Iqbaliyat

Assignment no. 1 Submitted by:Ayesha Rabbani Reg no. 4082 FU/BS/F09 Submitted to:Sir Ahad Maqbool

Summary on Dimensions of Iqbal

Some human beings in this world only exist, they dont live, and neither do they leave any mark upon this world while they exist. S Abu Said Abul Khiar narrates in a couplet: A bird sat on the top of a mountain and then flew away. Look as to what the bird added to the mountain and what it curtailed. But in this world there are also those people who leave a positive or negative mark in the circle of their society while they live. And when they die, they leave the world richer or poorer than that they had found. Yes there are men that live differently and die differently. Hence, we see certain person whose death is just one death and yet another person whose death is the death of many. Such a death, latter described, causes a sort of crisis in a society. Human societies are obliged to progress on account of individuals who possesses individuality. Similarly there was the overbearing negative influence of the individuals who retarded the onward march of the society. In his article of Great Men and their Environment, William James dealt with this subject elaborately, it is energetic individuals who push the society on to the path of progress , and society in turn strengthens them by supporting and following them. William James view is deterministic, as according to him he believes that such promoters or demoters of a society serve a purpose assigned to them from above. Hegel too has almost the same opinion as of Williams but with a slight difference as he sees those course changing persons as fighters or rulers like Alexander, Caesar or Napolean. He says that those world historical persons attained no calm and enjoyment and their life was labor and trouble. After their objective, they fell like empty hulls from the Kemal. But the questions is, were those historical persons are designed and molded for according to what they have performed or were they willful, self-conscious and hopeful of achieving something great? Similarly, were the individuals who hindered the onward march were in a will-less state to serve the divine purpose or they were rather unconscious? According to Holy Quran, Human Beings are born with unlimited potentialities which needed guidance from Allah Almighty as He knows what the nature of man is, and so He sent down His messengers to guide the mankind. The humans benefited from these messengers and some did not. Some even tried to kill them, and succeeded even,

as they desired. Every individual is born with unique personalities which he can unfold only by his or her conscious efforts. So the historically momentous persons became so by their conscious efforts and willful momentum. Determined aspirants who uphold positive values are thus imperative need of every society. Such are real figures and others are zeros. Figures like Sir Sayyed, Haali, Akbar, Zafar Ali Khan, Allam Iqbal and M.A Jinnah jolted the muslims of sub continentinto awareness and gradually into selfawareness. Thus they transformed one hundred million zeros into a nation that was ready to fight for its right. Allama Iqbal was a late developer. He transformed into a poet and a great thinker by hard labor. Allama Iqbal called himself as a thinker or even as a seer. But Allama was a poet first and a philosopher afterwards. Iqbal only by his poetry entered into the hearts of his devotees and inspired even the ordinary student in the sphere of his learning. The cause of Allam Iqbal avoiding to be called as poet is because of his contemporary poets, barring exceptions, were just professional. They werent serious about anything. Whereas Iqbals message was about Islam, to guide Muslim Ummah. His lyrics worked like swords, waging war on despondency, faithlessness and defeatism. He was hero among poets. Still poetry wasnt the main occupation of Iqbals life. He was a practicing lawyer. He works as examiner and paper setter in different universities. He was a politician also. He led the leaders of Muslim India towards the pathway to Pakistan. But Iqbals progress was not sudden. For a determined person, a sustained state of tension is a source unmitigating stimulant. When a person yields to obstacles and decides not to confront the opposition then he loses his state of tension. It is sustained state of tension that creates heroes of uncompromising individuals. Iqbal was brought up in a sustained state of tension, as Islam was his life-blood but the surroundings were completely antagonistic. This state of constant challenge added to the power of his determination and boosted his philosophy of Self. Allama Iqbal generalized the meaning of tension. The Significance of tensions created by various challenged of life is explained by Iqbal by writing to R.A Nicholson by saying that Personality is a state of tension and can continue only if that state is maintained. Thus a man shouldnt revert to relaxation. After there may be an interval of relaxation as the Quran speaks of Burzakh. Tension is only for those confront it. Lifes

battle is always on and is a challenge to everybody. The difference is who takes part in it witlessly and who is there to fight willfully rather aggressively. Carlyle in On Heros Hero-Worship and the heroic in history elaborates this subject by saying that great men exists as many different names as poets, prophets or heroes in different times and places and they are molded according to the social sphere they live in. All men that are born in the era of Allama Iqbal and M.A Jinnah did not become torch bearers of Islamic renaissance neither did they able to become a Seer. The reason being perhaps these two leaders were more sincere, steadfast, truthful, reliable and more well-meaning than others. High ideals strive to teach mankind that the gist of morality lies in mans respect for man. He strives to infuse sense of confidence in the weaker elements of his society. A fighter who conquers territories might be known as a great conqueror in history but may not be known as a great man. As for Iqbal depicts this in his poetry as a dialogues between Alexander and a pirate. He sees both of them as equal, as both spill innocent blood, one on land and another on the oceans. Allama Iqbals Hero is the best and perfect man, an embodiment of Allahs Commandments and injections. Such a man is fit to rule the world. Same is the thing that Iqbal has depicted in his poetry, such are the virtues that Iqbal has highlighted in his verses to enlighten and shake up the souls of Muslims. Allama Iqbal wasnt a superman, but it can be boldly said that some qualities of real or best man reflect in him. He was never over awed by the western culture who then ruled the world. His life was possessed by Islam. He was of the view that European built killing devices can only subjugate the nations but cannot furnish them to the attributes of upholders of human values. It was Iqbals firm belief that the best practical model for best human values is of Prophet (S.A.S). All that glory of western culture couldnt for a moment dazzled the penetrating eyes of Iqbal. He even warned the west about it in March 1907 in London that the edifice of their culture will fall to ground like a nest on a frail bouth. Allama Iqbal knew that the foresight and insight with which he was blessed was for the good of humanity and particularly for the good of Muslim ummah. Muslims in the mid of 19th century sustained an all-embracing defeat. Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan deserves our homage on account of his determination, faith, sincerity and firm belief on Islam. Maulana Haali, Akbar Allahabadi, Allama Shibli, Waqar-ul-Mulk,

Mohsin-ul-Mulk etc were the pillars of upholding muslims of subcontinent. Then as a younger contemporary Allama Iqbal accepted the challenge. Such persons do not measure their success in material terms. They feel successful if they are sure that they have done their duty faithfully according to best of their capabilities. They are not discouraged by hardships. Life amplifies itself through conquering hardships and surmounting difficulties as Allama Iqbal says: To live means to conquer, that is all. To desire is to dissipate the spell of victory and nothing else. Allama Iqbal refers to the saying of Hazrat Abdul Qudus Gangohi which is Muhammad (S.A.S) ascended the highest heaven and returned. I swear by God that if I had reached that point I should never have returned. , and then offers his own observation by saying that there is a difference between prophet and mystic type of consciousness. Mystic dont want to return and if it does, it doesn.t means much for the man kind while prophets return is creative and beneficial for mankind. Iqbal too, took to the path of the prophets of Allah. He had to bring about the change and he knew his sincere efforts for the good of Muslim ummah at large will attract the attention of people, and it will bring about the revolution that would not be for the sake of winning an applaud. As Iqbal himself says in a farsi couplet, translated as: When I am dead, this my lay man will recite, and say: One man, who was self aware, transformed a work everywhere.