Iqbals Awakening

The Muslim `ulama' and religious leaders were isolated from the freedom movement (after their initial defeat) and were alienated from it (except those who were in the vanguard of the movement, leaders like Mawlana Muhammad `Ali). Political isolation and economic deprivation ruled supreme. The Muslims were reduced to the state of being a superfluous part of the Indian society, without any guiding star on the horizon. In such crucial moments Iqbal kindled the torch of egohood. Of course, India was no exception; the above‑mentioned conditions prevailed throughout the Muslim world. It was for the very same reason that Iqbal speaks about the whole Islamic world. Iqbal's day‑to‑day life in the city of Lahore in the colonized subcontinent of India led him to directly experience the pains and hardships of life. It was at this juncture that Iqbal raised the banner of his revolt. His was a cultural, political and revolutionary movement. The first thing that was necessary for Iqbal to do was to make the Indian society aware of its Islamic identity, Islamic ego and the Islamic personality, or rather the human dimension of its personality. He asks the people as to why they were complacent, why they were forgetful and why they had abandoned their real selves. He asks them to regain their Islamic and human identity. This was the first message delivered by Iqbal. But, could he succeed in awakening the nation of several hundreds of millions that had been subjected to severe exploitation and humiliation for a long time. A nation that was divested of the capacity to understand, to know and to hope against hope was now asked to assert existence and recover its identity as soon as possible. It was almost an impossible task, very difficult to be realized. In my humble opinion no one could convey this message in a better way than Iqbal did. With a view to attain this end Iqbal evolved his philosophy of the self (hhudi). The philosophy of egohood in the sense of subjective philosophical views is not the subject of our discussion. The conception of ego which has human and social implications, was presented philosophically so that it could fit in a philosophical tradition. As Iqbal wished to make it the central theme of his poems, ghazals, and mathnawts, this notion required to be based on a sound philosophical outlook. Iqbal conceived ego as the source of feeling and knowing one's individuality through contemplation, introspection, self‑cognition and self‑realization. He explained this conception in philosophical terms.



In my view, in the beginning the idea of ego might have occurred to Iqbal as a revolutionary idea, and afterwards he made an attempt to philosophize it. It may be argued that ego is the same thing that was the most needed in the Indian society, and in general was missing in the entire Muslim world as well. In spite of having an Islamic value‑system the Muslim peoples had become unmindful of it, and eagerly surrendered themselves to an alien system with full faith. It was, therefore, necessary for them to return to their own selves, that is, to the Islamic value‑system. In this very sense Iqbal was trying to pursue 'it as a goal. Such a sociological concept could not be impressed on the minds of people without being expressed in a philosophical manner. Iqbal had to present it philosophically.



As said above, the idea of selfhood or ego at first was conceived by Iqbal as a sociological and revolutionary notion. In due course, after having witnessed the signs of degeneration and loss of self‑identity of the Eastern nations, especially the Muslims, and after examining its causes, this idea became permanent and deeply rooted in his being. Afterwards he sought to provide a philosophical and subjective ground to it, and based this notion on a general conception of the self, some­thing similar to the conception of existence as evolved by our philosophers‑an essence which is shared by all beings but needs to be interpreted philosophically. Of course, wujud (existence) is something different from khudi (ego), and to interpret it as existence, as is done by some of the persons who have written commentaries on Iqbal's poems, is a great blunder in my view. The notion of unity in plurality and plurality in unity, which has been recurrently used in his Asrar‑e khudi (The Secrets of the Self), is different from the metaphysical conception of unity in plurality and plurality in unity as interpreted by Mulla Sadra and others. It is altogether a different category. What Iqbal meant to refer to by this notion had cent per cent human and social connotation. When I say it is social, I do not mean that it is not applicable to individual. Why not? Ego needs to be strengthened in an individual. But this very egohood of the ego of an individual and the strengthening of the personality of the ego have social implications in Islamic framework. Unless the personality of the (individual) ego is strengthened, a strong and stable society in its real sense cannot come into existence. The meaning of the ego is different from that of the existence. At the first instance he speaks in the manner of mystics about the generality and the extent of the concept of self. The world of being is actualized through the manifestations of the ego. Each one of the phenomena of the universe is a manifestation of a particular aspect of the self. Of course, some of the themes that I have described in my own words have been differently presented by Iqbal in the headings of his poems. There are some other themes that are expressed far more beautifully in his poetry than their paraphrasing by Iqbal himself in the headings of certain poems.



