Reconstruction of Islamic Education: with special reference to Allama Iqbal's Educational philosophy

The title is a research paper by Ajaz Ahmad Lone published in "FUNOON: An International Journal of Multidisplinary Research"- Vol. I, Issue 2/Sept. 2015. The following is the full article.

Abstract

The paper will focus on the various basic tenets of Islamic education. We shall analyze the traditional Islamic education with contemporary secular education. The paper will focus on the relevance of (Madrassa) system of education in contemporary Islamic Ummah. The special focus shall be given to the educational perspective of Allama Iqbal. The paper will also focus and extract the increasing conflict between the liberal and conservative Muslims as for as the modern day scientific education is concerned. The paper shall focus on the increasing Islamic fundamentalism, how we could use education as the weapon against religious fanaticism, and the importance of spiritual education will also be extorted. The paper will also focus on Iqbal’s combination of education in materialism and of spiritualism, to Iqbal, the fundamental purpose of education is not to turn out employable graduates, but to produce the type of character that would ensure society’s survival and continuity. The paper will extract, Iqbal’s urge to Muslims to make both a deep critical study of their own cultural and intellectual traditions and serious study of modern western thought with a view to finding creative ways of reviving the Islamic legacy and making it relevant and viable in modern contexts. Keywords: Islamic Education, Allama Iqbal, Muslims, Sociology, Islam etc.

Introduction:

Great persons make great contributions and on that account they are remembered for all times. Some are born great, some achieve greatness and have greatness thrust upon them. Iqbal became great on the basis of his works. He stands today in the rank of sociologist, Economist, as well as Educationist and a great philosopher. Iqbal is considered as a great poet of world and a practical thinker who exercised considerable influence on the minds of people throughout world. His philosophy is not passive contemplation but something with practical ramification. His approach to problems of life is original and offered sound solutions to great problems. Iqbal’s family came from Kashmir; hence he often alludes to the fact that he is the son of Kashmiri- Brahmans. His personality grownup in the mystical temperament of his father, (Sheik Noor Mohammad) a small business-man, was probably illiterate, but a Muslim of great devotion. As to the devout mother, Iqbal’s love for her is reflected in the beautiful elegy he wrote on her death in 1914:

Who would wait for me anxiously in my native place?

Who would display restlessness if my letter fails to arrive? I will visit thy grave with this complaint:

Who will now think of me in midnight prayers? All thy life thy love served me with devotion

When I became fit to serve thee, thou hast departed

Among his teacher in sialkot (Maulvi Mir Hassan) proved very helpful for the progress of young student who attracted the interest of literary and religious circles very early. In his student days he acquired reputation of being a good poet. In the initial stage his poetry depicted his patriotism and the natural scenes, sounds and colours of nature. In 1905 he went to England to study philosophy at Trinity college Cambridge and became Bar-at-law. Iqbal return to India on the 27th July, 1908.

During his stay in Europe, he realizes the real meaning of life. He said my forefather spend their lives in search of God, But I am spending my life in search of man. His philosophy coverage on the man, his nature, his relationship to this physical world and hereafter, how the individuality of man develops. Iqbal’s educational philosophy reflects from his general philosophy of life, his ideas about knowledge, man, and his nature. Iqbal’s poetry indicates that the whole world is suffering from chaos and confusion at his time and he analysis the cause of such confusion and tried to give sound solution by giving the importance of development of self.

Aim of Education

Iqbal apart from being visionary had perception about every institution of the society whether it is an economy, polity and education as well. He does not give any particular definition of education but his general philosophy indicates his aim of education. Iqbal’s best source of inspiration has been the Qur’an where he picked guidelines to attain the real meaning of life. Under the guidance of Qur’an Iqbal’s held the view that self-realization should be the purpose of our life and education. For this valuable purpose religious and moral education is essential. He writes in a letter to K.G Saieedain,

