .For this reason and in

order to appreciate the secret of life, their literature and ideas are the best guide

for the nations of the East.

Among the western nations he singled out Britain with the plea that the

world is indebted to the British for their pragmatism and their ability to

comprehend situations more sharply in comparison to other nations. For this

reason, no high –flown philosophic system, which fails to stand up in the light

of the facts, has gained popularity in England.Therefore the works of British

thinkers have a place of their own in the world literature. After benefiting from

British ideas, the mind and the heart (philosophy and literature) of the East

must revise their intellectual legacy. It seems imperative in this context to

explore the genesis of the Sufi doctrine Wahadat-al-Wujud and make a brief

scrutiny of the channels through which it flourished, before focusing on the

expostulation of Ibn-Arabi. Although it is not possible to draw a distinct line of

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demarcation between Sufism and metaphysics, it can be said that the doctrine

of Wujud does not have as much connection with Sufism as it has with

metaphysical problems ,which owing to the passage of time and to different

environments and circumstances have been mixed with Sufism and has turned

into theoretical problems most intricate and difficult to understand. The

evidences corroborate the fact that doctrine of Wujud made its way into Sufism

through neo-Platonism, established as an independent school of thought in the

third century A.D as the result of interpretations and commentaries of Plato’s

ideas. The ideas of Neo-Platonism uphold that “Existence” is actually ‘One’

and that existence alone is the main source of all other existences and finally

have to go back to that “One Existence” ,the whole world has emerged from.

Whatever exists is merely a reflection of the One Being and does not have a

permanent existence of its own. In Sufi terminology this doctrine is called

‘HamaUst’ . If God and universe were the same, God can’t be attributed with

anything. Any interpretation of God as ‘Existence’, ‘Being’, ‘Essence’ or ‘Life’

is incomplete, God is above all these attributes.

Furthermore, thought cannot be made applicable to God, as it

presupposes two things, the thinker and the object of thought .Thought

necessitates the precondition that the thinker requires a state of mind other than

that which exists within himself .This leads to dualism, which is against the

fundamental Islamic concept of Tawhid (Unity).The harmonizing of Greek

philosophy with Islam begun by al-Kindi was continued by al-Farabi and

completed by Ibn-Sina. It is generally believed that the doctrine of Wujud

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entered in the Islamic mysticism through the efforts of Dhun-L-Nun of the

Egypt (D.861).Following him, the well-known Persian mystic Abu-Yazid of

Bistam, became the leading exponent of pantheistic philosophy, highlighting

the doctrine of Wujud. The conflict between the extreme form of Sufism and

Shariah (the canon or law of Islam) came to a head on collision in the time of

the well known mystic, Hussein Ibn mansoor-al-Hallaj ,whose life was

sacrificed at the alter of the Shariah. However, it was the Islamic scholar

Sheikh Muhy-al-Din- Ibn-Arabi, a Spanish –Arab ,who successfully brought in

vogue the pantheistic monism. Ibn-Arabi firmly believed that things pre-exist

as ideas (Ayan –tahbitah) in the knowledge of God whence they emanate and

whither they return.The world is merely the outer aspect of God ,who is its

inner aspect .Between the essence and attribute, (God and the universe) there is

no real difference according to Arabi.To search for God beyond this universe,

the true mystic in fact has to be guided by the inner light. Ibn-Arabi insisted

with utmost assurance that pantheistic monism was the only true interpretation

of Islam .He sought support of his assertion in the Qur’an and in the traditions

of the prophet Mohammad .For instance the Qur’an says , ‘And we are nearer

to man than his life-artery’. He believed that this verse of the Qur’an implied

that ‘God Himself is the limbs and parts of the body of the servant’.

Interpreting the tradition (He created Adam in the image of Himself), he said

that man possessed all the attributes of God.

This pantheistic theory (Wujud) popularized by Arabi had a deep impact

on contemporary Sufis and also on those who came after him. Gradually the

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principle of this doctrine became so common among Muslims that almost all

learned people with an inclination toward Sufism came under its spell .The

Arabic, Persian and Urdu Poets who pretended to be Sufis interjected these

ideas into their verses. In this way Muslim mysticism was Hellenized, and the

real spirit (Tawhid) of Islam generally vanished. These alien Platonic and Neo-

Platonic ideas became familiar among Muslims because of Ibn-Arabi, and in a

true sense he alone was responsible for their popularity. Iqbal believed that the

root cause of the negation of ‘Khudi’ for individuals and nations was an

unhealthy impact of pantheism ,the doctrine of Wujud .His elegant verses

repeatedly pointed out that as long as the Muslims focused their attention upon

realizing their ‘Khudi’ they were crowned with glory and power; their decline

started with the loss of ‘Khudi’. Only the nation ,according to him, which

realizes the value of its self and makes it strong can survive in this world .The

crux of Iqbal’s thought is ‘Khudi’. Therefore, contrary to Ibn-Arabi, gnosis of

God is dependent upon the realization of self, maintenance of self and the

firmness of the idea of self. Qur’an asserts that God has created the universe as