The ideas, themselves produced by the self‑consciousness, are the manifestations of the ego in every being. The affirmation of one's ego is also an affirmation of others. When the presence of the ego in a human being is posited, it automatically posits the presence of egoes other than one's own. Therefore there is self as well as the non‑self, that is, the existence of other is also posited. Hence it may be inferred that the whole universe is contained as a possibility in the self. The ego is the source of hostility also. There are various selves that are at war with one another. This struggle, this perpetual conflict brings the world into existence. It is the ego which is responsible for the selection of the fittest and its survival as well. So often thousands of selves are sacrificed for the sake of one higher self. The concept of ego is a graded one and its grades vary in intensity and weakness. The degree of intensity and weakness of the ego in each one of the beings is the factor which determines their strength and firmness. In this context he cites the examples of various entities such as the drop, the wine, the goblet, the cup‑bearer, the mountain, the desert, the wave, the sea, the light, the eye, the verdure, the candle, the silence, the candle‑bearer, the gem, the earth, the moon, the star, the sun, the tree, etc. Each one of them is measured by the intensity of its ego; for instance, a drop has a particular strength of ego, while a stream has a different strength of ego. Similarly a gem on which an image can be engraved possesses an ego‑strength different from that of a stone on which no image can be engraved. Finite ego is never absolute. It always refers to a graded essence, which is present in things and human individuals, as well as in cosmic elements in diverse measures. He concludes this theme with the following verse:




When ego embraces Elan Vital,

The stream of life is transformed into an ocean.



Afterwards he expounds his views about the pursuit of ideals and aspirations, something which was most wanting in the Islamic world in those days. It means that the Muslims did not have any purpose in life. They did not have any high aspirations either. Their ambitions were confined to day‑to‑day life. He holds the view that the human life is nothing without purpose and aim. The ego attains self­hood through moving towards the desired ideals:






`Verily the life is faith and jihad' (striving).



He has expressed the same idea in a very comprehensive, profound, subtle and elegant way in his poetry. To desire for something and to strive unceasingly for attaining it is called purposiveness, without which life becomes synonymous with death.



It is desire that makes the universe throb with life. Nature is the shell and desire is the pearl. The heart which is incapable of cherishing desires is a bird with broken wings, unable to fly. It is aspiration which strengthens the life of the self, and transforms it into a restless sea eversurging. It is the joy of viewing that gives vision to the viewing eye. It is the fun of walking that gives feet to the pheasant. It is the effort to sing that is instrumental in endowing the nightingale's beak with melody. It is the piper's hands and the lips that breathe musical notes into reed, which was nothing but a mere straw in the reed‑bed.



Science, culture, poetry, literature, law, everything is the product of human aspirations actualized through continuous struggle. Hence he says:








Our lives are sustained by the ideals we create for ourselves,

Our being is illuminated by the rays of our aspirations.



He reiterates the same theme in another verse:








Man is hot‑blooded due to his burning passions,

This clay glows with the light of aspirations.



He considers love and passion essential for human society, and individual man, for it strengthens the individual as well as the social ego. He holds that the ego of an individual and the society cannot be strengthened without love. It is essential that the Islamic millah and all other human beings who desire to strengthen their selves should kindle the fire of love in their breasts. It is remarkable that he himself determines an object of love, a point around which the Muslim Ummah has to rally. It is at this juncture that one feels how intelligently this man of awareness and insight comprehended the necessity of the unity of the Muslim world. His quest for the rallying point led him to believe that the love of the Prophet Muhammad al‑Mustafa (S) was the only passion that could motivate and rally the Muslim Ummah around a new consciousness:







The luminous point that is called the ego,

Keeps glowing the spark of life in our corporeal body.

Through love it becomes more lasting,

More alive, more fervent, and more luminous.

Through love its essence is blazed up,

And its hidden treasures are evolved.

The ego acquires fire from love,

And learns how to illuminate the universe with this fire.

It is love that brings peace as well as conflict to the world.

Love is the Water of life as well as the well‑tempered sword.