“By Ilm I mean that knowledge which is based on sense. This knowledge yields physical powers which should be subservient to deen (i.e. the religion of Islam). If it is not subservient to deen then it is demonic, pure and simple….. It is incumbent on Muslim’s to Islamize knowledge. “Abu Lahab should be metamorphosed into haiyder. If Abu Lehab becomes Haiyder-e-Karrar, or in other words if it (i.e. knowledge and the power it wields) becomes subservient to deen, then it would be an unmixed blessing into mankind”. From this observation of Iqbal it becomes clear that he wanted to give education an ideologically orientation and regarded that knowledge and education satanic which is neutral towards religion, in his famous presidential address of 1930 he said:

“if today you focus your vision on Islam and seek inspiration from the ever- vitalizing ideas embodied in it, you will only be only resembling your scattered forces, regaining your lost integrity, and thereby saving yourself from total destruction”.

Iqbal’s Education Philosophy encompassing the study of the holy Qur’an as the fountain head of all knowledge, the activities and precepts of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) the sunnah, the spiritual and the transmission of accumulated knowledge of assistant man in leading and guiding him towards his eventually give of self realization.

In view of Iqbal, the objective of education and learning is to seek the pleasure and bounties of Allah and not for the purpose of gaining the frailties of the world which we found throughout Iqbal’s prose and poetry. In his presidential address on 25th session of the All India Muslim League at Allahabad in 1930, he declared;

I have given the best part of my life to careful study of Islam its laws and polity, its culture, its history and its literature. This constant contact with the spirit of Islam, as itself in time, has I think, given me a kind of insight into the significance into world fact.

Education is the process of enlightenment of the soul with divine wisdom for the attainment of the self perfection and self realization only when impart religious education. Man has divine spark for which he raised above all creatures which inspires him (Man) for self realization. Iqbal tried to drag man from worldly chaos and confusions by putting emphasis on the development of self. Development of self realization is the corner stone of his educational philosophy. Therefore he emphasis to discover self and for this purpose he urged man have to undergo a long fight internal as well as external forces to elevate above his human weaknesses as he says, “Your nature is care taker of your possibilities.”

Iqbal’s Educational philosophy tried to energies the spirit of man through an unending struggle and his philosophy treated as medicine to awakening the students towards potentials and able to become a co-worker with God. Iqbal beautifully gives expression to this idea, when he said,

You (God) created the night, I the Lamp You created the clay, I the vase.

I create the forests, mountains and deserts It is I who make glass out of stone

It is I who extract elixir out of poison.

Iqbal maintains that man has God like Attributes like truth, beauty and goodness which are the product of man’s experimentation and grappling with the stern realities of life. Iqbal much emphasis on struggle is the only medium to bring out such valuable features among student. A weak person in Iqbal’s philosophy will become easily suppressed by powerful and it is the highest crime in philosophy of Iqbal which appears in his highly writings.

He says, “It is the eternal decree of the judge sitting in judgment on destinies that whosever, commits the crime of being week, punishment for his is unexpected death”.

Iqbal is strongly opposed to all these weaknesses in human character. In fact these weaknesses are the root cause of failure of the individual to inculcate positive elements for the development of individuality. Construct the good character of man was much emphasized in Iqbal’s educational philosophy. Good character is one of the main elements for constituent of self-realizations which is the result of training and education. For good character it is essential that man should posse’s three qualities to carry out the purpose of life which maintained by Iqbal i.e. is courage, tolerance and Faqr (humanity). To cultivate such lofty qualities in the pupil is the real function of education as the belief of Iqbal. For the development of good character Iqbal raise voice against the fear or weak personality by realizing the development of individuality courage is essential nourishment for its development. Life is continuous battle and without courage and constant efforts self-realization is impossible. We learn the Lesson of courage from the daily work of ant. How an aunt carry a grain of rice much bigger than itself without any fear. With this load how ant climbs up a wall, if grain fell down an ant came down and lifts the grain again without losing his courage and try until it succeeded in taking the grain up the wall. Courage is the greatest attribute possessed by man which increases the strength for continuous struggle. No one can achieve greater results in life without courage. Noble Qur’an teaches us And “that there is nothing for man accept what he tired he efforts shall be seen and rewarded to fullest extent (Surah Annajm 53; 39; 41) Allama Iqbal firmly believed that today young generation is tomorrow leaders, governors, and teachers and so on of the future. So younger generation needs to understand that being weak spirited is not become a part of their personality. If one shows fear except the fear of God then life loses all purposes. Iqbal maintains fear becomes the cause of individual weakness and the source of all kinds of corruption in the individual character. He believes that the courage is essential for the proper development of individuality. Iqbal maintain that couraged man is one who is able to overcome and combating all obstacles and no submission to forces of evil or to desire to give in except to conviction. Iqbal addresses upon the younger generation to live courageously so that they will become the best architecture of their own destiny. He constantly refers to the Quranic verses verily. God wills not change the condition of people till the change what is in themselves. (Surah 13). Second quality of a good character is a tolerance. It is very essential element for the development of dignity of the human beings. Iqbal also considered it is an important ingredient of self-realization and the progress of society. He laid great emphasis to create the right environment for progress by realizing unity in diversity as he says:

