Recently, I had the opportunity to watch a TV interview of Allama Iqbal’s son, Dr. Javed Iqbal. In the context of the current situation of the country, he was asked what Allama Iqbal would do if he were alive today. Without any hesitation, he stated that seeing these circumstances (this writing is from Mr. Zardari’s era of governance in 2010), Iqbal would have committed suicide.
Dr. Javed Iqbal’s despair is not without reason. The people of Pakistan had fought a tremendous struggle against dictatorship in the past years, which resulted in the establishment of a democratic system, and the independence and identity of the judiciary were restored. Unfortunately, the performance of the democratic government has been so poor that an ordinary person has been forced to recall the non-democratic era of Pervez Musharraf when inflation was much lower compared to today. Stories of corruption have always surfaced, but the frequency with which news of corruption and bankruptcy in national institutions have appeared in the last two years, has severely damaged people’s trust. Moreover, the current government’s attitude towards the judiciary has been the same as it was during Musharraf’s governance.
In such a situation, it seems like a natural reaction for an ordinary person and intellectuals like Dr. Javed Iqbal to become disappointed. However, in my humble opinion, no matter how bad the situation, talking about suicide, especially coming from the son of Iqbal, discussing the possibility of a figure like Allama Iqbal committing suicide might not be appropriate.
Create a new era, new dawn and dusk
In my opinion, it’s essential at this juncture to inform people about who Allama Iqbal was, his thought process, and that eagles like Allama Iqbal aren’t so weak as to commit suicide leaving the half-dead body of the nation to be torn apart by a few vultures. One can gauge who Iqbal was and his thought process from an incident.
When Allama Iqbal went to Europe, his son Dr. Javed Iqbal requested him to bring a piano. In response, Allama sent back a beautifully created poem for his son, the first line of which was:
دیار عشق میں اپنا مقام پیدا کر
نیا زمانہ نئے صبح و شام پیدا کر
Create your own place in the land of love,
Create a new era, new dawn, and dusk.
This is Iqbal, who motivates the youth to struggle to create their own era and life instead of relying on others and lamenting over circumstances. This creative spirit is the essence of life.
اپنی دنیا آپ پیدا کر اگر زندوں میں ہے
سر آدم ہے دم ضمیر کن فکاں ہے زندگی
جچتے نہیں بخشے ہوئے فردوس نظر میں
جنت تیری پنہاں ہے تیرے خون جگر میں
Create your own world if you are among the living,
The spirit of Adam is the breath of conscience, life is ‘Be and it is’,
Heavens granted do not appeal to the sight,
Paradise is hidden in your blood and sweat.
In this context, I want to discuss Iqbal’s message in today’s meeting and explain how Iqbal faced far worse situations and then what strategy he provided, which resulted in the creation of the world’s fifth-largest and the Islamic world’s largest state. However, due to space constraints, I won’t quote many verses but will try to clarify my point with essential examples.
The circumstances of Iqbal’s era:
Allama Iqbal was born at the end of the nineteenth century, a time when his homeland was under British rule. It was a world power that controlled over almost 84% of the world, an empire where the sun never set. Muslims had ruled India for a thousand years, but after the revolt of 1857, they were completely devastated. They were slaves to the British in the Indian subcontinent and a small minority in comparison to the Hindu majority, who had surpassed them in every field including numbers, education, politics, and economy. Iqbal witnessed the Muslim elite rapidly adopting Western education along with Western culture and civilization. He saw the division of Muslim countries by Western nations in the Middle East and the end of the Caliphate. He was also aware that the nation he was born into had been “Victim of kingship, clericalism, and mysticism” for centuries, meaning it was plagued and enamored by dictatorship, rigid orthodoxy, and impractical Sufism.
The concept of self:
Had Iqbal needed to commit suicide, he would have done so upon witnessing those conditions, but instead, with full awareness, Iqbal defined his scope and objectives. Law was his profession, politics a field for national service, and poetry became his mission. Utilizing his poetry, he delivered a message to the nation that was an excellent plan of action in the first half of the 20th century. The foundation of this message, if expressed in one word, was the concept of self. This self is not a complicated philosophical entity, but a simple reality, meaning that a human is not a tree or stone to live at the mercy of circumstances but possesses a consciousness, a personal will, and choice, resulting in being an actor, not just a subject to conditions. He is not bound but free. He has power to alter circumstances and create his world and era as he wishes.
To awaken the self of a devastated and skeptical nation at the beginning of the 20th century, he taught self-awareness, particularly addressing the nation’s youth and educated class, clarifying their civilization, history, the tradition of knowledge and action they belong to. Thus, addressing the youth, he says,
کبھی اے نوجواں مسلم تدبر بھی کیا تو نے
وہ کیا گردوں تھا جس کا تو ہے ایک ٹوٹا ہوا تارا
تجھے اس قوم نے پالا ہے اغوش محبت میں
کچل ڈالا تھا جس نے پاؤں سے تاج سر دارا
“Did you ever reflect, O young Muslim,
What was that world of which you are a mere shattered star?
