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How to Read Iqbal? by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (Draft of Paper to Be Presented at the Iqbal Academy, Pakistan, Lahore: April, 2004)

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How to Read Iqbal? by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (Draft of Paper to Be Presented at the Iqbal Academy, Pakistan, Lahore: April, 2004) How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (Draft of paper to be presented at the Iqbal Academy, Pakistan, Lahore: April, 2004) Givenasmalltwistofinflection,thequestionmayvery easilybeunderstoodtomean:How can onereadIqbal?The implicationwouldbethatheissuchanuninterestingpoet,how couldonereadhimbychoice?Itistruethatsuchaquestion wouldnotbeaskedbysomeonewhohastheslightestfeelfor theUrdulanguageandtherhythmsofitspoetry.Foreventhe dullestofIqbal’spoemsringsandreverberatesnotjustinthe outerearbutdeepinone’spsycheandsetsup vibrationsof pleasureinone’ssoul.Buttheproblemariseswhenoneismade toreadIqbalnotforpleasure,butforprofit.ForIqbalisalsoa politician’spoet,areligiousthinker’spoet,andaphilosopher’s poetandmuchmorebesides.Iqbalhasearnedalotofpraise andnotalittleblameaswell,forbeingoneotherofthethings mentioned by me above. Itisaninteresting,thoughsadfactofliterarycriticism thatpoliticsseemsnevertohaveleftpoetrytoitsowndevices. Politicianslovetomakeuseofpoetry,butarewiseenoughto leavealonepoetslikeShakespeareandGoethewhomtheycan’t exploitfortheirownpurposes.Literarycriticsarelesswise.They trytoreadpolitics inpoetslikeShakespeareandKeatseven whodidtheirbestnottoprofessanypoliticalcreedandwho made their poems apparently incapable of yielding interpretations that could be converted into political currency. ThatIqbalshould havearoused interestandeven devotionamongpoliticiansand politicalandreligiousthinkers allovertheMuslimworld,andparticularlyinthoseMuslim countriesthatweretryingtocometotermswiththemodernage andhadbeenundercolonialdominationformanylongyears,is How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi quitenatural.ForIqbal’spoetryhasstrongovertonesof modernityandmakes seriouseffortstofindwaysoffruitfully negotiating thepostcoloniallandscapeinsocietyandpolitics withoutlosingwhatheregardedas fundamentalelementsof Islamicreligiousthoughtandsociopoliticalidentity.Hewasalso passionatelyconcernedwiththehistoricrealityofIslamandits losteffectscouldberevivedandperpetuatedinthemodern world.Suchaprojectwasboundtoappealto,andhaveusesfor theMuslimpoliticianaswellastheMuslimsocialpolitical reformer and activist. IntheUrduworld,Iqbalwas andevennowisoften knownbytwoappellatives: sha’ir-emashriq (PoetoftheEast), and hakimulummat (Physicianofthe[Muslim]People,or, Philosopherofthe[Muslim]People.)Itmightinterestingtonote herethatthelaterappellative(hakimulummat )usedtobeandstill isalsoappliedforMaulanaShahAshrafAliThanavi(1863/4- 1943)oneofthetwomostinfluentialSufisandreligious reformersandmentorsoftheMuslimcommunityinSouthAsia duringthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury.Thanaviwasnot muchinterestedinpolitics(thoughhefavouredJinnahandthe MuslimLeague)buthisinfluencecanbeeseenandfeltinthe socialandreligiouslifeofSouthAsianMuslimseventoday.Even thepoliticallifeofMuslimsespeciallyinPakistan,shows Thanavi’s influence through the ulema of that country, particularlythoseoftheDeobandiSchoolwhohaveastrong presence