The Spirit of Muslim Culture According to Muhammad Iqbal - Adibah binti Abdul Rahim

International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 5, No. 8, August 2015

Abstract—In the history of civilization, culture and religion have always developed in a close proximity to each other. Indeed, one cannot conceive of development in religion and culture in isolation from each other. It is precisely this unity of culture and religion which is to be the basis of Muhammad Iqbal’s views on Muslim culture. Culture, for Iqbal, is the most important factor of sociological life and the basis of its change. In explaining social change, he believed that culture plays a greater role than other factors, such as, economy and politics. Although he has deeply studied the Western thought, Iqbal’s views on culture are essentially shaped by the teachings of the Qur’an. This paper tries to explore Iqbal’s concept of Muslim culture and its spirit. It does not mainly concern with the determination of what constitutes culture or the enumeration of various traits of Muslim culture. Rather, the paper tries to study Iqbal’s critical evaluation of the spirit of Muslim culture and the fundamental principles which motivate, inspire, and direct Muslims in their cultural pursuits.

I. INTRODUCTION :Iqbal‟s concept of Muslim culture is not confined to geographical, social, and national limitations; rather it includes a very wide scope and embraces all expressions of human activity. For Iqbal, Muslim culture describes comprehensively about the concept of self, the concept of society, and the concept of life as a continuous movement in time. All these concepts are inseparable from each other and have direct bearing on his views on Muslim culture. systematically in his lectures, the Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. For Iqbal, understanding of the nature of self is essential for understanding of the nature of culture and the principle of its growth. Iqbal regarded self as the basis of the entire organization of life. Self, according to him, is an active and creative force in which a person should strive towards the achievement of a refined personality as well as to participate in the affairs of the universe to suit his highest position as the vicegerent of God on earth. Self is also considered as the centre of all man‟s activities and actions. Therefore, Iqbal rejected all philosophical and religious schools of thought which inculcated self-negation or self-abandonment and denied the reality of self, and regarded it as a mere illusion not worth striving for. The concept of self- negation considers weakness, laziness and inaction as fascinating things, and it holds a renunciation of the world, escape from the struggle of life, and living in asceticism. These are obviously against the spirit of Islam. Therefore, Iqbal is strongly opposed to the doctrine of self- negation, and he observed that this concept as the main cause for the decline of Muslims nation. The moral and religious ideal of man, according to Iqbal, is not self-negation, but it must be self-assertion or self-realization. Since man is the supreme creation of God, he must realize his inherent ability, power and possibilities for the perfection of his own personality and for the progress of society. The rise or fall of individuals and nations, according to Iqbal, is due to strengthening or weakening of their self. If the individuals or nations direct their attentions towards realizing and affirming of self, they will become strong and could survive in power and greatness. Meanwhile, if they negate their self, they will become weak. Therefore, man should strengthen the self and bring it to perfection; he should play an active role, act and react purposefully on his environment [1]. In this sense, Iqbal asserted that the self interacts with its material and cultural environment and utilizes it to realize the purpose of man‟s life as a servant as well as the vicegerent of God. Obviously, Iqbal stressed on active life for the self-development. Talking about the self-development, Iqbal gave emphasis on the concept of freedom. The freedom of self, according to him, is not absolute in its form; rather it is subject to his responsibility and accountability to God. The inner urge of freedom must be controlled and guided by God under the teachings of Islam as a comprehensive code of life. Therefore, Iqbal saw the activity of self as a directive energy whereby man is free to act in this world under the direction of God. For him, freedom means that man is able to free himself from following his whims and turning himself to God. In this regard, Iqbal considered the obedience and love for God as  The most fundamental aspect of Iqbal‟s views on Muslim culture is the philosophy of self. This philosophy of self has been found in Iqbal‟s works in Persian, Asrar-i-khudi and Rumuz-i-bekhudi. Asrar-i-khudi was translated into English version by Professor R. A. Nicholson from Cambridge University under the title the Secrets of the Self. It deals with the philosophy of the self, or the individual personality. Meanwhile, Rumuz-i-bekhudi was translated into English by Professor A. J. Arberry under the title The Mysteries of Selflessness, and it deals with the individual in relation to his society. Then, the philosophy of self has been subsequently developed in all Iqbal‟s poetical works, and more systematically in his lectures, the Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. For Iqbal, understanding of the nature of self is essential for understanding of the nature of culture and the principle of its growth. Iqbal regarded self as the basis of