This nation nurtured you in its bosom of love,
Which had trampled the crown of Darius under its feet.”
The combination of self and self-awareness, in his view, is the basis of all beauty and perfection in a human:
خودی سے مرد خود اگاہ کا ہے جلال و جمال
کہ یہ کتاب ہے باقی تمام تفسیریں
“The glory and beauty of a self-aware man stems from the self,
That this book remains, all other interpretations are secondary.”
To enhance the self, along with self-awareness, he enriched the individuals of the nation with the wealth of confidence and belief, as without this confidence, one cannot even think about changing their circumstances. When he mentions belief in his verses, he refers to self-confidence and trust in one’s power and capability. Although this confidence is a natural result of self-awareness, he often emphasizes it in his poetry and stresses its cultivation.
غلامی میں نہ کام اتی ہيں شمشیریں نہ تدبیریں
جو ہو ذوق یقین پیدا تو کٹ جاتی ہيں زنجیریں
سن اے تہذیب حاضر کے گرفتار
غلامی سے ہے ابتر بے یقینی
“Slavery has no use for swords or strategies,
When the taste for belief is born, chains break.”
“Listen, O prisoner of modern civilization,
Slavery is worse than skepticism.”
Iqbal gave the nation, along with self-awareness and belief, the lesson of hope, meaning humans should continue their struggle without despair even in the worst situations, saying,
نہ ہو نا امید نا امیدی زوال علم و عرفاں ہے
امید مرد مومن ہے خدا کے راز دانوں میں
“Do not be despondent, for despair is the decline of knowledge and wisdom,
Hope is a believer among the secrets of God.”
By incorporating self-awareness, confidence, and hope, Iqbal worked on an entire generation, eventually succeeding in revitalizing the lifeless body of the Muslims of the subcontinent, leading to the emergence of the fifth-largest and the largest Muslim state in the world.
Ideological Leader:
Iqbal was a true ideological leader. A real ideological leader never formulates his plan of action based on the visible circumstances, nor does he become disheartened by the disheartening situations in his surroundings. This is what politicians, journalists, and intellectuals do. An ideological leader leads not for the present generation but for the next. His plan is for the future, and its results also emerge in the future.
Our tragedy is that no significant conceptual leader has emerged after Iqbal. Whatever tradition of knowledge, art, and wisdom existed, was sacrificed in the ways of politics and journalism. This is why, despite the period of more than 60 years, our problems not only persist but are continually increasing.
In today’s circumstances, there is a need to shift focus from disheartening situations and outline a new plan of action. In our opinion, our most valuable asset is our nation’s educated middle and upper-middle class. Even a small fraction of this class, if they choose national construction as their mission instead of succumbing to despair, inactivity, and self-interest, it won’t be long before the situation dramatically improves.
Iqbal’s Philosophy:
In our view, many aspects of Iqbal’s thought are still very important for our guidance today. To escape the compulsion of our current circumstances, we need to internalize his concept of self, meaning we must continue our struggle with the confidence that we can elevate our circumstances. We are not victims but masters of our fate. We have to create our own era. This mindset is what Iqbal calls the ‘Eagle’s Spirit.’
عقابی روح جب بیدار ہوتی ہے جوانوں میں
نظر اتی ہے ان کو اپنی منزل اسمانوں میں
“When the eagle’s spirit awakens in the youth,
They see their destination in the skies.”
If this spirit awakens, even the sky becomes dust on the path of a human. However, it’s important that we redefine our national goals. In this regard, three things are fundamental. First, we need to reconsider our relationship with non-Muslims. In Iqbal’s time, we discovered our historical pride against non-Muslims, which was necessary for a nation deprived of confidence at that time. But today, it’s essential that we discover our responsibility towards non-Muslims.
We should understand that their primary relationship with us is not that of enemies but of invitees. We have to deliver the message of religion to them. It’s our responsibility to unilaterally end all disputes, not theirs. We need to talk about peace, not war, and foster relationships based on love instead of hate. This will not only spread the message of Islam but also improve our economic situation as peace is established.
Second, education must become our highest priority on a national level. We need to devote all our energy to educate our nation. Making education our top priority is crucial because education not only guarantees our progress but also frees us from incompetent and corrupt politicians. Without education, the worst leaders will continue to be imposed on us through the electoral process, and we will neither see any benefit of dictatorship nor of democracy.
Third, on an individual level, ethics must become our most significant issue. When high moral standards disappear from a nation, the worst people come to power, class conflicts begin, the nation divides into groups and factions, leading to civil war, and ultimately destruction.
If these issues are addressed collectively and individually, and a generation persists in this struggle, no power in the world can stop us from moving towards a better path. Thankfully, this struggle has now begun. Awareness is being created, and gradually, more people will join this caravan. It won’t be long before a bright future unfolds before us.