Real and with the purpose (Qur’an, 29,44). At another place it says that “ If you

follow the right path which may be different from ancestor’s path ,you will not

harm those who follow the wrong path .After all human actions are judged

according to Allah’s Law of Mukafat” (5:105).

It is on this Quranic view that Iqbal has based his philosophy of ‘self’

which is an eternal reality, a binding force for the scattered and unlimited states

It is salient force which is anxious to come in action. The self is strengthened

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by taking part in His creative activity .Other factors which have positive

impact on self are Love, Faqr, Sabr and Living on lawful earning. For Sufis

Faqr stands for the renunciation of the worldly desires, not to live on people’s

alms and favors. Iqbal rejects this kind of Faqr. His Faqr is dynamic and has

the potential to subdue the earth and heaven. He also rejected the notion of

Sabr prevalent in Sufism as it indicates the passivity and toleration of all

injustice. Therefore moral ideal of man is not self-negation but self-

affirmation. His capacity and potential for self-realization is not like drop of

water which passes and loses its existence .It is rather like drop of water which

becomes a pearl in the sea. Therefore, Iqbal doesn’t seek union between

Creator and creatures as is advocated by the Sufis. Iqbal remarked that how he

can meet God, for, ‘I am the servant and He is Lord’. My relation is only

that of servant. If God is coming to meet me I shall run far away because if the

ocean unites with a drop of water, it certainly loses its existence. The station of

union or the absorption into God claimed by devotees under the influence of

Wujud is but a transitory stage. Servant hood is perpetual since God is God

and man is His creature.

Iqbal believes that servanthood is the highest achievement of man

freeing him from all bondage. For Iqbal God’s servant is elevated and

nourished by His love; even the accomplishment and appropriation of Islam is

dependent upon love. It is dangerously unacceptable to associate any animate

object with the unity of God. The Qur’an asserts : “Verily thou (Muhammad)

art a human being ,it is revealed to thee that verily thy God is One God ,those

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who have desire to meet their God should do good deeds in the service of God,

none else should be associated with Him” (Qur’an: 17-110).

Iqbal’s conception of Tawhid corroborates with the Sufi proposition of

Hama- Az -Ust (All is from God). After creation man became independent, he

attained this status because of the mercy of God .Had there been no God, Iqbal

believes man’s existence also would not have been possible. In this context

Iqbal seems to be highly influenced by the theory of Sirhindi who believed that

“the last station of a devotee is not Wahadat-al –Wujud but (abdeyat) the stage

of servanthood (Maqam-i-abdeyat), in which the devotee (salik) realizes and

experiences his true self.Iqbal criticized vehemently the theory of Wujud so

much so that he called it blasphemy as it diverts the minds of Muslims. While

elaborating the spirit of new times, Iqbal championed creative activity and

struggle as the true expression of man’s essence; being convinced that world is

not something to be merely seen or known through concepts but something to

be made and remade by continuous action. “The ultimate aim of the ego’s quest

is not to see something but to be something, the end of ego’s quest is not mere

emancipation from the limitation of its existence. It is the vital act which

deepens the whole being of the ego and sharpens his will (Reconstruciton, p.

197). He asserted that mysticism ruined the true egos creative freedom and

therefore medieval mystic formula could not satisfy a method for recognizing

truth.

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Iqbal based his whole world view on intense faith and believed in the

inescapable connection of God with man and nature .His philosophy, therefore

reflected the progressive tendency to renounce the blind following of the

orthodox dogmas and to develop and nourish the creative activity of man’s

reason through recognizing his own dynamism and will.

SELF :

Everything cannot be mechanistically explained. According to Iqbal,

there are manifestations of Divine Effulgence and Divine Glory in the world.