Not Afgans, Turks or son of Tartary.

But of one garden trunk and a trunk are we Show the criterion of Scent and hue.

We are all the nursing of one spring time to.

The above verses clearly teach us that Dr Mohammah Iqbal had firm believe in universal brotherhood. The whole world is meant for man and he is not confined to a particular place. His poetry promotes us the beauty of oneness and unity. Despite different context we live i.e. we have different religion, languages, and region and so on but we are still belong to one garden. These differences do not make Iqbal’s tolerant man weak by realizing clearly that all mankind is one. Our beloved prophet (PBUH) says, “All people are children of Adam” Iqbal says, It is sin to utter harsh words, the believers and non believers are the alike creation of God.

What is Admiyat? Respect for man discrimination is prohibited in Iqbal’s philosophy and he emphasis that everyone has a right to live honourable whether he is believer or nonbeliever. Live together peacefully by giving respect for other is the fundamental pillar for humanity.

Iqbal felt that there is a great need to develop tolerance among pupil because Iqbal’s tolerant man enjoys his life with the whole world despite the restrictions of boundaries as he says:

The God-intoxicated Faqir is neither of the East nor of the west I belong to neither Delhi nor Isfahan nor samerkan, Farq is the third most important quality of good character in Iqbal’s philosophy. Allama Iqbal advocated the need for developing Farq among students. He felt that man confronted with a lot of problems due to develop materialistic outlook and people think in terms of loss and profit which is referred to as statistical thinking. Such thinking is main cause that the spirit in man turns into stone and loses their humanity. Therefore Iqbal felt the need to prepare an ideal student I.e. (Mard-e-Momin). Iqbal’s Mard-e-momin is one who detach himself from the material things and always busy in search to learn higher values so he could accomplish his vision thwarting every attack of evil. Iqbal wants to reconstruct the world in the name of Lord and put to stress to develop farq among students and leading a life of voluntary and self denial.

Development of Human Outlook

Iqbal’s educational philosophy put stress on the development of human outlook among the students. According to him if education is not permitted by human outlook, there will be no salvation for mankind. Today man faces with the problem of moral degradation through the miss used the intelligence. Human’s have become the most violent being in this world, they have succeeded to some extent, but in so doing have paid a terrible price. They have sacrificed piece of mind for material comfort and power. Iqbal’s concept of Mard-e-mumin indicates going beyond worldly pleasures. The cause of inner happiness does not depend merely upon the satisfaction of physical appetites and passion. Even if we have all the worldly pleasures, we still cannot be happy. Real satisfaction of life cannot be defined solely in terms of wealth, power. Therefore Iqbal’s Educational philosophy, spiritual is basic condition to maintain humanity among pupil otherwise humanity itself is in danger of being wiped out. Development of humanistic outlook among pupil clearly explains in the conference of Cambridge which was held in 1931 where Iqbal expressed his views to students and other audience. I would like to offer a few pieces of advice to the young men who are at present study at Cambridge. I advise you to guard against atheism and materialism. The biggest blunder made by Europe was the separation of church and state. This deprived of culture moral soul and diverted atheistic materialism; The Western people become human machines which possess motion without sincerity, life without emotions, and heart without feelings. Everyone is running.

