Opinion | Dr Sir M Iqbal,The legend and the iconic philosopher.

Alama Iqbal is the most misunderstood poet and philosopher of our era because of his multi-layered scholarship, universality of poetic acumen, his liberal and transcendental  outlook as well as his deep religious understanding of divine scriptures  and  an evolution through various stages of philosophy and metaphysics seen in a changed scenario, especially in the post industrial revolution  His own teacher Sir J J Thomson mentions. “I wonder how people claim an absolute understanding of Iqbal both in prose and poetry without rummaging through the Luminaries like Jalaluddin Rumi,Shams Tabrez, Mansoor Al Halaj and Mohiuddin Ibne Arabie, because in my opinion M Iqbal was about 200 years ahead of Europe”
Sir Thompson’s point of view is very loaded and quite debatable especially when seen in both religious and secular context keeping in view the influence of various schools of religious thought in the subcontinent and a subtle influence of Karl Marx especially his theory of economic dialectics and the capitalists exploitation of the working class which finally led to the division of world in two big blocks industrial revolution and Marxism were two great challenges for Muslim ulemas in particular and people in general in the subcontinent.Traditional schools of religious background could neither negotiate with this new emerged challenge nor could they satisfy the educated youth on purely scientific and rational basis.This initially lead to an apparent clash between religion and science which Iqbal finally resolved in his iconic treatise,,The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam.,,  How for is now it true to say and demonstrate that Iqbal on philosophical and intellectual level is the most dominant iconic personality in last 2 centuries who made a true synthesis of Religion, philosophy and science.For this let us first look at various historical movements and various secular revolutions which dominated in 20th century.
When i say that Iqbal is the most misunderstood poet and philosopher in our era doesn’t mean that his poetic diction, philosophical content can’t be understood but due to the complexity of Iqbal’s personality both as a poet and as a philosopher of a world which belongs to a rich tradition of the past and the emerging modernism.Thus any researcher is bewildered as to which Iqbal he should choose to satiate his scholarship and draw conclusions.Is it the nationalist Iqbal, romantic, revolutionary,Secular, ideologue,sufi,philosopher,enlightened scholar or merely an iconoclast who is in favour of creating a humanitarian world order.
In the beginning i said that Iqbal is the most misunderstood poet and philosopher in this era because both Iqbal’s critics and commentators don’t rummage through other influences which are totally spiritual in essence and mystic in nature.For example his son Javed Iqbal maintains that besides Rumi and Tabrez,the world renowned encyclopaedic volume of “Fatwaie Razivia” of Ahmad Raza Khan (R,A) used to be always an influence upon him and these books used to be under Iqbal’s pillow till his death.The spiritual unification, redemption and renunciation are not possible unless one follows some guidance to lead him, Thus Iqbal met and exchanged ideas through letters with genuine scholars from time to time
His metaphoric and symbolic affluence in urdu poetry like,Lala w Sehra, Shaheen,Uqab, Hemalah,Naya Shiwala and even Shikwa and jawabi shikwa could not satiate the inner Iqbal’s quest of expressing the most inexpressible.Thus Iqbal after struggling with urdu made a paradigm shift to Persian where he could not only find great masters like Jalaluddin Rumi,Shams Tabrez,Ferdousi and Sadie but also discovered a new realm of what could be considered the contribution of Farus (Iran) in the evolution of an ideal state.

