Durham E-Theses The main philosophical idea in the writings of Muhammad Iqbal (1877 - 1938) Hassan, Riat How to cite: Hassan, Riat (1968) The main philosophical idea in the writings of Muhammad Iqbal (1877 - 1938), Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/7986/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk THE 11 PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS IN THE WRITINGS OF MUHAMMAD IQBAL (1877 - 1938) VOLUME 1 BY RIFFAT HASSAN Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in the University of Durham for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. MARCH 1968 School of Oriental Studies Elvet Hills Durham* The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. mmvf I* Chapter One eoateiiie the M^gFa^Mcsal stalls of Xqbll1® Hf lie Ch^ttr Y^o Is coneiraeO. -\16h XobSl's' rheory of /jaoKicd^e. Mom i aine Jcno'.yXedcc: of ir/.;ct» &»d oaU^ Utility % weu&s of een&e^i&rceptiofi* region end intuition* fhe e^rht.Xy la ii) tuition or* ^shq*? 1 Ill* Cft&cter* tShree contains XqMl e vlevts on puce una Viine* c Of special import i& the distinction iol^l dra'va «$ Tietwe-on aotfied time owl %w® duration* 1% Chapter Aw gives IqhSJ^f viewa shout ike Universe £«ad God* Hat wet le a #has:e of tod's OQn&eloiigRe<5£« Ood is "both iimg&aent and transcendent, end is also constantly o^ctlve* i XI life Ac individual &«d the seal© of o^ohood ruae from the £lmoia~Amrt (matter-} to the Ultimate Kgo (Cod),, V* dtapter Five deals with the Self ~ the pivot of l#Ilr© - thmiiht til tela with auestloiis relating to the reality* o&4gt% evoluUeii &M m%w»B ®P tfe* Self* tht? freedom of the will* isaii*§ destiny* ansl $erdOiu»3. -immortality* VJ, C&e#ier Sis deeerlfcee the. &t&g@B' of the development of the Belf ant the f aetore which etreiigthea or $eakeii ^Sfciw*** CSelfhood):* It alae d#als with l#Il*s eoaoaptioa of the Perfect Mm and th«s iufl^eaa which have a hearing; on it* VII* Ghrpter cJo\ en is concerned vrith the salient ideas underlying lohil*^ religious (und socio-political) philosophy ** ^au^Ed* (the oneness of Cod), Mu^t-nrntod (the Perfect Man for c&oeilenee)* prayer* the difference between *jnyj?tic and ^-roi/hi. tic* eon6ci0U8neK&, IhlXs (c)?;tan'.' , ud ther ;-c?*fesonel* i elaticmship betv-«.en Cod umi Mm* / V'XXX* Chapter &ivas X&btP.'s viasa en tfe© fnnxtxois, impovt&xm® or? /.^t* polities! xfeiloBOji^ its £&s?&t etagoa to. thM Imnf * Sweats! Is oa tlia mi^wm&l. ilxo i^i.iv- J .d. -ei-.; the ^ilt^r* istellqsc>.plil0al position as a wliol©^ t© unciOTstaad. oi; Si© iM&^m&mmm to vmimm •®mr&m mm tmattims? . &ii to avslaatfe LMfB o«lrtmitict'i to m%mm DEDICATION. It was my mother who first led me to the magic world of poetry and philosophy. To her, who has been my greatest friend and teacher in life, I dedicate this study, with deep love and gratitude. RIFFAT HASSAN. 1 PREFACE The enormous output of work which has "been done on Iqbal in recent years, particularly in Pakistan, is enough to deter any prospective research student. One would "be inclined to think after seeing the Iqbal-bibliography that ^ all possible avenues of research are virtually closed, i- that all that is needed or had to be done, has been done. But, in fact, this is not the case. Although every major bookshop in Pakistan has a section on 'Iqbaliyat', yet the truth is, that by far the greater bulk of the work done on Iqbal touches only a very limited part of his art and thought. Apart from the work of some devoted Iqbal-scholars, including some European and American writers (notably Pro• fessor Bausani, Professor Schimmel, Dr. Jan Marek, and Professor Whittemore), most writings on Iqbal are merely repetitive and devoid of any deep insight or critical appre• hension. This applies equally to the work of Iqbal's admirers and his detractors. When the subjective element has been sifted from the objective comment, one is left with disappointingly libtle to guide a student who wishes to understand the complex world of Iqbal's thought. As a philosopher, Iqbal has won wider acceptance out• side Pakistan than in Pakistan. Iqbal's position as a 2 poet and as a political figure rests secure, but Iqbll the philosopher is