Iqbal give importance to religious institution where people learn and develop human outlook. Religion means the integration and unity which holds the mankind as a whole. Iqbal maintains the separation of church and state means that man will not able lead a superior life. The qualities like kindness, charity, social service, and goodness these qualities are known to be the true mark of a good human being. Iqbal elevates man’s role and his position in very dignified manner. His educational philosophy wishes an ideal student which is not the central of the world but he also able to God’s assistance in the creation, refinement and perfection of universe which is still imperfect.

O God, may my life be like a candle, I may love the candle of learning.

Let it be my duty to help those who are in need.

To love the companionate and those who are weak.

Iqbal had firm belief that man can never aspire to higher dimensions unless he learn the nature of spirituality. In fact the western philosophers like Plato in his book Republic points out that, “true education whatever that may be, will have the greatest tendency to civilize and humanize them in their relation to one another and to those who are under their protection”.

This humanist definition of education propounded by Plato is still the most widely excepted education in the west. In the middle age Comenius his education philosophy emphasis in the development of qualities relating to religion, knowledge and morality among students and there by established his claim to be called a human being.

Significance and the relevance of the study

“eeing the Iqbal’s contribution to society and about the various primary institutions, through their revolutionary and philosophical works, lectures and other prose works, makes me obsessed to study Allama Iqbal’s Philosophical thought, particularly, his educational thought. In contemporary times when the youth are living in a society in which there is a gaping ethical vacuum, they are in a critical need of a deep and comprehensive philosophical thought based on Iqbal’s multi-faceted philosophy.

It is unfortunate that we have been evaded the thought of our own stalwarts and their way of life, like, Allama Iqbal, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Jamalu-din Afgani, Swami Vivekananda and other eastern towering personalities. As for as Iqbal was concerned, he is yet to be introduced in the curriculum of social sciences, as he is the distinguished social reformers of contemporary Muslim world. Allama Iqbal has contributed tirelessly to sociology of religion and culture, sociology of individual and society, sociology of gender justice, their concepts of values and norms, culture and civilisation have immense importance in the contemporary times, it becomes ever more important to study Allama Iqbal, especially his educational perspective. So the present study closely related to the educational thought of Allama Iqbal, his concept of liberal education and we shall analyse his concept of change and revolution, and how can we utilize him as a renowned educationist and social reformer of 20th century, efforts will be made to analyse the relevance of Iqbal’s educational philosophy in the contemporary society and special focus will be laid on the review of their contribution.

Objectives of the study

1. To analyse the educational philosophy of Iqbal in contemporary society.

2. To analyse the concept of change in Iqbal’s thought.

3. To analyse the challenges of our contemporary society, i.e., declining humanism, increasing materialism, western cultural and social encounters, moral degradation and ethical vacuum among our youth.

4. To reconceptualise the modern-day social norms, values and ethics in the panorama of Iqbal’s philosophy.

5.To analyse Iqbal’s concern about Muslim solidarity in present world.

6.To extract Iqbal’s relevance in the present modernized and globalized society.

7.To analyse the concept of change in Iqbal’s thought.

8.To analyse the challenges of our contemporary society, i.e., declining humanism, increasing materialism, western cultural and social encounters, moral degradation and ethical vacuum among our youth.

9.To extract Iqbal’s relevance in the present modernized and globalized society.

10.To reconceptualise the modern-day social norms, values and ethics in the panorama of

Iqbal’s philosophy.

Methodology

Everywhere, our knowledge is incomplete and problems are waiting to be solved. So research is a vital branch to update ourselves in different fields, be it an academic pursuit or the areas of human activity. Research in sociology, economics, physical sciences, natural sciences and nuclear sciences help in academic advancement. Whereas industrial engineers, physicians, surgeons, managers and businessmen use the research in their day to day decision making. as such the nature of the study is theoretical, help will be taken from the both primary and secondary sources, in addition to this required information will be gathered through the study of books, journals, magazines, news papers and find out the relevant one’s to complete the study according to its demand and focussed group interviews will be conducted with some well- known academicians, literary organizations, poets etc. Also if given a chance a visit to different Iqbal academies will be made, in order to gain more insight to Allama Iqbal’s holistic social philosophy. Moreover this study will pane path for further research to fill the research gap.