Man is not a mere accident in the evolutionary process. He is not mere speck in

the vast and mighty Cosmos. God brings out the whole Cosmos to serve as the

basis and ground for the emergence and perfection of Ego. Man is the essential

feature in the whole gamut of creation .Man is the real and authentic story for

which universe is a mere preface. He is the highest in the apex of Divine

creation.The finite ego exists eternally in Divine Infinite Ego. He is eternal

because, he exists as a possibility in the Divine Creative Power, in the Supreme

Eternal Ego. The ego as a possibility in the Divine Reality is eternal but his

emergence in the universe is from Divine command and Divine creation and is

realized through the evolutionary process. Hence he is eternal as a possibility

of the Divine Reality, his emergence in the world has beginning in time

(Reconstruction, p.116). Iqbal accepts the Quranic view according to which

ego emerges within the spatio-temporal order out of fine clay. God says, “Now

of fine clay we have created man: There placed him, a moist germ, in a safe

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abode; then made We the moist germ a clot of blood: then made the clotted

blood into a piece of flesh; then brought –forth man of yet another make”

(Quran, 23:12-14).

Therefore man owes his existence to Divine Will and Planning. Iqbal discards

the notion of purely physical level in the sense of possessing a materiality,

elementally, incapable of evolving the creative synthesis we call life and mind,

and needing a transcendental Deity to impregnate it with the sentient and

mental capability” (Reconstruction, p.106).

Matter itself is an outcome of Divine Creative Will; it is the outward

expression of Divine life; the Absolute Reality or Ego. The Ultimate Ego is

Immanent in it and we have throughout the entire gamut of being, the gradually

rising note of egohood which ultimately culminates in man. For Iqbal, the

notion of self or ego conspicuously runs through his entire philosophy. Iqbal

assert ‘Khudi’ is the root of all existence, and the human ego has a central place

in the universe; while it is at the same time assimilated with the Ultimate Ego

that is God. Iqbal says:

‘Throughout the entire gamut of being runs the gradually rising note of egohood, until it reaches perfection in man. That is why the Qur’andeclares the ultimate Ego that is God to be nearer to man than his jugglar vein’ (Reconstruction, p.72)

Iqbal holds that one can intuit the self and can directly see that it is real and

existent. Action, effort and constant struggle etc., open to man the deep

recesses of his own being and by virtue of this he directly perceives the

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existence of his self. Iqbal holds that the self is revealed as the nucleus of all of

our activities and consequently it is our ‘ego’ (Latif Hussein kazmi, p.12). Iqbal

believes that life of ‘self’ lies essentially in its ‘will attitude’. Its varying

existence, in fact, depends upon wishing and desiring. In ‘Asrar-i khudi’ Iqbal

vehemently stresses that the entire system of the universe originates in the self

and therefore, the continuation of the life of all individuals depends on the

strengthening of the self. (Nicholson R.A(tr.) Secrets Of Self published by

Sheikh Mohd Ashraf Lahore, Pkt 1955, Introduction, p.16). Ego provides

desires, creativity yearning or soz. This creativity is the essence or core of

human personality. In his ‘Asrar’ Iqbal asserts that self or ego is nourished by

love or ishq, all desires are cherished and become forceful in love.

The Ego attains its glory and freedom only by sweeping all obstruction

in its path. For Iqbal, distance from Ultimate Reality (God) weaken’s the self

or lessens man’s individuality and as soon as he absorbs God, his self gets

enlightened and becomes a complete person (Ibid; p.12). Iqbal points out that

Qur’an emphasizes individuality and uniqueness of man. God has chosen man

for His vicegerency; in order to achieve the highest stage, which is the main

target of human ego, man has to cross two stages –obedience to Divine Shariah

and self-control. Iqbal with all his intellectual dynamism and philosophical

passion tries to underscore the importance and the uniqueness of the self and

with equal vehemence argues against all philosophical tendencies that try to

denigrate or negate the individuality of ego. He rejects Descartes dualistic

approach with regard to mind and body, and say that they being two self-

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sufficient substances is perfectly gratuitous (Reconstruction, p.104). Iqbal also

rejects the Leibnitz’ doctrine of ‘pre –established harmony’ between mind and

body. This conception reduces the soul to merely passive note. For Iqbal the

characteristic of the ego is spontaneity; while the acts composing the body do

repeat themselves (Ibid., p.105). The Body do accumulated actions or habits of

the soul and as such undetectable from mind. Man is ultimately characterized

by limitless divine potentialities and qualities. Man is unanalysable,

unpredictable and is free as an open possibility. In his remarkable poem ‘Man’

in Bang-i-Dara, Iqbal brings out that while all other objects in the phenomenal

world are hedged in by some degree of passivity; man alone enjoys the

distinction of being alert, wakeful, creative and moving. Iqbal say

‘Tasleem ke khogar hai Jo cheez hai duniya main Insan ki har quwat sargarm-I-Takaza Hai’ (Everything in this world is reconciled to its fate, however every potentiality of man is insistently demanding).