in Pakistan today. Afewmorepointsareworthnotinghereaboutthese appellatives: Iqbal,thephilosopher-activist,politicalandreligious thinker,activeinpoliticsthoughnotafull-timepolitician,was seenbytheMuslimcommunityofSouthAsiaasperformingan ongoing,melioristroleintheMuslimsocietyofhistimewhich wasqualitativelythesamerolethatwasbeingdischargedby AshrafAliThanavi,practicingSufi-intellectual,andreligiousand socialreformer.Thatistosay,hisstatusaspoetnotwithstanding, Iqbalhadanotherniche,ormanyotherniches,inthepolitical lifeandsocietyofthesubcontinent.Butwhatwaslostinthis assessmentwasthefactthatwhateverotherstatusIqbalenjoyed hadbeenconferredonhimbecauseofhisstatusaspoet.Soany literaryconsiderationofIqbalcouldignore,sofarassucha proceedingwaspossible,thephilosophicalorpoliticalcontent of his poetry but could not ignore its literary content. Tobesure,both sha’ir-emashriq and hakimulummat are nowfallingintodesuetude,moreinIndiathaninPakistan.That is,literaryandevennonexpertcirclesdonotnowusethese appellativesfreely.ButthereasonforthisseemstobeIqbal criticismperhapsbelievesitselftohavegrowninsophistication andsubtlety,andtheseappellativesdoseemsimplisticifnot 2 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi naïve.Butareasonfortheirdecliningpopularitywiththe commonreadercouldbethatheisnotallthatexcitedwith Iqbal’sroleas hakim,and mashriq alsohasgrownnowincommon perceptiontomeanmorethanwhatitdidfiveorsixdecades ago. The“East”in sha’ir-emashriq (PoetoftheEast)wasnot seenassubsuminganythingmorethanthesubcontinentand maybeAfghanistanandIran.Similarly,the“Poet”heredidn’t meansomethinglikea“Poet parexcellence”.Itrathersignifieda poetwhosepoetrypresentedandrepresentedthepolitical, intellectualandmaybeevenspiritualaspirationsofthe“East”. Yet,insomesenseIqbalwasalsoseenasthePoetoftheGreater East,thatisAsia.PerhapsIqbalalsosawhimselfasthePoetof theEastand sha’ir-emashriq seemedtoseeinGoethethePoetof theWest(sha’ir-emaghrib),thatis,Europe.Itwasforthislatter reasonthatIqbalcomposed Payam-eMashriq (MessageFromthe East,1923)justasGoethehadsenthisgreetingstotheEast (Iran,inthiscase)throughhis West-ostlicherDivan (Divanofthe EastandWest,1819).Iqbaldescribedhisbookonitstitlepage as“Responseto theGermanPoetGoethe”andwroteinthe Preface: Thepurposeof Payam-eMashriq is…topresentbefore the[people’s]eyesthosemoral,religiousandreligio- nationaltruthswhichrelatetotheinnereducationofthe individuals and peoples.1 ThusIqbalgaveadvanceintimationofhispoetic intentiontothereaderanddesiredthepoemsof Payam-eMashriq tobereadprincipallyifnotsolelyasdidactic-philosophical documents.ThisdidnothelpthecauseofIqbalthepoetandled theuninitiatedstudenttobelievethatthepoemsweresomething likeSana’iGhaznavi’s Hadiqah,whichBrownecharacterized (wrongly,inmyopinion)asthedullestpoemeverwritten.Thus the title “Poet of the East” easily flowed into “Physician/Philosopherofthe[Muslim]People”.Itwouldbe wrong to say that Iqbal connived at this result, but it is quite right tosaythatIqbaloftenprofessedalackofinterestinhispoetry qua poetryandthisencouragedmisreadingsof hispoetry inasmuchasattentionwasconcentratedonIqbal’sphilosophical andreligio-politicalmessagesoastoresultinanearexclusionby literarycriticsofhispoeticcontentandpracticalsuppressionof hisclaimtobetreatedaspoet,aclaim,onemightsaythatis embedded almost everywhere in his poetry. ThedetrimentaleffectsofthissuppressiononIqbalthe poetcanbedemonstratedbyquotingfromtwoimportantworks ofliterarycriticismonIqbal,bothwrittenfromnearlyopposing pointsofview. Aperiodof alittlemorethanfourdecades 1 Payam-e Mashriq, 5th printing, Lahore, 1944, page kaf (=11). 