Conclusion

Education is an exciting field of study. Education being a Multi-disciplinary subject has a distinctive way of examining human interactions. Education simply means the modification behavior is the systematic study of educational paradigms and principles. It emphasizes primarily on the influence of curriculum and teaching methods on the students. As a field of study, education has an extremely broad scope. Educationists study curriculum, teaching methods, teacher student relationships, groups, business firms, political parties, schools, religious and labour unions. Some educationists see the world basically as stable and ongoing. They are impressed with the endurance of the family, organized religion and other social institutions. Other educationists see society as composed of many groups in conflict, all of them competing for scarce resources. To other educationists, the most fascinating aspects of the social world are the everyday routine interactions among individuals that we sometimes take for granted. These differing perspectives of education are all ways of examining the same phenomena. Education, which signifies the development of personality, is a purposive process; it is a process that is consciously directed towards some end. Mill defines it as, culture which each generation purposely gives to those who are to be successors in order to qualify them for at least keeping up and if possible for raising the level of improvement which has been maintained. Similarly, K. G. Saiyadain remarks that "Education in its full and correct signification must be visualized as the sum total of cultural forces which play on the life of individual and community. If this is clearly understood, it follows that the emergence of an outstanding creative thinker, who has a distinctive message to give or new values to present before the world, is a phenomenon of the greatest interest for the educationists, and the more his ideas catch the imagination, the understanding and enthusiasm of his contemporaries, the greater must be his influence as the educative force.

The thought of Iqbal is a product of the blending of the philosophic traditions of east and west, a blending in which the concepts and categories used by western thinners are employed to reevaluate and restate the philosophic systems of earlier Muslim thinkers and of Islam itself. Iqbal's preparation f0r his eventual role as' philosopher par excellence of the Muslim revival in India involved a through grounding in both Muslim and western philosophy. As a boy he attended a Scottish missionary school and simultaneously studied under a leading Muslim scholars and theologians colleague in Lahore he earned his master's degree in western philosophy and subsequently went to Europe to obtain his doctoral degree in philosophy and to gain admission to the bar.

Iqbal was not merely a poet of yesterday or today, he was also a poet of tomorrow with an apostolic mission. He had a keen Merestinpoetry. But he admitted on several occasions that his fascination for poetry was not an end in itself. Poetry was for him one of the most powerful media of propagating his philosophical ideas. He treated poetry not merely as an art, but as a most powerful vehicle of communicating his revolutionary message to the masses His thought-provoking message was primarily meant for the younger generation and downtrodden people of the world. Iqbal always disclaimed being a mere poet whose object is only to provide entertainment to the people.

Iqbal is one of the few poets who have championed the cause of freedom. Social justice, world peace, unity of mankind and human brotherhood with great vigour and eloquence. Thorough his writings and speeches, he has outright challenged the existent socio-political order of the age. He was deeply and intimately concerned with contemporary social problems. The poet urged and advised his youngsters to launch a crusade against the worn-out social-political systems of his own time. As a keen observer, he closely studied the varied problems that confronted the present society. He was shocked to see the existing perilous conditions of the world full of doubts, fear, hatred, suspicion, and the evils of war. He earnestly tried to make man conscious of the evils that had crept into the society. He was not satisfied with the modern way of life and felt that there was something radically wrong with our way of thinking. Poverty, economic exploitation, corruption, moral degradation, social injustice, narrow casteism, and the evils of war had cut deep into the core of man's life. They had created an unhealthy condition throughout the world. It was primarily with such a state of social affairs that Iqbal was deeply concerned. Having minutely observed and examined the various sociopolitical, economic and religious conditions of the world, Iqbal had formed a firm view that the salvation of mankind lay in the synthesis of the eastern and western cultures.

