IQBAL AND MODERN E RA PROCEEDINGS OF AN INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM GENT, BELGIUM, 18-19 NOVEMBER, 1997 Edited and Compiled by Muhammad Suheyl Umar IQBAL ACADEMY PAKISTAN All Rights Reserved © 2006 Publisher: Muhammad Suheyl Umar Director Iqbal Academy Pakistan 6th Floor, Aiwan-i-Iqbal Complex, Off Egerton Road, Lahore. Tel:[+ 92-42] 6314-510 Fax:[+ 92-42] 631-4496 Email: iqbalacd@ lhr.comsats.net.pk Website: www.allmaiqbal.com ISBN 969-416-313-7 1st Edition : 2006 Quantity : 500 Price : Rs. US : $ Printed at : , Lahore. ————— Sale Office: 116 McLeod Road, Lahore. Ph. 7357214 CONTENTS Welcome Address 5 Prof. Urbain V ermeulen Opening Remarks 7 Mr. Riaz Mohammad Khan Encyclopaedic Bibliography of Iqbal project 11 Prof. Winand Callewaert 17 Iqbal and Classical Islamic Traditions 29 Prof. Annemarie Schimmel Question and Answer Session 33 Muhammad Iqbal’s Idea about the Poet’s Role 43 in Society Prof. J. Christoph Burgel 57 Iqbal’s Concepts of Nationalism and Patriotism Jan Marek 67 Iqbal: A Bridge between the East and the West Saeed A. Durrani “That I May See and Tell” Significance of 91 Iqbal’s Wisdom Poetry Muhammad Suheyl Umar The Problems of Interpreting Iqbal’s Poetry at 103 the End of the 20th Century 117 Natalia Prigarina 131 Allama Iqbal’s View of fiqh and Dr Javid Iqbal’s Opposition to the Imposition of hudood Laws in Pakistan 147 Khaled Ahmed 157 Iqbal and Italy V ito Salierno Iqbal and Germany 167 M. Ikram Chaghatai 183 Iqbal’s Concept of Self-Identity Alois V an Tongerloo The Relevance of Iqbal in the Modern World Dr. Rafiuddin Hashmi Iqbal’s Relevance to the Present World– Persian Writings of Iqbal Prof. Dr. G.R. Sabri Tabrizi Man Versus the Universe– Iqbal’s Perception Dr. Tehsin Firaqi WELCOME ADDRESS Prof. Urbain Vermeulen Yours Excellency the Ambassador of Pakistan, Distinguished Guests, Dear Students, Ladies & Gentlemen, After a not that long period of preparations we are here assembled for the awaited international symposium on Iqbal and the modern era. Not only European lecturers will take the floor here but Pakistani scholars and researchers as well. During two days we will go into the work and thought of Sir Muhammad Iqbal who died nearly sixty years ago but whose views and ideas still have a tremendous impact not only in the Indian subcontinent but also in the Muslim world as a whole and even far beyond. As a poet and a thinker he tried to alert his fellow Muslims to the values of their culture and the greatness of their history. It was his aim to awaken in the Muslims mind the sense of their identity and their place in the concert of peoples and in the evolution of humanity. Iqbal strived for combining what was for him true Islam with the modernism of European thought he got acquainted with in Cambridge and Germany, especially Munchen, where he obtained his doctorate with a thesis dissertation which became very famous entitled The Development of Metaphysics in Persia. His reformist view of Islam emphasized obedience to the law of Islam, self control of the individual and acknowledging the role of the vice-gerant of God. His thought was greatly indebted to Jalal uddin Rumi, Friederich Nietzsche and Henri Bergson. It is not here the place ofcourse to lecture on Iqbal but it is, I think, not unprofitable 6 Iqbal and Modern Era for the numerous students who attend this colloquium to introduce Iqbal very generally. When we look at the programme we notice that the work and way of thinking of Iqbal are dealt with in a variety of ways. So we hope that Iqbal from the scientific point of view will be studied as he deserves rightly. Another consideration to point is that most of us are here as friends. I see here colleagues I know already more than ten or even fifteen years. Some of them I saw for the first time in Pakistan especially in Lahore and Karachi. I am thankful that I meet them again here in Flanders. That this colloquium can happen here in Ghent is made possible by the Embassy of Pakistan in Belgium and especially by His Excellency the Ambassador and by Mr Hassan Javed who was extremely caring for the practical side of the organisation of this conference. There is also the Belgian Ambassador in Islamabad who contributed to a trouble free passage from Pakistan to Belgium. We may not forget the manager and staff of the University institution ‘t Pand and the Ibis hotel. Last but not least I thank you all dear students, ladies and gentlemen on behalf of the academic authorities of the University of Ghent for your attendance here hoping that you and we will benefit from the scholarly visions and scientifically experience of the colleagues who came not only from nearby but also from the European countries and the homeland of Iqbal. I hope to the same extent