3 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi separatesthetwo.ThefollowingisfromMajnunGorakhpuri (1904-1988),aleadingProgressivecriticofhistimewhowasalso wellknownforhisexpertiseinClassicalUrduandPersian poetry: Iqbal,despitehisoccasionalreactionariness,ancestor- worship,andoccasionallytakingaturninthewrong direction,seemstobetobeapoetofLife,Revolution and Progress.2 SalimAhmad(1927-1983)whomIholdinthegreatest respectandaffectionwasamajormodernpoetandcriticnoted asmuchforeruditionashisbrilliantwit.Hewrotehisbookon Iqbalwiththeavowedpurposeofrehabilitatingthestatusof Iqbalasapoet.HesummedupIqbalthepoetinthefollowing words: ThecentralprobleminIqbalisnorSelf-hood(khudi), nor love (‘ishq ), nor Action ( ‘amal ), nor yet Power and Dynamism(quvvatoharakat ),butratherasopposedtoall these,DeathisIqbal’scentralproblem.Thisisthe problemthatacquaintshisbeingwithatremorand upheavalthatshakeshiswholebeing.Hereliesthe foundationofthatpoeticexperiencewhichgeneratesthe poetic world that is peculiar to Iqbal.3 Needlesstosay,neithercriticdoesjusticetoIqbalbut themainpointisthatbothcriticsjudgeIqbalinnonliterary terms.Poetsofanearlieragearealmostalwaysatriskfrom misreading.ThisistrueparticularlyinthecaseofUrduwhose historysufferedamajorliteraryculturaldiscontinuityinthe middleofthenineteenthcentury. Contemporaryornear contemporarypoetsare rarelymisread.Moreoftenthannot theyprovokebafflementifnotresentment.hegreatProgressive criticEhteshamHusain(1912-1972)oncedescribedIqbalas“a bafflingfigure”becausehefoundunrecocilabledifferencesinthe philosophicalorpolitical positionstakenbyIqbal.But EhteshamHusain’sbafflementisnothingcomparedtothe systematicmisreadingsofIqbalthathaveresultedfromhis“art” beingstudiedseparately,ifatall,fromhis“thought”.Majnun GorakhpurimadenopretenceofjudgingIqbalonliterarymerits. HesatinjudgmentonIqbalasafellowdialecticiananda politicallycommittedstudentoflifeandliterature.Inthespace ofthespaceofthetenortwelveshortpagesthathedevotesto studyingwesterninfluencesonIqbal,MajnunGorakhpuri mentionsGoethe,Nietzsche,Hegel,Bergson,Wordsworth, Heine,Browning,Emerson,Idealism,Voluntarism,Activism, Leibnitz,Theoryofmonads,Dialectics,Marx,Life-force,Rudolf Eichen(Icouldn’tidentifyhim,butMajnunGorakhpuri 2 Majnun Gorakhpuri, Iqbal, Ijmali Tabsira, Gorakhpur, n. d. (circa 1946), p. 106. Capitals added by me, Urdu has no capital letters but the three words here seemed to cry out for capitalization at least in English. 3 Salim Ahmad, Iqbal, Ek S ha’ir, Lahore, 1978, p. 28. The capitalization here is again mine. 4 How to Read Iqbal? By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi describesas“thefamous hakim (philosopher)ofEurope”)inthat order. SalimAhmadhasnosuchpretensions.Heisbyhis declaredintentionoutonademolitionmission.Hewants to read Iqbal as poet. He says: NinetypercentofallthathasbeenwrittenaboutIqbal sofarconsistsofcommentaryonandexplicationofhis thoughtandhistheories.Suchwritingshavetwo fundamentalfaults:Theydonot,asageneralrule, addressIqbal’spoetry.Theirotherfaultisthatthey presentIqbal’sthoughtasthingsthatarealreadythere, readytouse.Thislatterpointsneedsabitofelucidation.
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