As a seer and awakener of Muslim Ummah in the twentieth century, Iqbal has exercised immeasurable influence upon the thinking of contemporary Muslim world generally and Muslims of Indo-Pak sub-continent particularly. His concept of ''self'' has played very important role in giving new direction to religious and philosophical thought as well as practical outlook of successive Muslim generations.
Through his philosophy of ''self'' (Khudi), he breathed new life into the aspirations of his brethren in faith, and assured them of their glorious destiny in near future - for he saw in Islam and the Muslims great potential for remaking and reconstructing the decadent human society and bringing radical change in the moral outlook of mankind.
Based on the concept of the uniqueness of the individual, his philosophy of ''self'' can also be applied to the collective life of the Muslim Ummah. Iqbal established an inseparable link between the ''creative self and the dynamism of religion", which, in his opinion, has found best expression in the form of Islam.
Islam to him was essentially a dynamic and progressive religion that could vouchsafe the realization of limitless potentialities of man that commonly lie dormant without creative initiative and moral struggle. In contradistinction to many other religions of the world, Islam places more emphasis on action and the reality of the external world. Thus, self or ego has a wider scope of expression and evolution in a truly Islamic society than in any other mode of collective life.
Iqbal's theory of ''monads'' (individual egos) has a meaningful bearing upon the inner processes and the external expressions of Muslim ummah. Present resurgence of Islam can be traced back to the Muslims, unity of Syed Jamal-ud-Din Asadabadi and his spiritual disciple, Allama Muhammad Iqbal. But Iqbal's contribution on philosophical and religious level is far greater than that of snow Jamal-ud-Din. His impact is still on work in the present contexts of the Muslim nations of today whose awareness about the philosophy of Iqbal is gradually increasing. His theory of self-hood as complemented by the idea of self-lessness, can go a long way in completing the process of realization of the divinely promised destiny of Islam and Muslims in the times to come.
Before he propounded his philosophy of ''self'' in his masnavi, Asrar-e-Khudi (Secrets of the Self), he had already discovered the intellectual grounds of Islam and Muslim culture. He had concluded that: "Islam looks upon the universe as a reality and consequently recognises as reality all that is in it", and that "evil is not essential to the universe; the universe can be reformed; the element of sin and evil can be gradually eliminated. All that is in the universe is God's, and the seemingly destructive forces of nature become source of life, if properly controlled by man, who is endowed with the power to understand and to control them."
Incidentally, his philosophy of ''Self'' and its complementary part, the concept of ''selflessness'' were developed, matured and expressed in lyrical and narrative Persian verse which now ranks in the world classics, during the period the humanity was facing and suffering the devastations during, and in the wake of, first World War which spelled for Muslim nations of the World nothing but disintegration, decay and subjugation to foreign oppression.
It was at this historic juncture in the history of Muslim Ummah that Iqbal made the clarion call for the revival and resurgence of Islam and Muslim power. In these seemingly darkest moments of despair and self-destruction, he prophesied a radical change in favour of Islam and a future for Muslims of the world far brighter than could be imagined then. It was certainly to go against the winds; but he fared forward, creating in Muslims of his day, through his poetry and philosophical writings, a deeper understanding of Islam as an ideal religion.
His philosophy of religion found a very strong basis in the form of a dynamic concept of human self or ego which, in his opinion, is the core of man's individuality. It is "the unity of human consciousness which constitutes the centre of human personality." In his terminology, as a "finite centre of experience", self is real, even though its reality is too profound to be intellectualised." Further, according to him, Ego is essentially personal and subjective.
To quote Iqbal's own words: "Another important characteristic of the unity of the Ego is its essential privacy which reveals the uniqueness of every ego." In Iqbal's thought, Self or Ego is creative and possesses ''free initiative'' that makes it a "free causality" in its own right in the chain of cause and effect. It is this creative character of ego through which it can transcend the limitations imposed upon it by time and space. To him, self or ego is a luminous point in the centre of our consciousness. Self or ego is strengthened by ever aspiring desire and the emotion of Love. In his masnavi Asrar-e-Khudi, defining Self or ego metaphorically, he says:
"The luminous point whose name is the Self,
Is the life-spark beneath our dust.
By Love it is made more lasting,
More living, more burning, more glowing.
From Love proceeds the radiance of its being,
And development of its unknown possibilities,
Its nature gathers fire from Love,
Love instructs it to illumine the world."
Self and Collective Life
Closely related to Iqbal's concept of "self", is his view of Islam as a socio-political force that is based upon a concept of life at once progressive and dynamic. He saw Islam in the history of mankind as a great progressive movement that has unfolded itself in the course of history through art, philosophy, law and sciences, giving birth to a new era of enlightenment and creativity in East as well as, consequently, in the West. Iqbal expressed his faith in a still greater destiny of islam and Muslims of the world in not a distant future. To him, Islam has the great potential to remake and reshape the existing human situation.
Taking human ego as an ever creative centrality, the efficiency of which becomes Manifold in a model Muslim society, Iqbal affirms the latent qualities of Muslim character and places emphasis on the historic role the Muslim Ummah can and ought to play, in reshaping its own destiny, in contradistinction to the hostile forces that be, and be also able to act as a guiding principle of peace, love equality and universal brotherhood of mankind amongst the warring nations of today's world.
