Daily Times

Iqbal states that the essence of tauhid (oneness of God) as a working idea, is human unity, human equality and human freedom. Therefore, practically speaking, the spirit of Islamic culture liberates man rather than enslaving him. However, objection is raised that the emphasis on human unity and equality is understandable but how can freedom be associated with tauhid? Freedom is a product of contemporary western thought whereas every Muslim bears witness while offering prayers that the Prophet (PBUH) is abdohu (the slave of Allah). Consequently, all Muslims are expected to be the slaves of God.

Iqbal explains abdohu in his poetic work Javid Nama through Mansur Hallaj. Referring to the incident of Marmiat (Surah Al-Infaal: verse 17), Mansoor Hallaj argues that the pebbles thrown on the occasion at the enemy were not thrown by the “hand” of the holy Prophet but by the “hand of Allah”. Consequently, if one has the courage to speak the truth, then it is Allah Himself who is abdohu. God has breathed His spirit into man (Surah Al-Sajdah: verse nine), therefore man cannot be the slave of God. According to Iqbal, man is capable of becoming God’s “co-worker” provided that in the course of man’s evolution he discovers his “self” and arrives at a stage where God may consult him before determining any new destiny for mankind. Those who rejected freedom as an integral part of the spirit of Islamic culture but rather insisted on man’s slavery were responsible for introducing monarchy in Islam, declaring Sultan as the shadow of God on Earth and thus returning us to the “age of ignorance”.

If Iqbal’s lecture on ‘The spirit of Islamic culture’ is examined in the light of his other lectures on ‘The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam’ as well as his poetic works, one arrives at the conclusion that the message of freedom of the spirit in Islamic culture has four important dimensions. Iqbal connects this message of freedom with his concept of “finality of prophethood”.

Although Iqbal’s concept of finality of prophethood is unusual, it is rationally based on the Quranic principle of “mutual consultation” (Surah Al-Shura: verse 38) and the words uttered by Caliph Umar on the death of the holy Prophet (PBUH) to the effect that the holy Prophet (PBUH) has passed away and now the Quran is sufficient for “our” guidance.

Iqbal further argues that Islam arrived at a stage when the “inductive reason” of man had attained such maturity that there existed no need for such “protections” to mankind like prophets, priests and princes; these protections were only required during the infancy and adolescent phases of human evolution when, in the dim light of “deductive reason”, man feared, respected and depended on traditions or sought guidance by following old authorities. Iqbal holds that Islam declared the end of prophethood, the inexistence of priesthood and, furthermore, by destruction of the Sassanian and Roman Empires, Muslims established that there was no place for monarchy or arbitrary ruler-ship in Islam.

Thus, Iqbal believes that the first dimension of freedom, which the spirit of Islamic culture provides, is the establishment of people’s democracy: Muslims accept the responsibility of running a democratic state. But this democracy, according to Iqbal, is neither a theocratic state nor a secular state. He calls the third alternative, a “spiritual democracy”, which means a democratic state in which all religions are respected and protected.

Regarding the second dimension of freedom, Iqbal holds that the holy Prophet (PBUH) is like a bridge between the ancient and the modern world. He is associated with the past as the fountainhead of revelation and he is connected with the present as he permitted ijtihad (fresh interpretation of Quranic rules) during his lifetime. It is in this background that Iqbal expects Muslims to adopt a mode of life that must differentiate between the values of “permanence” and “change”, permanent being those laws that lay down religious obligations (ibadaat) whereas those laws that are related to “mundane affairs” (muamalat) are subject to change in accordance with the needs and requirements of the times.

In this matter, Iqbal goes to the extent of observing that decisions and fatwas delivered in the past by representatives of different schools of Islamic jurisprudence were relevant for the conditions of the times during which those were announced. Hence, some of these decisions were no longer relevant under contemporary conditions. Therefore, keeping in view the requirements of the present day, Muslims are free to rethink, reconsider, review and reform those decisions through the democratic process by practicing ijtihad. Therefore, according to Iqbal, after democracy, ijtihad is not only the second most important dimension of freedom, it is also the principle of movement in the social structure of Islam.