One of the astonishing facts about the multifeceted personality and complexity of Iqbal as the poet and philosopher is his variety,the variety of themes,the variety and amalgamation of metaphoric confluence, symbolic centripetality and centrifugallity,and the variety of rhetoric with a subtle music found as an under current in his poetry..for example.
Gayey den ke tanhaa thaw mein unjumun mein
Ke ub yehaan merey razdaan aur bi hein
Or
Yeh Gazi yeh tareery pur asrar bandey
Jinhein tu ne bakhsha hey..
Or
Tu Shaheen hey parwaaz hey kaam teri
Or
Yunaan o Mesru Ruma sub mit Gaye jahan sey
Ub tuk magur hey baaqi namo Nishan hamara
Or
E tayere la hooti use rizke sey moout achi
Jis rezke sey aati ho parvaz mein kootahi
This variety is deep in his political, philosophical, philanthropic, nationalistic and scholarly thoughts,and expresses it vividly in Javid Namah and many letters written to Maulana Suliman Nadvi from time to time.. This philosophical variety is too deep in,,The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam,, as there is the confluence of Western and Muslim philosophy, synthesis of Reason, intuition and Revelation.Iqbals kalam is loaded with variety especially his personal writings are marvellous pieces of art and literature.
An important question strikes the conscious level of a good researcher that if one subtracts things like Influence of Quran,Rumi,Shams Tabrez etc from Iqbal’s works where does it lie then the Iqbal’s originality?
This question needs a full understanding of “Nobel Laureate TS Eliots, Tradition and literature” in which he assumes that literature is like a floating river and every lover of it is on its banks and adding something to it,and important is not adding,but the way he adds.
Iqbal’s contribution is seen in the above context while craving for his originality.Iqbal himself mentions…
“Iqbal khud Iqbal sey aagah nehein
Hey es mein Tamaskhur nehein,walah nehein”
Iqbal’s highest contribution to the realm of knowledge has been the weaving of Khudi,Asrare bekhudi and Remoze bekhudi which not only expands our mental canvas but also enables us to take an imaginative flight to the lands where we meet an unexpected human potential.It is at this stage that reality get revealed upon Iqbal and he sings
“Khudi ka sere nehaan
La ilah Ilah la
Khudi hey teeg fishan La ilah Ilah la
Yeh Nagma fasley Gulo Lala ka nehein pabund
Bahaar hoo ki khizaan,La ilah Ilah la”.
Therefore varied phases of Iqbal’s poetry and philosophy is a big evolution in itself and instigates the poet to shift his thought and imagination to a different world where mere reason doesn’t work and the imaginative flight needs a different direction and means to acquire an intellectual and mystic phenomenon where Iqbal realises that he is in a moving gyre from mere nationalism and romance to the benefactors of the world of muslims and bring a revolution which finally seals the thoughts of both material and corporate sector in a scenario where moral and ethical degradation is the burning issue.How did Iqbal deal with above complexities is a significant question which must warrant our attention.
The poetry of M Iqbal is loaded with the metaphoric hue.,and a tremendous vocabulary both in Urdu and Persian which finally decides the dexterity of his content.Iqbals diction seems a revealed one refracting the subtle idealistic themes through which Iqbal is always grappling with his existential crises and the variety of other issues of the men and manners of his  society.For example,,
Palatna japetna,japut kur plutna
Lahoo garum rekhney ka ek behana.
The dynamism of Iqbal with the passage of times grew more and more and his synthesizing approach to philosophy and art tended him to become a universal messenger with Islam at the back of his conscious and subconscious mind.Even when he writes on Karl Marx and Lenin he acknowledged their role played for growth of socialism to end the horrors of capitalism,he also pointed to the failure of this system and said
Deyarey mugrib ke rehney waloo khuda ki basti dukaan nehein
Khara jisey tum samajte woh ub zarey Kum ayaar Hoo ga
Tumhaari tehzeeb apney khunjer sey khud kushi krey gi
Shakhe nazuk pe Aashiyaan bane ga napayedaar Hoo ga.

An important question which must strike the mind of a genuine researcher is,Why does Divine Khudi create other than itself out of itself, sowing,Seeds of dissention,,so that through the ensuring conflict,it may become aware of its own power,and so that the resulting competitive pursuit may lead to the creation of new values and higher ideals
All human expressiveness is a manifestation of the greater aura of the KHUDI and no existence is possible of its perfection without being with full dress rehearsal of KHUDI at varied stages.in this context the quality of KHUDI varies from person to person.For example the Khudi of Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani,is very transcended than rest of the awliyae kiraam.The genes of human ego or Khudi are deeply fastened into subconscious and unconscious and does blast at the time of any agression against falsehood.This is really debatable that if Iqbal would have not worked on KHUDI,then what would have been the scholar and philosophical status of Iqbal.

KHUDI
The emperor of the concept of KHUDI and the Mardi Kamil,Dr Iqbal has no synonymity with any of his contemporaries like Abul Aala Maududi,Syed Suliman Nadevi,Ashraf Ali Thanwie because of the stagnant and traditional outlook of the things in a changed post industrial revolution.Iqbal stressed on selfhood because he belived in a metaphysical and transcendental scenario for true evolution of soul and self and therefore never preached any kind of,,Organisational religion,,or sectarianism for materialising political ends of the sect.In a metaphysical sense KHUDI is the ultimate ground of all existence.It is the primordial force. In the reconstruction of religious thought in Islam,,(chapter 4) Iqbal calls it the ultimate reality or the absolute Ego,whose personal name is Allah or God This force which we may call divine Khudi,though self assertion or self manifestation give rise to the phenomenal world.
Khudi hey serey nehaan La ilah Ilah la
KHUDI hey Taage fishan La ilah Ilah la
KHUDI ko kur bulund itna ke hur Taqdeer sey pehley
Khuda bandey se khud poochey bata Teri raza kya hey

Iqbal’s fundamental craving was to establish a greater humanitarian state not any religious state is the dominant argument of many of his contemporaries as well as his This is really a very sensitive issue as it involves Iqbal’s nationalism,his mysticism and also the craving for Western knowledge and science.While lamenting upon the loss of our grand civilization and Masjid Qurtuba is a galvanizing example of this.
The essential drift of Iqbal from mere nationalism to the worry of Muslim Ummah,the western knowledge and finally a trance to the mysticism is what makes Iqbal unique and different from the philosophers and thinkers of his era.He remains the Beacon light to others.