Such an ideal cannot be achieved unless the ummah takes the shape of an organic whole, each part of which is integral, though retaining its essential individual features. On the analogy of self or ego Muslim ummah has per necessity to become self-conscious, self-reviewing, self-preserving and prepared to combat any Not-Self that may threaten its solidarity and its collective survival. All such self-oriented activities of an organic whole, in this case a society of egos as conceived by Iqbal, presuppose a deep, healthy and comprehensive self-knowledge.
For, in order to know what I have to do in ethical sense require a sound knowledge of what I am. Thus, in the context of Iqbalian thought-pattern, a healthy self-comprehension is a pre-requisite for improving the self-image of a nation. Iqbal's contribution in this regard cannot be over emphasized that he paved way for gaining increased capacity for self-understanding through his philosophy of ego-hood. He put his best efforts both as a poet and religious philosopher to improve the previously distorted self-image generally held by Muslims since last two or three centuries.
Islam and the West
Intellectually, what Greek thought was to the Muslims of early centuries, western thought is to modern Muslims. Greek thought challenged the rational foundations of Islam with the force of its formal logic, whereas the modern world of Islam feels threatened by empirical knowledge of the West and its product, the unprecedented technological edifice. Iqbal most convincingly argued that the empirical spirit upon which the whole of the scientific methodology rests, is nothing alien to Islam, rather it was fostered by the teachings of the Holy Quran that lays stress on the observation of the natural phenomena and study of the historical process. Iqbal, in a way, suggests that the scientific method, employed by the West and used as a threat against the developing countries, is no more product of its own genius. It rather is essentially Islamic and needs to be reclaimed by Muslims of today, though not through mere proclaiming but by proving their worth both in thought and action.
Self and Today's World of Islam
Referring again to the concept of self and keeping in view the same analogy, the hostility of the modern West, to whatever extent it may be, is, in existential terminology, the imminent threat posed by "the other" to the survival of the "Self". In Iqbalian thought, it can be termed as the "not-ego" confronting the ego. No serious student of Iqbal can be oblivious of the fact that in his opinion, Ego, for its expansion and evolution, essentially needs a "not-ego" so as to feel challenged and be prepared for constant re-adjustment to the objective conditionality.
Muslim Ummah remaining true to its ideological foundations and keeping fully in view the interpretations of Iqbal, should proceed towards a better mode of self-comprehension and should of necessity conceive itself as an organic whole or a collective egohood, re-fixing its aims and refreshing its outlook about the present historic world situation, and have a clear understanding of whatever may thwart its way to progress and unification as a "not-ego", deserving to be reckoned with adequately. This amounts to nothing but underlining the importance of unity amongst the Muslim nations of today, which is sorrowfully lacking but towards which several moves seem to be taking place.
The only way the Muslim Ummah can become a solidly integrated whole as a collective ego, is unity amongst Muslim nations. That is why Iqbal stood for the unity of Ummah, a noble cause he indefatigably strived to actualize throughout his life. He believed in this goal to be achievable by eliminating minor differences and putting up with the essential features of respective sects with tolerance and understanding. It is here that the idea of "selflessness" becomes again relevant.
By consciously and voluntarily making himself subservient to the collective aims of the Ummah, can a Muslim individual fulfil his destiny? It is only by fostering the spirit of freedom, equality and universal brotherhood of Muslims as well as the whole mankind that the true spirit of Islam can be realized.
For Islam expresses its higher values and ideals through a society based on the vital role of self-conscious individuals. Islam again stands for higher values that can guarantee the moral and spiritual uplift of mankind as well as its material progress in time and space. Therefore, Iqbal more than stressed the much needed and desired unity of the Muslim Ummah.
One of the profoundest verses in the Holy Quran teaches us that the birth and rebirth of the whole of humanity is like the birth and rebirth of a single individual. Why cannot you who, as a people, can well claim to be the first practical exponents of this superb conception of humanity, live and move and have your being as a single individual?
But the greatest plea on the emotional and imaginative level that Iqbal made for the unity of Muslim Ummah in his prose and poetry is not a formal argument but a deep emotion that permeated his whole thinking. It was his profound love and regard for the Holy Prophert (PBUH), a feeling that dominated his whole being throughout his span of life, that, in his view, could integrate all the segments of the Muslim Ummah into a truly unified whole.
He tried to rekindle this eternal flame in the heart of every Muslim for ever to remain alive and sparkling. It seems to be the moving force of Iqbal's whole thought process. It is the soul and body of his poetry. To quote from his Rumuz-e-Bekhudi.
"Liberty was born out of his pure heart,
This sweet wine dropped from its vine of grapes.
It is intolerant of all invidious distinctions,
Equality being inherent in its nature.
The modern age that has kindled a thousand lamps,
Has opened its eyes in its lap."
In one of his matchless quatrains, he has put forth the quint-essence of the essential oneness of Muslim Ummah, and it is with this inspiring quatrain that I conclude:
"Neither Afghan, Nor Turk, nor of Tartar we are,
Born of a rose garden, and sprouted from the self same bough we are!
Forbidden for us is discrimination against race and colour,
For brought up of a new spring we are!"