Learn the art of being a lover and aspire for loveliness,

Strive to attain the eyes of Noah and aspire for Job's heart.

Discover alchemy in a handful of mud.

And kiss the threshold of sublimity.



Subsequently he tells us as to who that beloved whom the Muslims should love devotedly is:






The beloved is hidden in thy heart.

If thou art gifted with eyes, come,

I will show thee his face,

His lovers are lovelier than all the beloveds of the world,

More beautiful, more elegant and more loveable.

Through his love the heart gains strength,

And the earth attains the exalted status of the Pleiades.

The land of Najd was made vigilant ingenious through his grace,

In a state of ecstasy it flew higher than the heavens.



The heart of the Muslim in the seat of al‑Mustafa.

Whatever respect we command is due to his name.

Mount Sinai is nothing but dust that arose from his House,

His parlour is sacred even for the Ka'bah.

The mat is grateful to him that he prefers to sleep on it,

The Taq‑e Kisra is trampled under the feet of his Ummah.

He retired to the privacy of the Cave of Hira ;

And brought forth a nation, a constitution and a government,

Night after night passed by his bedside finding him awake,

So that his people could rest on the throne of Khusrow.



He gives an account of the Prophet (S) and his high qualities. Not only here alone, but throughout his poetical works we can see an unceasing stream of his love for the Prophet (S) gushing out wave after wave.



A contemporary Pakistani scholar has written a book about Iqbal entitled Iqbal dar rah‑e Mawlawi (Iqbal on the Path of Mawlawi), in which he states that whenever a poem that contained the Prophet's sacred name was recited in Iqbal's presence spontaneously tears flowed from his eyes. Indeed he passionately loved the Prophet (S). Iqbal has made out a very important point. Where can the world of Islam find a personage more popular and dearer than the Prophet of Islam (S)? His personality is the focal point of the unity of the Islamic world. Iqbal, while narrating the story of the daughter of Hatim al‑Tai, says that in one of the battles the daughter of Hatim al‑Tai was taken captive and brought in the presence of the Prophet (S). His feet were chained and her head and body were bare. The disrespect showed to the daughter of a great and generous person like Hatim was so shocking that the Prophet (S) took out his cloak and flung it towards her so that she might cover herself. Iqbal concludes this story with the following verses:






We are more naked than the Lady of al‑Ta�i.

We are stripped of our robe of honour before the nations.

He is the source of our credibility on the Day of Judgement,

In this world, too, it is he whose love covers our faults.

We, who do not recognize any boundaries and nationalities,

Like vision from the two eyes, are one in reality.

We may belong to Hijaz, Egypt or Iran,

But we are the dew‑drops of the same laughing dawn.

The eyes of the keeper of the tavern of Bathd' have intoxicated us,

We are like, the goblet full to the brim with this wine,

Like a hundred‑leaf flower we smell alike,

For it is he who breathes life into this bouquet, and he is one.



On so many occasions Iqbal has composed verses expressing his deep love for the Prophet (S) that it is not possible to quote all of them here.



In Asrar‑e khudi (The Secrets of the Self) he tries to awaken the sense of selfhood, that is, the sense of human identity in the individual as well as the society. A separate section in `The Secrets of the Self' deals with the idea that the selfhood is weakened by entreating. When an individual or a nation stretches its hands in need before others, this act weakens the individuality of a person or the nation and consequently the process of deterioration sets in.



As a sequal to the problem of ego Iqbal elucidates the problem of selflessness. While discussing the problem of the self, the notion of the strengthening an individual's identity should not be .interpreted in the sense of imprisoning one's being within the walls constructed around the self and living in isolation, cut off from other human beings as independent egoes. Neither it means that one should lose his identity among other selves in the society. Rather, an individual should live in close relationship with the society: This is the real meaning of the selflessness. The book Rumuz‑e bikhudi (The Secrets of the Selflessness) is the second book of Iqbal that was composed and printed after Asrar‑e khudi and is illustrative of Iqbal's ideas about the Islamic system. Iqbal's ideas about establishing an Islamic order are more ` elaborate and clearer in Rumuz‑e bikhudi than any other of his works. On the whole, the problems elucidated in Rumuz‑e bikhudi are among the issues relevant to the establishment of an Islamic society and ought to be taken into consideration.