By Ashfaq Saleem - Greater Kashmir - Srinigar,India
Sunday, July 2, 2006
The book Afkaar-i-Iqbal (Tashreehat-I-Javid) is a compilation of lectures delivered by Dr Javid Iqbal on PTV in 1984. Its first edition was published by the Iqbal Academy in 1994, which was later on translated by Madam Shaheen Dukht in Persian. The present revised edition also has a few added chapters.
In the preface Javid Iqbal solemnly declares that the book deals with those thoughts of Iqbal which do not follow the traditional Muslim thought pattern. Of course, some of his views are in conflict with obscurantist and culturally acceptable concepts of Islam. These are controversial issues such as the individualist conception of the ultimate reality or God, the duality of the mind and body, heaven and hell as states not localities, hell is not a pit of everlasting torture nor is heaven a holiday, which are even not touched upon by renowned Muslim scholars. Besides these, there are other issues like space and time, the concept of modern democracy and welfare state, the problem of spiritual democracy, the right of ijtehad to the parliament, strict implementation of Hudood laws and materialism and secularism in the light of new researches in physics.
In 17 chapters, Javid Iqbal addresses controversial issues confronting the Muslim world in the new intellectual paradigm. Unlike traditional religious scholars and theologians, he is presenting a more enlightened and progressive view of Islam. Perhaps he thinks that by reasserting these opinions through Iqbal, he is making Islamic thought more sustainable and presentable in the backdrop of western criticism.
Javid Iqbal feels that the central idea behind Iqbal’s works is “ego” (Khudi) and all other concepts revolve around it. While dealing with human ego or the self, Iqbal, in the “Reconstruction of religious thought in Islam”, says that the only course open to us is to come to terms with modern knowledge and to appreciate the teachings of Islam in its light. Explaining this, Iqbal says that the downfall of Muslim civilisation lies in autocracy, theocracy and piri muridi. Iqbal, while elaborating the idea of ego, is very close to the German philosopher Fichte, who declares that consciousness of the ego is the ground of all explanations. Later on, he also posits the concept of non-ego.
Iqbal, who earlier on was an adherent of pantheism, radically changed course and as pointed out, it became the main cause of social and political decay of the Muslim world. While discussing the principle of movement in the structure of Islam, Javid analyses that this spirit of otherworldliness in later Sufism obscured men’s visions of a very important aspect of Islam as social polity. The Muslim state was, thus, left generally in the hands of mediocre intellectuals.
Since it is not possible to examine all 17 chapters one by one, the only choice left is to present Iqbal’s concept of heaven and hell. Iqbal says that heaven and hell are states and not localities. The description in the Qur’an is the visual representation of an inner fact, that is, character. Hell, therefore, as conceived by the Qur’an is not a pit of everlasting torture inflicted by God; it is a corrective experience which may make a hardened ego sensitive. Nor is heaven a holiday.
Javid Iqbal fully accepts the thesis propounded by his father and says that these two states are corrective experiences for reformation. If, while going through such experiences, one does not receive “enlightenment”, one dies forever. For him, martyrs are everlasting because it is a special gift given to them by God. Both Iqbal and Javid do not elaborate on this. This debate is short and full of philosophical intricacies and, as such, was never discussed at a public platform.
Iqbal was continuously trying to retranslate Islamic thought into modern language diction. This mission, later on taken over by Javid, was to make life easier for the practicing Muslim while facing the harsh realities of the modern world. But the Muslim world is being engulfed by the onslaught of religious fundamentalism. Iqbal persistently advocates this in the preface to the reconstruction of religious thought in Islam and says that it must, however, be remembered that there is no such thing as finality in philosophical thinking.
As knowledge advances and fresh avenues of thought are opened, other views and probably sounder views than those set forth in these lectures are possible. Our duty is to carefully watch the progress of human thought and to maintain an independent and critical attitude towards it.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
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Sunday, November 12, 2006
Presenting Iqbal: otherworldliness in later Sufism
By Ashfaq Saleem - Greater Kashmir - Srinigar,India
Sunday, July 2, 2006
The book Afkaar-i-Iqbal (Tashreehat-I-Javid) is a compilation of lectures delivered by Dr Javid Iqbal on PTV in 1984. Its first edition was published by the Iqbal Academy in 1994, which was later on translated by Madam Shaheen Dukht in Persian. The present revised edition also has a few added chapters.
In the preface Javid Iqbal solemnly declares that the book deals with those thoughts of Iqbal which do not follow the traditional Muslim thought pattern. Of course, some of his views are in conflict with obscurantist and culturally acceptable concepts of Islam. These are controversial issues such as the individualist conception of the ultimate reality or God, the duality of the mind and body, heaven and hell as states not localities, hell is not a pit of everlasting torture nor is heaven a holiday, which are even not touched upon by renowned Muslim scholars. Besides these, there are other issues like space and time, the concept of modern democracy and welfare state, the problem of spiritual democracy, the right of ijtehad to the parliament, strict implementation of Hudood laws and materialism and secularism in the light of new researches in physics.
In 17 chapters, Javid Iqbal addresses controversial issues confronting the Muslim world in the new intellectual paradigm. Unlike traditional religious scholars and theologians, he is presenting a more enlightened and progressive view of Islam. Perhaps he thinks that by reasserting these opinions through Iqbal, he is making Islamic thought more sustainable and presentable in the backdrop of western criticism.
Javid Iqbal feels that the central idea behind Iqbal’s works is “ego” (Khudi) and all other concepts revolve around it. While dealing with human ego or the self, Iqbal, in the “Reconstruction of religious thought in Islam”, says that the only course open to us is to come to terms with modern knowledge and to appreciate the teachings of Islam in its light. Explaining this, Iqbal says that the downfall of Muslim civilisation lies in autocracy, theocracy and piri muridi. Iqbal, while elaborating the idea of ego, is very close to the German philosopher Fichte, who declares that consciousness of the ego is the ground of all explanations. Later on, he also posits the concept of non-ego.