that you will discover that in the so-called “republic of letters,” friendship and honesty are a must for progress in debate, discussion and dialogue. I have now for ending, the pleasure and the honour to ask His Excellency Mr. Riaz Mohammad Khan, Ambassador of Pakistan, without whose efforts this initiative and colloquium could not happen to take the floor. OPENING REMARKS Mr. Riaz Mohammad Khan Professor Vermeulen, Distinguished Guests, I consider it an honour to be invited to this distinguished gathering of scholars participating in the Conference on “Iqbal and modern era” jointly organised by the Iqbal Foundation Europe and the Embassy of Pakistan in Brussels. This Conference is part of the Fiftieth anniversary celebrations of Pakistan’s independence. We are grateful to the University of Gent for providing this splendid venue for the seminar. We are also indebted to Professor Vermeulen who worked hard to give shape to the seminar, and I deeply appreciate his contribution. I welcome and thank the eminent scholars who have accepted our invitation to participate in this Conference. We feel happy and fortunate to have with us Prof. Annemarie Schimmel who is widely revered in Pakistan as a Sufi and a great scholar and authority on Iqbal. Early this year, I had consulted Professor Vermeulen about a possible theme for the Conference. “Iqbal and modern era” appeared to be appropriate for a variety of reasons, especially because Pakistan is struggling ever more intensely to address the issues of modernity and the modern era, as it crosses a symbolic mile-stone in its independent life this year. I am sure, the seminar will add to our understanding of where Iqbal stands in this struggle. Distinguished guests, I am neither a scholar nor a student of Iqbal, and have been privileged to speak to you by virtue of my representing 8 Iqbal and Modern Era the Embassy. However, like many Pakistanis, I live in a cultural environment imbued with a popular view of Iqbal as a poet and a philosopher and as the founder of the idea of Pakistan. There is little disagreement about the splendor, the power and the superb artistry of Iqbal’s poetry which is not the theme of this seminar. The theme focuses on Iqbal’s contribution as a thinker and its relevance to our times. Again, I draw upon my experience with the common place and popular view only to raise a few questions from a Pakistani perspective. I would limit my remarks to these few questions since I am not sufficiently well-versed with Iqbal’s works to offer a comment. Most scholarly works describe Iqbal as a major Muslim intellectual and a modernist reformer of Islam of this century. Yet, the popular view often invokes his authority to attack intellect, reject the West and extol Muslim past, a mix that sustains a certain degree of anti-rational and anti-modernity sentiment in the Pakistani society. The “orthodox” ulema resort to Iqbal to reinforce their argument for restoration of the society to an idealised but impractical view of Islamist past. The question arises whether this confusion represents a regression in understanding Iqbal and a perversion of his intellectual legacy or whether it is inbuilt in Iqbal’s philosophical works and prodigious poetry. Is there a need to separate his philosophical works from his poetry which is, by definition, unsuitable for structured and rigorous philosophical thought. Iqbal has urged Ijtihad as a central principle of Islam and a means to ensure equilibrium between eternal principles and possibilities of change. He justifies reinterpretation of legal principles in Islam in the light of realities of experience. The popular view admits Iqbal’s emphasis on Ijtihad, but remains devoid of any notion of its scope and parameters. The question arises whether Iqbal provides a set of principles to govern Ijtihad which can be applied to a range of serious contemporary issues such as rights of women and minorities and individual freedoms. And, if so, whether the conclusions Opening Remarks 9 will be consistent with the modern view of such rights and freedoms, similar to the conclusion in the well-known defence by Iqbal of Turkey’s decision to abolish Khilafat and his well argued endorsement of the republican form of government. There is, also, the question of how we assess Iqbal’s influence on intellectual discourse in the Pakistani society, and the manner and extent to which the intellectual evolution and orientation of the society are removed from Iqbal’s message and thought. Similarly, we may ask whether the recent movements of fundamentalist, radical or militant Islam are in sync with Iqbal’s idea of Muslim renaissance and awakening. I have raised these few questions from the view point of a person with only a modest interest in Iqbal.