the entire organization of life. Self, according to him, is an active and creative force in which a person should strive towards the achievement of a refined personality as well as to participate in the affairs of the universe to suit his highest position as the vicegerent of God on earth. Self is also considered as the centre of all man‟s activities and actions. Therefore, Iqbal rejected all philosophical and religious schools of thought which inculcated self-negation or self-abandonment and denied the reality of self, and regarded it as a mere illusion not worth striving for. The concept of self- negation considers weakness, laziness and inaction as fascinating things, and it holds a renunciation of the world, escape from the struggle of life, and living in asceticism. These are obviously against the spirit of Islam. Therefore, Iqbal is strongly opposed to the doctrine of self- negation, and he observed that this concept as the main cause for the decline of Muslims nation. The moral and religious ideal of man, according to Iqbal, is not self-negation, but it must be self-assertion or self-realization. Since man is the supreme creation of God, he must realize his inherent ability, power and possibilities for the perfection of his own personality and for the progress of society. The rise or fall of individuals and nations Iqbal, is due to strengthening or weakening of their self. If the individuals or nations direct their attentions towards realizing and affirming of self, they will become strong and could survive in power and greatness. Meanwhile, if they negate their self, they will become weak. Therefore, man should strengthen the self and bring it to perfection; he should play an active role, act and react purposefully on his environment [1]. In this sense, Iqbal asserted that the self interacts with its material and cultural environment and utilizes it to realize the purpose of man‟s life as a servant as well as the vicegerent of God. Obviously, Iqbal stressed on active life for the self-development. Talking about the self-development, Iqbal gave emphasis on the concept of freedom. The freedom of self, according to him, is not absolute in its form; rather it is subject to his responsibility and accountability to God. The inner urge of freedom must be controlled and guided by God under the teachings of Islam as a comprehensive code of life. Therefore, Iqbal saw the activity of self as a directive energy whereby man is free to act in this world under the direction of God. For him, freedom means that man is able to free himself from following his whims and turning himself to God. In this regard, Iqbal considered the obedience and love for God as the foremost condition for the right development of self, and that is the early stage of self-development. The last stage of self-development, according to Iqbal, is the vicegerency of man. It is the stage where man played an active role as the vicegerent of God on the earth and would transform the world in accordance with ideals set forth by Islamic teachings. In his concept of Muslim culture, Iqbal also gave emphasis on the necessary relationship between the spiritual and the material aspects of man‟s life. To him, the spiritual and material aspects are not two opposing forces, and the affirmation of the spiritual self demands a willing acceptance of the material world with a view to making it an ally in the process of our development. It is only because of the inseparable relationship between the two that man was able to have sharpened his intellect and built up a great culture and civilization. Iqbal frequently used the two important terms in describing the human existence; alam-i anfus (spiritual world) and alam-i afaq (material world) [2]. He criticized both the extreme materialists for denying the reality of alam-i anfus and the extreme idealists who deny the reality of alam-i afaq. He assigned equal value to both in the life and growth of man and so in Muslim culture and civilization, and he rejected the idea of the supremacy of the one over the other. Another important constituent of Muslim culture is the concept of society. According to Iqbal, individual self has a larger self and that is the society to which he belongs. Iqbal claimed that society is a must for the proper growth and development of human self and it is only in society that man can achieve self-realization and fulfills his missions. Therefore, Iqbal has given an equal importance to the individual and society in cultural developments. A harmonious working of the individual and the society produced a durable human civilization. Both complement and supplement each other in their common struggle to achieve a good civilization. In other words, the individual is the internal and the society is the external manifestation of human civilization. For Iqbal, there is a necessary relationship between the individual and the society, and both contribute mutually to each other‟s development. The society helps the individual to discipline himself and to realize the best in him while the individual helps society for cultural development. It is in his work Rumuz-i-bekhudi that Iqbal discussed the function of the society and presented the relationship between the individual and cultural life of the society in which he lives, moves and exists. He said;

“Alone he is weak and powerless, his energies are scattered and his minds are narrow, diffuse and indefinite. It is the active and living memberships of a vital community that confers on him a sense of power and makes him conscious of great collective purposes which deeper and widen the scope for the growth of his individual self”[3].