For Iqbal, man is finite yet boundless. A man is the ocean that is vast

and free. Its every drop is like a boundless sea (The Rod of Moses, p.53).

Iqbal says, according to the Qur’an, man is not a stranger on the earth

‘and we have caused you to grow from the earth’ (Reconstruction, p.84), the

unique creativity bestowed by God on man. God has created everything ,lofty

mountains ,vast plains ,roaring streams etc on the earth; Sun, Moon, the clouds

and starry heavens for the service of man and he has bestowed him with the

capability to conquer all that is in between heavens and earth .Man has only to

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develop his hidden potentialities through vigorous action and all the earth and

heavens will move at his order.

In Asrar-i Khudi, Iqbal declares that the aspiration of finite self is not in

losing its identity, but in enhancing itself and evolving within the framework of

its finitude and seeking in proximity with the Infinite Self or God. The

relationship between God and finite self is not that of complete identity, it’s a

dialectical relationship of identity and diversity .The finite self is not static

being but a dynamic principle of creation. God creates the finite self of man in

his own image and places him in a world full of challenges and promises.

Therefore, man conquers the world of nature by mastering all the faculties

bestowed upon him by his Creator (Hafiz Malik; Iqbal Poet Philosopher,

p.251). In this whole process of conquest, Iqbal believes God becomes co –

worker and helper of man. The end of the ego’s quest is not emancipation from

the limitations of individuality. The final act is not individual act but vital act,

which deepens the whole being of the ego and sharpens its’ will with the

creative assurance that the world is not seen or known through concepts but

something to be made and remade by continuous action (Rastogi, p. 41). The

creative activity of the world has a single purpose; the perfection of man’s

potentialities through the long drawn-out evolutionary process.

The main purpose of Qur’anis to waken in man the higher consciousness

of his manifold relationship with God and universe. For Iqbal, the journey of

man begins with love and ends at beauty (that is Reality or God). For Iqbal, the

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ego of man is deeply rooted in to the Ultimate Ego which is the fount of

awareness of the higher consciousness. The ego of man when fully developed

becomes related with the Ultimate Ego. Man comes in direct contact with God

when one becomes aware of it; one knows that the world has been created for

him and he is for the world .The man marching onward, his self –knowledge is

transformed into action with full involvement into world’s affairs as vicegerent

of God. For Iqbal, love is the force which brings man nearer to God and

consolidates his ego, which enables the growth of the personality and without

which real life can’t exist. Intellect looks at the surface ,whereas the self by the

light which it has created, sees into the very heart of things. Ibn –arabi says,

‘God is percept and man is concept’, that is we perceive God directly, while we

can only conceive of the world and man. Ishq is a dynamic force, it is the light

that equips a man with power and gives him the courage and strength to tackle

tasks, which in the eyes of common people it would be sheer madness to

attempt .The man of intellect discovers a truth, believes in it and is content with

that, but with the man whose self has been awakened by love, the truth leads to

self-transformation and world-transformation. Intellect calculates, love goes

straight to action regardless of risks and dangers. For Iqbal, love rejoices in

affirmation of its self, love rejoices in self expression, for expressions of love

are inexhaustible and therefore love spells perennial celebration.

There is no reservation with love, no holding back and love seeks no

quarter. If love, commands, surrender thy life, surrender it joyfully because

love is the only beloved, its object is its own consummation and not the

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preservation of life (Ibid., p.23). Love has no delusion, it is not self –

concealed; its endeavors for the perfection of its lights are ceaseless,

unremitting, unsparing. The man who has realized his self keeps a very

watchful eye on the working of his own heart. He sits in ambush on himself,

turns the flashlight of criticism onto his inner self. Every beat of the heart

subjects the motives of his activities to close merciless scrutiny. Therefore, he

seeks to purge his self of all dross and to perfect his light.

As regard to the attainment of human freedom by the human ego, the

Qur’an recognizes that the ego is a free personal causality. The Ultimate Ego

by permitting the emergence of an ego with the capacity for initiative, has to

certain extent restricted his own freedom. By understanding and mastering its

environment the ego acquires and amplifies its freedom .The whole universe is

meant to be subjected by man who thereby attain’ s freedom-

For Iqbal, life is forward assimilative progress. It is only through action

that it prepares ego either for dissolution or immortality. Iqbal says that ego

must adjust its sacred activities to the common good of society, and must not

limit itself for personal satisfaction for that spells greed and lust.