still a long way from being generally recognised. The average literate man in Pakistan knows vaguely that Iqbal is a philosopher and probably also knows something about some of his concepts (such as the concept of 'Khudl') but if one were to question him fur• ther, one would discover that to him the philosophising of Iqbal is no different from the philosophising of most other poets. Most poets tend to philosophise, he would say, and so does Iqbal. Perhaps he philosophises a little more than the others - that is why he is known as a poet- philosopher. Nor is this the view only of the layman. While I was in Pakistan collecting material for this study, I had an opportunity of meeting several post-graduate students reading Iqbal's philosophy for one of their M.A. papers. To my profound amazement, I learnt that most of them did not consider Iqbal a philosopher at all. Their opinion, I discovered, was based on one common idea - that there is no system in Iqbal's thinking. Some of them attributed this lack of system to the fact that Iqbal had not written any 'text-book' of philosophy. It is rather surprising that Iqbal's Lectures - which, incidentally, are read by few other than students of philosophy - are not considered by many to be a philosophical work. It is undeniable that 3 the Lectures are hard to understand. The arguments very often do not follow a logical order and are not laid out systematically. There are frequent repetitions and digressions. Nonetheless, the Lectures are a major con• tribution to world philosophy. But even if it is conceded that they do not constitute a 'textbook1 of philosophy, or disregarded alltogether, Iqbal - on the strength of his poetry alone - would still qualify for the title of a philosopher. There are, after all, as many different varieties of philosophers as there are of poets. All poets do not write in rhymed verse; all philosophers do not write 'textbooks.1 But the general idea - that there is no system in Iqbal's thinking - must be considered carefully. In my opinion, it is the chief obstacle in the way of Iqbal's recognition as a philosopher. This idea is based on the assumption that every philosopher has a philosophic system. I accept the validity of this assumption. Random philoso• phising, however brilliant, does not make a philosopher. There must be discernible in the thinking of a philosopher, at least the outlines of a structure formed by his most important ideas and concepts. The question 'Is Iqbal a philosopher?' can, then, be resolved into the question 'does Iqbal have a philosophic system?' In my opinion, the answer is - not just that Iqbal has such a system but k that it is remarkably consistent in some ways - as this study hopes to show. It is not possible to say precisely why so many readers of Iqbal - including students of philosophy - should fail to see any method in his thinking. It is possible to suggest several answers. To my mind the two most impor• tant causes or reasons for the widely-prevalent opinion that Iqbal has no philosophic system, are a) his prominence as a poet and as a political figure; b) the fundamental opposition between poetry and philosophy. To a considerable extent Iqbal's prominence as a poet and as a political figure obscures his importance as a philosopher. Compared with a poet, a philosopher's appeal is naturally far more limited. Many more people read Keats than read Kant. Furthermore when one has grown up believing Iqbal to be first and foremost, a poet - as most Pakistanis, at least of the present generation, have done, it is not always easy to see him as a philosopher. Coleridge, for instance, was also a metaphysician, but to most people he is simply a poet. Not only does Iqbal the poet, but also Iqbal the spiri• tual founder of Pakistan, stands in the light of Iqbal the philosopher. Strictly speaking, Iqbal was never a politician though he participated in politics. As he himself admitted, 5 his interest in politics was only secondary. But thia confession which is of fundamental importance from the viewpoint of students of his philosophy, is "brushed aside in the enthusiasm of a young nation to make him a poli• tical hero.