 Iqbal acknowledged that the attachment to a society is a blessing for the individual because it is in society where individuals develop their personalities and attain their perfection. He believed that individuals are basic units of society, and society is instituted and organized through individuals. Iqbal‟s concept of society is not narrow and parochial. It is not racial or geographical unity which can form the right basis of people‟s coherence; rather it is the unity of beliefs and purposes which unite a collection of individuals into a genuine human society. Human culture and civilization is thus a matter of both the ideology inspiring individual and societal conduct and social environment provided for its development. The ideology which inspires both the individual and the society is to be found in the framework provided by religion. Therefore, Iqbal looked at the function of religion in the life of the individual and the society, which gives birth to human culture and civilization. It is in this sense that religion is an integral and inseparable part of human culture and civilization. Iqbal has laid down some essential requirements for an ideal Muslim society. The most important requirement is that it must be based on the belief in tawhid. For him, tawhid is the soul of society because it generates unity of thought and unity of actions in individuals who are bound together by society. The second important corner-stone for the structure of the ideal Muslim society is faith in prophethood. Iqbal emphasized that the strength and the unity of the Muslim society are based on the adherence to the Qur'an and the practice of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) or sunnah. Thirdly, Muslim society should abide by the code of law, that is, shari‟ah. Iqbal identified Muslims‟ failure to abide by the shari‟ah as the primary cause for their decline. Besides a code of law, an ideal society also needs a common centre for all its cultural and social activities. Iqbal emphasized that the unity of a society emanates from this very centre, and its existence can become strong by the strength of this centre. For the Muslims, this centre is provided by the Kaabah in Mekkah. It helps in maintaining unity of the Muslims and promotes their integration as religious community through a pilgrimage assembly once in a year. The next requirement for an ideal society is that it must have a goal towards which the whole community should strive. For Muslims, the objective is the preservation and propagation of the principle of tawhid. Furthermore, the Muslim society must acquire mastery over the study of science. In fact, Iqbal mentioned another reason for the decadence of Muslims nation is the neglect of science. Last but not least, Iqbal gave emphasis on the importance of safeguarding maternity for the sake of preservation of society. The real wealth of society, according to him, consists in the virtue of children and children‟s children. Therefore, maternity must be honored.

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Adibah binti Abdul Rahim was born at Terengganu, in 1971. She obtained her Ph.D. in Islamic revealed knowledge and heritage from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in 2004. She started her career as an assistant lecturer, and was appointed as a lecturer after completing her master degree. She is currently working as an assistant professor in Kulliyyah of Islamic revealed knowledge and human sciences (IRKHS), IIUM. In 2008, she has been appointed as a visiting academic at Monash University, Victoria, Australia during her accomplishment of sabbatical leave. Dr. Adibah was appointed as a project leader for building taxonomy on Usul al-din, philosophy, and comparative religion for IIUM library. She was also appointed as principal of residential college in IIUM. Her academic area of interest is contemporary Islamic thought, and she has presented papers at local and international meetings on this area. Dr. Adibah wrote various articles and among them are Muhammad Farid Wajdi‟s discourse on integration of religion and science, in Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Dimensions of Islamic Thought (Kuala Lumpur, IIUM Press 2010), The Impact of Secularism on Muslims Beliefs and Practices, Journal of Islam in Asia, vol. 7, no. 2 (2010), Major Trends of Muslim Responses to the Challenges of Modernity, Journal of Islam in Asia, special issue, no. 1, March 2011, and many more.