The third dimension of freedom, according to Iqbal, is that Muslims are free to acquire rational and scientific knowledge, and that there is no distinction between Islamic and so-called non-Islamic knowledge. Iqbal establishes that the experimental method was introduced and evolved by Islamic civilisation and that it was the Muslims who were the founders of modern sciences. In support of his argument he quotes the following passages from Briffault’s Making of Humanity:

“Science is the most momentous contribution of Arab civilisation to the modern world. It was not science only, which brought Europe back to life. Other and manifold influences from the civilisation of Islam communicated its first glow to European life…for although there is not a single aspect of European growth in which the decisive influence of Islamic culture is not traceable, nowhere it is so clear as in the field of natural sciences and scientific spirit. Science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence.”

Iqbal finally arrives at the conclusion that the advancement of modern European culture in rational and scientific knowledge is in fact the prolongation of Islamic culture. On this basis the following by Muslims of modern day European culture does not amount to the acceptance of an alien culture but rather marks a return to the original path that had been abandoned by them.

The fourth dimension of freedom, in the eyes of Iqbal, is emphasis of the spirit of Islamic culture on man to be creative in all aspects of his life. Obviously, in this sphere, poets, writers, artists, scientists etc. are all included. Since Iqbal believes that God has breathed His spirit into man, He expects man to be creative like Himself. In Javid Nama, Iqbal makes God declare: “Anyone who does not possess the creative power, in our view, is no more than a kaafir (non-believer) and a zandiq (hypocrite). He has not taken his share from Our jamaal (beauty), and he has been deprived from tasting the fruit of the tree of life.”

According to Iqbal, creativity is beyond the realm of good and evil. Therefore, in the performance of a creative act the difference between good and evil disappears. Even a sinful act, when performed creatively, can be transformed into a virtuous act. Iqbal claims that evil has an educative value of its own as a valuable lesson can be learned from its experience making one smarter. On the other hand, virtuous people are regarded as being generally very stupid due to their simple-mindedness. In Javid Nama, Mansoor Hallaj introduces Iqbal to Satan and informs him: “If you want to really understand tauhid then learn it from the devil who as the first lover knows the secret of tauhid.” In the same manner Iqbal asks Bartari Hari the Sanskrit poet, “Where does a poetic verse come from? From myself or from God?” He replies “No one knows about the station of a poet. A prophet or a saint may attain satisfaction on seeing God, but a poet is neither satisfied being near God nor being far away from him. He is constantly in a state of turmoil and anxiety.”

Thus, Iqbal affirms that, in order to keep this particular message of freedom delivered by the spirit of Islamic culture permanently alive, it is necessary for the community to appreciate and encourage creativity and innovation amongst its individuals. This would then make it possible for the community to produce creative persons. According to Iqbal, for those who are creative people, the mere irritation or pain of a pin prick to the body, would not warrant being a life to live but for them to feel the unbearable heat of fire constantly burning under their feet, that would be a life for them, which was worth living.

Critics of Iqbal allege that he was influenced by European philosophy, that he liked being innovative and that he interpreted the Quranic verses not in accordance with the accepted norms (tafseer) but in accordance with what meanings he would like to give them (taveel). However, the truth is that according to his research, every new thought or discovery of western culture could not only be tested in light of the Quranic verses but it could also be proved that those findings, which are now being held as new, were considered, discussed and resolved in the Islamic civilisation. Briefly, Iqbal aspired for the cultural re-awakening of Muslims and wanted to make them feel that as a community they have been leaders of the world in the fields of rational and scientific knowledge, and that the progress achieved by the European civilisation was actually dependant on the Islamic culture.

The writer was a senior justice of the Supreme Court and a renowned philosopher