Iqbal’s philosophy of man cannot be complete without mentioning the

concept of Momin (the perfect man) which is such a vital aspect of his thinking

.Islam has recognized that man though a created being, has tremendous

potential of creativity. He is the finest manifestation of the created universe,

and as a tribute to man’s great spiritual and intellectual power and his splendid

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sense of creativity, God has entrusted to him the vicegerency of earth. Iqbal’s

concept of perfect man is based on the beliefs and values outlined in the Quran.

The perfect man is not only an embodiment of all the Quranic principle but is

in fact, the Qur’an in action .He says that the secret which is hidden from

everybody is that the momin who apparently seems to be a reader of Qur’an is

in fact himself the Qur’an(Zarb-i-Kalim, p.57).

The concept of Perfect man has been a popular theme among Muslim

philosophers. Jilli has expressed stimulating ideas in this regard. He is of the

opinion that man is an entity by himself and is a manifestation of both God and

universe. Man is the image of God, and in reality, he is a link to unite God with

the universe. Man is the main objective behind all the creation. No other

creation has the requisite qualities to mirror the truly divine characteristics. The

Holy Prophet is the Supreme example of the perfect man, and anybody treading

the path of life in the light of his character is sure to appropriate the Supreme

ideal which life is capable of bestowing upon man. Similarly Ibn-Arabi

propagated the theory that Divine –consciousness reaches its culmination in the

perfect man. It is through the Perfect man that God knows himself perfectly

and its through him that unknowable becomes knowable. This attitude

according to him, is not to deify the Prophet as the manifestation of divine

knowledge and as the head of entire hierarchy of Prophets. The entity

Mohammad combining in itself both the spirit of Mohammad and the man is

for Ibn-Arabi the link between eternal and temporal. The spirit of the

Mohammad is eternal while Mohammad the man was born ,was active and

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died in time. The spirit of Mohammad exists in all eternity (The Philosophy of

Ibn-Arabi, p. 57). To Iqbal, man is an indomitable, self–conscious centre of

energy whose main characteristic is tolerance for others. Instead of merely

believing in God, his one aim in life is the establishment of the kingdom of

God on earth; and for this he has to be strong enough to defy all obstacles that

come in his way. Iqbal says-

‘A momin’s arm is really God’s arm dominant, efficient, creative, resourceful”. (Abdul Wahid, p.125).

Iqbal says that, the heart attains life by fire of ideals, and when it

attains life everything other than God dies for it.Iqbal asserts that Insane-i-

kamil or Mard-i-momin attains a state where he, living like other human beings

become acquainted with the realities of things. In that state he can be referred

to as seeing with the eye of God ( Encyclopedia of Islamic culture vol-16

edited by Mohd Tahir, Anmol publication, Delhi, 2006, p.62). Iqbal was

against all those concepts which killed individuality or tended to weaken the

existence of the ego. His Perfect Man is Mard-i-Momin (Valiant believer),

whose greatest qualities are power, vision, action and wisdom. These qualities

in perfect form are noticeable in the character of Holy prophet, who was also

complete embodiment of finest attributes. In Bal-i-Jibrail Iqbal has expressed

this idea by saying that Mard-i-Momin is powerful and is conqueror of

difficulties. He is the goal of reason, the sole harvest of love and all activities in

the universe can be attributed to him (Bal-i-Jibrail, p. 132).

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At another instance he says, that an infidel [munafiq] can be recognized

by the fact that he seeks absorption in the universe while the momin is he who

is himself the depository of the whole universe (Zarb-i-Kalim, p.39). Iqbal says

that Momin is the replica of the divine Qualities. Momin to Iqbal is a moral

creature, who is endowed with spiritual and religious qualities, and acting

within the boundaries of the canon law and is the master creator himself. His

momin also differs from the mystical concept of perfect man because there is

no element of renunciation in the life of momin; he doesn’t resign himself, his

entity is not lost in any Supreme Reality. His ceaseless struggle is directed

towards the conquest of the universe. Man’s highest achievement or distinction

according to Iqbal doesn’t lie in seeking self-negation or detachment from the

material world’ and in annihilation of his ego-hood in the ultimate Reality of

God as some Sufis proclaimed, but it is essentially rooted in self-affirmation

and conquest of the universe.

In brief, Khudi requires coupling of will to power with belief, eventually

realizing itself in the form of yaqeen or a deep inner conviction that serves as

the pivotal point for the ‘self’ to act and react to the sensual temptations of life.