Iqbal, who earlier on was an adherent of pantheism, radically changed course and as pointed out, it became the main cause of social and political decay of the Muslim world. While discussing the principle of movement in the structure of Islam, Javid analyses that this spirit of otherworldliness in later Sufism obscured men’s visions of a very important aspect of Islam as social polity. The Muslim state was, thus, left generally in the hands of mediocre intellectuals.
Since it is not possible to examine all 17 chapters one by one, the only choice left is to present Iqbal’s concept of heaven and hell. Iqbal says that heaven and hell are states and not localities. The description in the Qur’an is the visual representation of an inner fact, that is, character. Hell, therefore, as conceived by the Qur’an is not a pit of everlasting torture inflicted by God; it is a corrective experience which may make a hardened ego sensitive. Nor is heaven a holiday.
Javid Iqbal fully accepts the thesis propounded by his father and says that these two states are corrective experiences for reformation. If, while going through such experiences, one does not receive “enlightenment”, one dies forever. For him, martyrs are everlasting because it is a special gift given to them by God. Both Iqbal and Javid do not elaborate on this. This debate is short and full of philosophical intricacies and, as such, was never discussed at a public platform.
Iqbal was continuously trying to retranslate Islamic thought into modern language diction. This mission, later on taken over by Javid, was to make life easier for the practicing Muslim while facing the harsh realities of the modern world. But the Muslim world is being engulfed by the onslaught of religious fundamentalism. Iqbal persistently advocates this in the preface to the reconstruction of religious thought in Islam and says that it must, however, be remembered that there is no such thing as finality in philosophical thinking.
As knowledge advances and fresh avenues of thought are opened, other views and probably sounder views than those set forth in these lectures are possible. Our duty is to carefully watch the progress of human thought and to maintain an independent and critical attitude towards it.
Sunday, July 2, 2006
The book Afkaar-i-Iqbal (Tashreehat-I-Javid) is a compilation of lectures delivered by Dr Javid Iqbal on PTV in 1984. Its first edition was published by the Iqbal Academy in 1994, which was later on translated by Madam Shaheen Dukht in Persian. The present revised edition also has a few added chapters.
In the preface Javid Iqbal solemnly declares that the book deals with those thoughts of Iqbal which do not follow the traditional Muslim thought pattern. Of course, some of his views are in conflict with obscurantist and culturally acceptable concepts of Islam. These are controversial issues such as the individualist conception of the ultimate reality or God, the duality of the mind and body, heaven and hell as states not localities, hell is not a pit of everlasting torture nor is heaven a holiday, which are even not touched upon by renowned Muslim scholars. Besides these, there are other issues like space and time, the concept of modern democracy and welfare state, the problem of spiritual democracy, the right of ijtehad to the parliament, strict implementation of Hudood laws and materialism and secularism in the light of new researches in physics.
In 17 chapters, Javid Iqbal addresses controversial issues confronting the Muslim world in the new intellectual paradigm. Unlike traditional religious scholars and theologians, he is presenting a more enlightened and progressive view of Islam. Perhaps he thinks that by reasserting these opinions through Iqbal, he is making Islamic thought more sustainable and presentable in the backdrop of western criticism.
Javid Iqbal feels that the central idea behind Iqbal’s works is “ego” (Khudi) and all other concepts revolve around it. While dealing with human ego or the self, Iqbal, in the “Reconstruction of religious thought in Islam”, says that the only course open to us is to come to terms with modern knowledge and to appreciate the teachings of Islam in its light. Explaining this, Iqbal says that the downfall of Muslim civilisation lies in autocracy, theocracy and piri muridi. Iqbal, while elaborating the idea of ego, is very close to the German philosopher Fichte, who declares that consciousness of the ego is the ground of all explanations. Later on, he also posits the concept of non-ego.
Iqbal, who earlier on was an adherent of pantheism, radically changed course and as pointed out, it became the main cause of social and political decay of the Muslim world. While discussing the principle of movement in the structure of Islam, Javid analyses that this spirit of otherworldliness in later Sufism obscured men’s visions of a very important aspect of Islam as social polity. The Muslim state was, thus, left generally in the hands of mediocre intellectuals.
Since it is not possible to examine all 17 chapters one by one, the only choice left is to present Iqbal’s concept of heaven and hell. Iqbal says that heaven and hell are states and not localities. The description in the Qur’an is the visual representation of an inner fact, that is, character. Hell, therefore, as conceived by the Qur’an is not a pit of everlasting torture inflicted by God; it is a corrective experience which may make a hardened ego sensitive. Nor is heaven a holiday.
Javid Iqbal fully accepts the thesis propounded by his father and says that these two states are corrective experiences for reformation. If, while going through such experiences, one does not receive “enlightenment”, one dies forever. For him, martyrs are everlasting because it is a special gift given to them by God. Both Iqbal and Javid do not elaborate on this. This debate is short and full of philosophical intricacies and, as such, was never discussed at a public platform.
Iqbal was continuously trying to retranslate Islamic thought into modern language diction. This mission, later on taken over by Javid, was to make life easier for the practicing Muslim while facing the harsh realities of the modern world. But the Muslim world is being engulfed by the onslaught of religious fundamentalism. Iqbal persistently advocates this in the preface to the reconstruction of religious thought in Islam and says that it must, however, be remembered that there is no such thing as finality in philosophical thinking.
As knowledge advances and fresh avenues of thought are opened, other views and probably sounder views than those set forth in these lectures are possible. Our duty is to carefully watch the progress of human thought and to maintain an independent and critical attitude towards it.
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