Iqbal, Bergson and the Reconstruction of the Divine Nexus in Political Thought

This chapter looks at the reconstruction of the divine nexus in political thought in Muhammad Iqbal and Henri Bergson. Articulated in Mark Lilla's book Stillborn God (2007), the divine nexus — that is, the intersection of God, man, and the world — in Western political thought was abandoned in the early modern period and no thinker has effectively re-conceptualised it since. The chapter argues that through their shared metaphysical and epistemological ideas, Iqbal and Bergson form a new philosophical foundation that puts God at the centre of the cosmos. In this, both identify the centrality of prophecy/mysticism in the collective life of society and show the indispensable role that religion plays in challenging those political realities in the world that threaten human dignity, freedom, and well-being.

Between Hegel and Rumi: Iqbal’s Contrapuntal Encounters with the Islamic Philosophical Traditions

This chapter discusses Muhamad Iqbal's place in South Asian thought through his interaction with contemporary Muslim and European ideas and thinkers. Iqbal transcends all attempts to limit his philosophy to a particular school or influence. Thus, Iqbal becomes one of the few South Asian intellectuals who reassessed their heritage and sought for it a space within European thought. The chapter then divides Iqbal's intellectual history into three phases: early Indian, middle European, and late Indian. In each phase, it contrasts Iqbal with particular individuals and schools to show that Iqbal neither returned to religious tradition nor completely embraced modernity, but may be described best as a Muslim existentialist in light of his doctrines of khudi, free creative power, and open possibility.

Pragmatism and Islam in Peirce and Iqbal: The Metaphysics of Emergent Mind

This chapter identifies parallels between the philosophies of Muhammad Iqbal and Charles Peirce. By emphasising the ‘by their fruits, ye shall know them’ evaluation of human actions, it distinguishes the methodological parallel between Iqbal's understanding of Islam and American pragmatism. This parallel is brought to the fore when Iqbal's conception of tauhid (‘oneness (of God)’) and Peirce's conception of ‘personality’ are compared. Other parallels between Iqbal and Peirce include nature possessing signs of transcendence, rejection of scientific mechanical cosmology, creative development of the ego, and teleological drive of the cosmos towards harmony. Ultimately, Iqbal and Peirce share a common mission of repair (tikkun), repairing what modernity had damaged by refocusing one's attention upon the genuinely progressive teleological causality at the heart of the cosmos.

Muhammad Iqbal: Restoring Muslim Dignity through Poetry, Philosophy and Religious Political Action1

This concluding chapter details how Muhammad Iqbal aimed to re-establish Muslim dignity under the British Raj. Iqbal diagnosed a wound within the modern Muslim soul, caused by two injuries — first, a paternalistic colonialism justified through particular socio-political, philosophical, and religious doctrines and, second, the intellectual laziness and lack of courage on the part of the Muslims themselves. The medicine that Iqbal prescribes is the empowerment of the self (khudi). These newly empowered Muslims will be able to revitalise the community and confidently assert themselves against oppressive rule. However, in order to see a khudi-empowered community realised, Indian-Muslims need to be committed to instilling the necessary character traits within themselves.

Achieving Humanity: Convergence between Henri Bergson and Muhammad Iqbal

This chapter focuses on the ‘convergence’ between the philosophers Muhammad Iqbal and Henri Bergson on key philosophical concepts. At the centre of this encounter is the theory of the self (khudi). This vision of ego-unity challenges the empiricist and rationalistic theory of the self as a unity of consciousness and is rooted in the intuitive experience of reality rather than the fragmented sense-based experience of the world. For both philosophers, this intuitive experience of reality reveals an inherent unity of the vitality-empowered cosmos. This cosmology manifests itself in human societies, where the intuitively inspired creative openness of mystics and prophets founds and drives them forward towards new possibilities and horizons.

Introduction

This introductory chapter highlights Muhammad Iqbal's paradoxical extraordinary uniqueness as both a poet and philosopher. The ability to communicate both logical and symbolic concepts, even those that shy away from logical assertion, is exceptional in its own right. Yet to also inspire and energise millions, places him in an exclusive position within human history. The chapter also looks at Iqbal's most significant intellectual contributions to humanity, notably his concept of khudi (selfhood), ijtihad (independent reasoning), mysticism, and a commitment to a religion that empowers believers. From these, one can still see how Iqbal becomes a renewed source of inspiration for those today torn between tradition and modernity, between their own culture and Westernisation.

Reconstructing Islam in a Post-metaphysical Age: Muhammad Iqbal’s Interpretation of Immortality

This chapter examines the doctrine of immortality in Muhammad Iqbal's thought, flushing out its religious and social impact. Iqbal presents a thoroughly modern theory of immortality — one rooted in teleology rather than metaphysics. Immortality is understood in two ways: as personal immortality and immortality in history. These two kinds of immortality exist in tension with each other. Iqbal reinterprets the traditional Islamic conception of immortality and resurrection as a reward to it being a culmination of the life-process of ego. However, this vision of immortality depends upon human actions and these actions happen within a society and may even be political. The implications are far-reaching for religion and society, including the believers' freedom to interpret their own religion (ijtihad) and asserting a place in India's future.

The Contemporary Relevance of Muhammad Iqbal

This chapter analyses Muhammad Iqbal's continuing relevance in three parts. The first part examines the ‘One/Many’ problem in the universe through Iqbal's concepts of khudi and the reality of God. It shows how Iqbal's philosophy is an ‘achievement possessing a philosophical importance far transcending the world of Islam’. The second part offers an illustrative example of how religion and science come into dialogue in Iqbal's thought. It shows Iqbal critiquing and repairing the cosmological, teleological, and ontological arguments for the existence of God by combining the findings of modern science with the wisdom of the Qur'an. Lastly, the third part suggests that the dialogue between religion and science at the core of Iqbal's thought can be better understood through the lens provided by Charles Peirce's pragmatism.

The Human Person in Iqbal’s Thought1

This chapter examines the philosophical anthropology of Muhammad Iqbal's theory of khudi (selfhood or personhood). Asserting that this is Iqbal's greatest contribution to philosophy, it shows how Iqbal rehabilitated the concept and used it as the source of inspiration for the social reconstruction of Muslim society. Stripped of its selfish egotism, and rooted in Iqbal's epistemological metaphysics of intuition, khudi now becomes a positive signifier for a renewed identity for the individual and also the impetus for a creative revolution in the world. Indeed, in Iqbal's understanding, selfhood only triumphs through love of the divine, and when selfhood is realised then it becomes equal to the resurrection of humankind.