However, this conviction will not actualize itself, unless the individual

understands that his life has individual as well as collective dimensions. The

evolution and ascension of the ego is not merely a detached, personal and

individual event.This spiritual development has a collective dimension too that

can not be ignored. Iqbal notes that a great deal of sacrifice and benevolence is

required to bring the individual, self -preserving ego in harmony with the

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collective ego. The process of self –realization requires tension to be present ,as

tension is well -spring of dynamism. The human being’s complete freedom

from the limitations of the material world and from materialism is contingent

upon the maintenance of this tension. In essence, the human beings’ aspiration

to achieve perfection is necessarily entailed on the achievement of a balance

between the individual ego and collective ego. In Iqbal’s words ‘the life of the

ego is a kind of tension caused by the ego invading the environment and

environment invading the ego. The ego doesn’t stand outside this arena of

mutual invasion. It is present in it as directive energy and is formed and

disciplined by its own experience (Reconstruction, p.102). This constant

interaction between the individual ego and environment provide the ideal

opportunity for self evaluation to the extent of becoming the architect of one’s

own destiny.

World :

For Iqbal, God is the Originator, the Creator, the Master and the Lord of

the universe. Iqbal formulates his conception of God substantially in keeping

with the Quranic conception of God. Following Quran, Iqbal appropriates

radical and unqualified realism. For him, the world of objects, plants, animal,

stars etc is categorically real. He is realist as far as he accepts the reality of

external world. The world, according to Iqbal, is revealed to us by an intuitive

insight. On the one hand, the reality of our self is also intimated to us by

intuition and on the other hand, we intuitively feel that we are pitted against a

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world of non-ego. We are obstructed by the forces of non-ego. We are

intuitively forced to accept the reality of the world as an obstruction of all our

volitions and actions. Our experience can’t be explained without accepting the

reality of the world. However, the question arises as to what is the nature of

external world. The common sense belief is that the physical world is the world

of matter extended in space and time. The common sense believes that zillions

of zillions of particles come in association with each other in space and time

and constitute the material world. However, such a view regarding physical

world is utterly unacceptable to Iqbal. Such a view is neither supported by

science nor by philosophical reasoning. Such a view of the world presupposes

a particular conception of space and time which is not defensible either on

grounds of research or on the basis of philosophical arguments. In view of

these considerations, Iqbal’s conception of space and time needs to be

outlined.Iqbal doesn’t accept the Absolutistic or Objectivistic conception of

space and time. For Iqbal, space and time are not objective frameworks. Space

and time as objective frameworks are untenable. For Space and Time are

themselves sustained on account of the objects. Space and Time without

objects will themselves shrink to a point and to a moment respectively.

However, Kant was wrong in underlying the subjectivity of space and time.

They are rather relative. For example, the apprehension of the world by one

sense can be radically different from the apprehension of the world by more

than one senses. The Snail views the world as one dimensional. Some other

creatures may apprehend it as two dimensional. Man, on the other hand,

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apprehends the world as three dimensional. The space and time according to

Iqbal are relative not only to different grades of being but also to different

levels of experience of the same being. For instance, Time appears to be just a

succession of moments to an ordinary person. However, upon deeper

reflection, we shall view time differently .Bergson advances the view that at the

intuitive level we don’t have the impression of time as succession. What

appears succession to an ordinary intellect, is experienced as duration by man

of intuition. In the light of these considerations, Space and Time, according to

Iqbal, are relative to the level of experience and mental capacities of the Ego.

Given such a nature of space and time .it is not logically justified to believe in

an external world that is comprised of fixed substances or things. The notion of

such a material world is furnished to us through sense experience or intellect.

These faculties presuppose a rigid, fixed and static external world. They view

objects of the world in the traditional mould of space and time. They can’t

realize that every object is essentially a dynamic process of growth and

development. It is only the intuition that can reveal the true nature of physical

world.

According to Iqbal, we have a direct intuition of the self and our

intuition further tells us that the world can be conceived analogously through

intuition. Our intuition reveals that the physical world is in continuous

movement. The universe manifests a clear tendency to grow as an individual.

Although there is an inner unity among them all, all these aspects appear as

aspects of totality is the Ego of the egos.The universe is steadily progressing

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towards the realization of some end or purpose. The world, according to him, is

thoroughly oriented to Teleological evolution as an ego grows and rises to

higher level of being. Just as an individual grows in its efforts to realize new

ideals, so the universe is also ever-striving to realize newer and higher ideals.

