Iqbal and the Revival of Islamic Philosophy

Iqbal was equally renowned for both his idealistic philosophy and motivational poetry. The philosophy of cAllāmah Iqbal encouraged the people of his age enormously so that he was acclaimed by the people of his country with the title of cAllāmah. His political philosophy worked as a central idea towards the movement of the establishment of a separate Muslim state – Pakistan. His Shikwah (complaint) and Jawāb-i Shikwah (reply to the complaint) are pieces of poetry signifying the tests of both divine melody and the fundamentals of Islamic philosophy towards the relations between God and Man, which provides considerable amount of logical coherences towards understanding the reasons behind the backwardness of the Muslims of the contemporary period. Iqbal elucidates his arguments here with the way of comparative discourse. His poetical works such as Asrār-i khūdī, Ramūzi bikhūdī, Zabūri caẓam, Payām-i mashriq etc. are full of philosophical tastes with the direction of how a boy or a girl as well as a man or a woman is able to transfigure themselves into the perfect human – insān-i kāmil. He, through the verses in Kheṭāb be Jāvid, attracted the attention of the youths and inserted his spiritual guidance as well as his philosophical insights in them in order to indicate how they could transform themselves within the spirit of divine beauty. His lectures, on the other hand, are full of inspiration, combining both the philosophical contents and scriptural munificence. All these efforts undoubtedly signify a common jurisdiction that Iqbal is a poet and a revivalist Islamic philosopher. The paper attempts to address the issue with its relevant ambiances using available primary and secondary materials as well as examining his priceless lectures.