One of the astonishing components of Iqbal’s thought is the human Existentialism which is very skillfully woven through mysticism as Iqbal uses the masters of mysticism like Jalaluddin Rumi, Shams Tabrez, Mansoor Al Halaj and Mohiuddin Ibne Arabie as fundamental pillars to understand human problems,the dichotomy of soul and body,the role of the unconscious,the overall vigal of revelation as seen in the context of  the transcended metaphysical state of man to a world where both reason, time and space ceases to be, Iqbal through Ego takes a craven flight to a world where his desire of paradise becomes secondary to the glimpse of his creator.It is here that he assigns the role of a guide to reason not the destination.In this context he says.
,,Akul gow aastaan sey Doour nehein
Pur es key ji mein huzoor nehein,,
As compared to this the transcended frenzied love (Ishq)transports soul on the crimson fluttering wings to the destination of his beloved (Mehboob) Iqbal’s quest is not achieving but remain in the constant seperation and enjoy this loneliness and alienation by the incarnate love for his beloved.As a mystic Iqbal’s concept of love is not mere etherial but the most incarnate spiritual communion with his Lord.Here a good researcher and a genuine critic may raise a question that how a thinker and mystic like Iqbal can be on one hand so secular that he praises Shakespeare,Dantee, Napoleon Bonaparte,Writes about Marx and Lenin and on the other hand is a Sufi.Iqbal in fact is a Sufi in search of his Self which initially liberates him from all conundrums of religion ,caste,creed and national boundaries and makes him to desire for the greater humanitarian State because first feature of sufism is this impartial love of mankind.Iqbal says.
,, Apney mun mein doob kur paja suragey zindagi
Tu agur mera nehein banta ne bun,Apna toow bun.

Both his Western and Eastern critics who tried to delve deep into the Iqbal’s mysticism have miserably failed to reach any solid conclusion because they have tried to apply a rational Modus operandi to a phenomenon which is transcendental and needs a perfect and keen training in a metaphysical school of thought or spiritual training in the mysticism through a Murshid so as to understand and comprehend the kind of phenomenon which Iqbal has passed through while dealing with delicate issues in Shikwa and Jawabe shikwa The Sheikh or Murshed is the connecting link between the pure soul craving for spiritual extacy to the the zenith of spiritual power house for all awlias,kutub,Gous,Abdal and Walie Kamil to get spiritual linkage with Hazrat Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani RA and from him to  transcend to Hazrat Hussain RA then to Shahie Walayet Hazrat Ali Karamuulah tala wajhu and then to The Prophet SAW.
Infact according to great mystics and Sufis of the times Iqbal has crossed all these stages and many men of purity and saintly qualities have seen numerous times Iqbal meeting Prophet SAW in dreams.Since dreams are an essential part of tasawuf and have played important part in Abraham AS elevation for sacrifice, dreams by Hazrat Yousuf in Quran justifies that dreams for a momin are the 40th part of the Revelation, thus if interpreted properly can give information about present,past as well future of the man.Since Alama has always enjoyed the company of Fuqra,Derveeshes and walis of the times thus believes.
Nigahey fuqre mein shaane Sikandri kya hey
Kharaj ki hoo jo gudaa woh Qaysri kya hey.
Iqbals dialogue between Gabriel and Satan,Peer Rumi and Mureedi Hindi is the manifestation of his spiritual and mystic transcend to the scenarios and declare spacelesness and timelessness which even Einstein could not define and Alama did it in two verses..
Khudi huyi hey zamano makaan ki zunari
Ne hey zamana,ne makaan La ilah Ilah la.
For a deeper understanding of Iqbal the thorough study of Ala Hazrat Ahmad Raza Khan Baralwe,who commonds 65=branches of knowledge including Tasawuf is a must.The infinite franzied love of Iqbal for Prophet SAW is the root of his spiritual and mystic transcend to a position where no other philosopher or poet could even think to reach.It is a fact that from Communists to Ahmdies all are exploiting Iqbal’s verses for their ideological and Organisational intrests.Iqbal craves for Ejmaye Ummah but his so-called ignorant followers have bifurcated iqbals thought and philosophy in various sects and it has desecrated the spirit of Iqbal’s teachings.How could a Sufi who bows in reverence at the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awlia Delhi and makes supplications for seven things and gets them would have supported a Wahabi thought who desecrated the suhabaas.Iqbal has craved to be the pigeon of the Madina and the episode of his servent Khuda Baksh to see Khawaja Mainuddin Chesti RA visiting Iqbal’s home during night may be a myth and gulu for Wahabis but the fact remains that Iqbal had dozen of such episodes in life.Therefore Iqbal the sea of knowledge and wisdom can’t be understood by rationality alone but one needs a deeper understanding of Tasawuf and the role of the Sheikh in elevation of his disciple.,and to comprehend it one needs Sufi training also.