The world is in nature of an ego, its life and activity, being creative in nature. It

is constantly growing. There is a reason, a purpose and a plan to it. Presently

man may not be able to fully appreciate the Theological character of the

universe. But, as it is, the world –process exhibits a tendency towards

realization of higher ideals. However, the world process is an infinite

progression .It has infinite potentialities and can endlessly go on realizing

higher ideals. The universe can never reach the final or ultimate state. It has

always to be an ongoing process.

Problem of Evil :

Iqbal boldly accepts the reality of evil. The following words of Iqbal do

testify to his profound appreciation of the enormity of the problem of evil:

“The Qur’an has clear and definite conception of nature as a cosmos of mutually related forces. It is therefore, views Divine Omnipotence as intimately related to Divine Wisdom, and finds Infinite power of God revealed, not in the arbitrary and the capricious ,but in the recurrent ,the regular and orderly. At the same time the Qur’an conceives God as ‘holding all goodness in His hand’. If then, the rationally directed Divine Will is Good, a very serious problem is arises. The course of evolution, as revealed by modern science, involves almost universal suffering, wrong doing. No doubt, wrong doing is confined to man only but fact of pain is almost universal, though it is equally true that men can suffer and have suffered the most excruciating pain for the sake of what

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they have believed to be good. Therefore two facts of moral and physical evil stand out prominent in the life. Nor can the relativity of evil and presence of forces that tends to transmute it be a source of consolation to us; for inspite of all this relativity and transmutation there is something terribly positive about it. How is it, then, possible to reconcile the goodness and Omnipotence of God with the immense volume of evil in His creation. This painful problem is the crux of Theism” (Reconstruction, p. 81).

While Iqbal works out a justification of the thesis that evil is relative to

the context and what appears evil in one context may be good in another

context, or the thesis that evil is unreal, that evil is not something of a

positively independent principle but only as absence of good, he neither accepts

the unwarranted optimism of Browning nor unmitigated pessimism of

Schopenhauer. Neither our historical evolution has equipped us with wisdom to

go in for the thesis that God is up above in the heavens and all is well with the

world nor to opt for the thesis that this world is one perpetual winter, wherein a

blind will expresses itself in an Infinite variety of living things which bemoan

their emergence for a moment and then disappear forever. In view of the same,

the issue of optimism vs. pessimism continues to be irresolvable. Our

epistemological and intellectual equipments are also inadequate so that we

cannot have an understanding of the final purposes and ends of Infinite

operations being carried out day in and day out by the Omnipotent and

Omniscient God. We are condemned to take a piecemeal view of things.The

Quran, according to Iqbal preaches neither facile optimism nor hopeless

pessimism .The Qur’an believes in the possibility of improvement in the

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behavior of man and his control over natural forces. It takes a melioristic view

of things and inculcates in us the hope of eventually overcoming evil. Iqbal’s

explanation, and justification of evil is anchored on the very creation of man. If

man is capable of achieving spiritual excellence and moral perfection is to be

achieved, then unavoidably and inevitably he has to be invested with autonomy

and freedom .Freedom is the achievement of moral and spiritual wisdom. It is a

precondition of morality or in Kant’s words, a postulate of morality. Only a

man who is capable of viciousness as well can be said to be capable of working

on righteous lines. A man who is endowed with the potentiality for viciousness

can be meaningfully said to be capable of being and becoming a morally

uprights person.

“Man’s first act of disobedience was also his first act of free choice ;and

that’s why according to the Quranic narration, Adam’s first act of transgression

was forgiven .Now, goodness is not a matter of compulsion; it is Self’s free

surrender to the moral ideal and arises out of willing corporation of free ego”.

A being whose movements are wholly determined like a machine can’t produce

goodness but to permit the emergence of finite ego who has the power to

choose after considering the relative values of several courses of action open to

him is really to take a great risk; that God has taken this risk shows His

immense faith in man. Now it is for man to justify this faith. Perhaps such a

risk alone makes possible to test and develop the potentialities of being who

was created out of the ‘goodliest fabric’ and then brought down to be lowest of

the low” (Reconstruction, p.85).

