Sunday, May 5, 2002		Books

SIR Muhammad Iqbal is easily one of the greatest of Urdu and Persian poets in India. He still continues to be read, but not so widely as he was in the pre-Partition days when he was much popular in North India. A spate of literary works has appeared on his poetry, philosophy and on his political role in the creation of Pakistan. It is calculated that more than 2,000 books have been published on him, but a great deal of it is hagiolatry, lacking critical rigour and dispassionate appraisal. However, Iqbal's religious thought has received little attention, and it is to this theme that Dr Hamid Nasim Abadi deals with in his book entitled Khutbate-e-Iqbal Ka Tanqidi mutaleya (Iqbal Institute, Kashmir University, Srinagar. Pages 176, Rs 50).

Poets like Shakespeare and Ghalib never wrote poetry with a purpose. They had no theory of life and their poetry reflects humanistic intimations, but like Dante and Milton, Iqbal set before an ideal of combining poetry with doctrine. He took it upon himself to inspire the Muslims to consolidate themselves in order to imbibe the true spirit of Islam. This is not to deny the greatness of his poetry, which, at times, transcends national frontiers and embraces universal human values. But there was a fundamental change in his outlook after his return from Europe in 1908.

The European aggression on the Islamic world had aroused a strong reaction in him against capitalism, western imperialism and materialism. Like Maulana Azad, the Ali Brothers, Mohemmed and Shaukat, and Hasrat Mohani, he thought that the true principles of Islam could offer the strongest resistance and defence mechanism against the onslaught of western aggressiveness. That is why in Professor Murjeeb's words, Iqbal became a vehicle of Islamic thought and Shaire-e-Islam. Abadi has taken up some important themes from Iqbal's Reconstruction of Iqbal's Thought in Islam, a collection of Iqbal's lectures that he had delivered in 1928-29 under the auspices of Muslim Association at Madras, Hyderabad, Mysore and Aligarh. Abadi has also made use of the Iqbal's correspondence with Syed Suleman Nadavi, a profound scholar of Islamic thought and jurisprudence. His special interest lies in the themes discussed in Iqbal's first four lectures such as concepts of prophethood, philosophy, knowledge and wisdom and notions of Time and Space. In his lectures, Iqbal had explored the philosophical basis of Islam in terms of modern philosophy and science. Like John Milton, Iqbal was one of the most learned poets. He had a sounds grasp of Islamic thought and history, Western philosophy and ancient Hindu thought. Both at Cambridge and Heidelberg, he came substantially in touch with the current ideas of his age.

In his introductory chapter, Abadi has given historographical survey of the literature published on some aspects of Iqbal's religious thought. In this connection, he has specifically mentioned the contributions of Syed Nazir Niazi, Khalifa Abdul Hakim, Syed Akabarabadi, Professor Sharif Baqa and Syed Wahiduddin. According to the author, Syed Wahduddin has raised some of the fundamental problems relating to Iqbal's religious views, and he endorses Wahiduddin's view that though Iqbal was influenced by Islamic thought and western ideas, he had an independent voice of his own, and was grappling with issues of cardinal human importance on his own terms—fearlessly. Abadi holds the view that despite some shortcomings, Wahiduddin's remains the best work on the subject.

Iqbal did immense service to the Muslims by emphasising that the conventional view of Islam, so sedulously propagated, needs examination to bring it in accord with the advanced scientific and philosophical knowledge. In this context, Abadi emphasises the interrelatedness of some of the fundamental Islamic concepts such as prophethood, revelation, knowledge, faith and its efficacy which serve as potential means for the apprehension of reality. The author emphasises that for Iqbal religion was not a matter of faith alone but a way of life, which has to be tested in accordance with the strictest moral and scientific standards. For Iqbal the illumined mind awakened by meditation over the essentials of Islam, self-realisation and self-affirmation are the pointers for the perfectibility of man which is the aim, goal and master-passion of human existence.

In the final chapter of his study, Abadi deals with the notion of time and space which Iqbal regarded as a question of life and death for the Muslims, and to which he gave much importance in his lectures and poetical works. He wrote: 'Space and time are interpretations which thought puts upon creative activity of ultimate ego'. He provided an integrated view of God, time and space. He emphasised that beyond His (God's creation), there was no time and no space.

Iqbal examined the vitality of time in the light of Sufism and modern philosophical and scientific systems of thought. He made a clear distinction between a serial and pure time which he called 'pure duration', a genuine creative moment, a life force, which in T. S. Eliot's expression, is 'an intense living experience of self-illumination'. In other words, to Iqbal 'time is conquered in time'.

For Iqbal, time is not alien to man. It forms an integral part of human activity. He believed that time is God's attribute, and even God. The Prophet had warned, ‘Do not abuse time.’ Iqbal's theory of time is in accord with the Quran and the latest philosophical and scientific thought. In the 10th Discourse Lord Krishna said in the Bhagavadgita, 'I am everlasting time.’ Lord Rama, whom Iqbal claimed as Imam-e-Hind, spoke on the value of time: For the whole world of life time is the most potent entity'. In Khizr-I-Rah (The Guide) in Bang-I-Dora Iqbal expressed in a poetical rhythm the concept of time as a ceaseless duration. The same message he delivered in his poem Saqi-nama.

According to Iqbal, time is free and is a process of change but not deterministic. The reality of change is the acceptance of the reality of time. Time, being an independent and restless activity, begins to influence man who apprehends the negative and positive features of it. Iqbal expounded his views: 'History is not the unfoldment of reason, absolute or infinite, but a continuous creative activity of the ego, both the absolute ego and finite ego.' In short, Iqbal regards time as an instrument of conquering finitude and infinitude. Thus human life comes to acquire a higher and nobler purpose circumventing limitations and difficulties, and by widening intellectual horizons and strengthening moral fervour it seeks to attain the supreme bliss for which Ishq (love) serves as the key to open the whole wonder of the world!

Dr Rafi Ahmed emphasises that Iqbal's conception of God differed from the pantheistic Sufism as unity of existence (Wahdut ul Wajid) or Vedantic duality. Iqbal rejected the Marxist notion of determinism. He exhorted man to play his independent role unrestrained by the compulsions of necessity or conditioning circumstances.

According to him, God had created the whole universe so that 'he (man) should play his creative role with passionate zeal for the higher ideals of truth, justice, and social good. He expected man to reach such a height that he might stand up and say, 'Here I have time with God'.

In this small and unpretentious work of outstanding scholarship written with verve and judicious restraint, Abadi has shown remarkable insights in analysing some of the fundamental issues of life that had agitated the poet-philosopher Iqbal's mind. This is bound to become a standard work on the subject.