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Iqbal’s interpretation of the Quranic Legend of the Fall tries to bring out

a justificatory account of evil. According to Iqbal, the Quranic Legend of the

Fall has nothing to do with the first appearance of man on this planet .Rather,

the Quranic Legend aims at indicating man’s rise from primitive state of

instinctive appetite to the conscious possession of the free self .Such a self is

capable of doubt and disobedience. In the Legend of the Fall, the Qur’an tries

to explain man’s transition from simple consciousness to the first flash of self-

consciousness. At this stage, man is awakened from his natural slumber to a

consciousness of personal causality within. A vital consideration with a view to

justifying the presence of evil in human affairs is advanced by Iqbal with the

reference to the Quranic Legend of the Fall of Adam as well. Iqbal says that it

is in the nature of self to struggle for survival. This struggle entails knowledge,

as well as power and strategy of self-multiplication. Man’s quest for knowledge

has been symbolically outlined by the Quran. Adam is deemed to be superior

over the angels in remembering and reproducing the name of the things

(Qur’an, 2:31). This verse brings out the conceptual character of human

knowledge. Iqbal, further reminds us that with the ancient people the tree was a

cryptic symbol for occult knowledge (Ibid., p.86). Adam was asked by God not

to touch the fruits of a tree .In view of the fact that his mental constitution and

intellectual equipments didn’t suit the appropriation or internalization of occult

knowledge, but were more oriented to kind of knowledge that can be acquired

by long drawn out process of trial and error. The Satan, a perennial enemy of

man, by inspiring Adam to partake of the fruits of forbidden tree was only

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fixing him in an undesirable short-cut with a view to keeping him ignorant of

the joy of perpetual growth and expansion. As per the intellectual faculties

granted to man, human knowledge has got to be acquired in perpetual

installments; it has to be an ongoing affair. The life of a finite ego in an

obstructing environment depends on the perpetual expansion of knowledge

based on actual experience.

Man, as a finite ego has several possibilities open to him and he can

expand his knowledge by the method of trial and error. Therefore, error which

may be deemed to be an intellectual evil, is an unavoidable factor in man’s

quest for the knowledge which is essential for his survival. Secondly man’s

imperative of survival in the face of all-pervading death, has oriented him to

self-multiplication through engaging in sexual activity.

‘The eating of the forbidden fruit of the tree of eternity is life’s resort to sex-differentiation by which it multiplies itself with a view to circumvent total extinction’ (Ibid., p. 87).

However, the phenomenon of collective immortality can’t circumvent

the fact that life has to have a definite outline in a concrete individuality. The

mystical and spiritual revelations are always manifested in the concrete

individuality .However, the ever-expanding knowledge through trial and error

and achievement of collective immortality through ever-expanding

multiplication of the race by recourse to sexual intercourse, are not free of cost.

They exact insufferable price in terms of inter-personal competition and

domination. Each individuality fixes it gaze on the revelation of its own

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possibilities and seeks its own sovereign sphere of operation. Such state of

affairs inevitably leads to perennial struggle, which is awfully and

excruciatingly painful. This perennial conflict is both a boon and a bane of

human history. It is simultaneously both illuminating and darkening of the

historical existence of life. In case of man, the possibilities of wrong-doing get

all the more proliferated in view of the fact that human individuality deepening

into personality destined into finitude has got to face the imperfections of life.

As the Quran says:

‘Man has accepted at his peril the trust of personality whish the heaven and earth and mountain refused to bear’.(Qur’an,33:72)

Accordingly, the Qur’an exorts man to fully bear the ills and hardships

of life. Iqbal writes,

“This mutual conflict of opposing individualities is the world pain which both illuminates and darkens the temporal carrier of life. In the case of man in whom individuality deepens into personality opening up possibilities of wrong doing, the sense of the tragedy of life becomes much more acute. But the acceptance of selfhood” (Ibid., p. 88).

Iqbal suggests that there can be other vital considerations, which can

more fully demonstrate the justification of the presence of evil in human

affairs. However, at the present stage of evolution we cannot fully appreciate

the positive contribution of presence of evil in human civilization. We can say

that the driving power of pain brings more discipline in human life. It can also

be suggested that the Evil hardens the self against a possible dissolution.

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However, such suggestions cross boundaries of pure thought and at this point

we enter the jurisdiction of the faith. It is through faith that we are assured the

eventual triumph of goodness over evil. While God is supremely oriented to

purpose, fullness of the life and the universe, man is woefully unqualified to

appreciate the teleological import of Divine operations.

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3. Iqbal Mohd., Bal-i-Jubrail, Iqbal Academy Lahore, Pakistan, 1936.

4. Iqbal Mohd., Payam-i-Mashriq, Iqbal Academy, Lahore, Pakistan, 1971.

5. Iqbal Mohd., The Development of Metaphysics in Persia, Iqbal

Academy, Lahore, 1964.

6. Malik Hafiz, Iqbal Poet and Philosopher, Columbia University Press,

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7. Ansari Ahmad, Asloob, Iqbal at the Visionary, Aligarh Universal Book

House, Aligarh, 2008.

8. Hasting James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Edinburgh T

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