Recommendations

Iqbal believed that the basic aim of education is self-realization, which means the consciousness of divine attributes which constitute the very essence of man. Such a self is also in union with the whole world and has realized the ultimate value of such union, namely goodness, truth, beauty and unity of God (Tawhid) Thus, education must be religious, moral, intellectual and aesthetic development of the individual, in order to produce a balanced and harmonious personality none of these aspects may be neglected. Hence a man, who is perfect according to the idealist standpoint, is identical with the self of the whole society.11

Iqbal, thus, combines the best of materialism and of spiritualism in his philosophy and exhorts the Individual to make full use of the physical aspect of education, which should aim at physical fitness of the body and acquisition of necessary bodily skill. According to him physical and spiritual are not sharply opposed to each other; they have a certain amount of common ground. Iqbal also considers mind and body as a single inseparable reality and emphasizes the need for intellectual, aesthetic and social values, which must be pursued for the development of self. As he speaks:

A comprehensive view of Iqbal’s ideas about education would reveal that he has tried to reconnect the broken links of the educational tradition of Islam. His measure emphasis is on the restatement of the doctrines propounded, on one hand, by Rumi, and, on the other, by Ibn Khaldun and later on by Shah Wali-Ullah of Delhi. His chief contribution to the educational ideology is the emphasis on “Din”, as the main subject of study. In one of his poems Pir-o-Murid, in which the poet discusses the various problems of the day concerning contemporary education, soul and other things, the dialogue occurs between two persons,

Murid-I-Hindi and Pir-I-Rumi. Murid-I-Hindi is very likely Iqbal himself. The dialogue is of exceptional interest as revealing the mind of Iqbal:

Murid-I-Hindi

A stream of blood flows from the seeing eye, alas!

Owing to modern knowledge, religion is in a miserable state.

Pir-I-Rumi

If you strike knowledge on the body, it becomes a snake. If you strike knowledge on the heart, it becomes a friend.

On reviewing the Muslim system of education in India from this standpoint, Iqbal feels disappointed. He observes how the modern Muslim young man has absolutely no background of Muslim culture, for he has assimilated western habits of thought to an alarming extent, his mental life having become thoroughly de-musliminized. In our educational enterprise we have hardly realized the truth, that an undivided devotion to an alien culture is a kind of imperceptible conversion to that culture. Our educational enterprise is driven by considerations of immediate economic gain, and so our educational products have little to commend themselves. Iqbal delivers the harsh verdict, that the Muslim student, ignorant of the social, ethical and political ideals that have dominated the mind of his community, is spiritually dead. He need to change our priorities, economic considerations alone ought not to determine our activity as a people; the preservation of the unity of the community, the continuous national life is a far higher ideal than the service of merely immediate ends. Iqbal stresses the need for a teaching university of our own, urging at the same time, that the scattered educational forces, some conservatively religious, others relatively westernized, be organized into a central institution of a large purpose.

As for the education of Muslim women, Iqbal frankly remarks, it appears that nature has allotted different functions to them, and right performance of these functions is equally indispensable for health and prosperity of human family. Iqbal is unimpressed with the western movement to emancipate women, as he speaks:

Our girls are being taught English, nowadays.

The nation has found the way of salvation, at last!

The western model of life is held in view. Eastern etiquette is regarded as a mortal sin. What scene shall this drama unfold?

The eye awaits the lifting of the curtains.

The consequences of the equal status of women with men have been looked upon as serious in the west. Women have come forward as a worker to compete with man in all spheres of life. She has lost interest in her own duties which nature has primarily imposed upon her, the most important being to produce children and to look after them, which involves a deep interest in domestic affairs. The tendencies of modern women have been instrumental in measure the institutions of the west. E.g., family, marriage, kinship, religion, economy, etc. As Iqbal beautifully puts it in his poetry:

Tell me: is this the perfection of society?

Man is without work and women’s lap empty.

The poet was not in a favour of such a scheme of female education as was popular in present days:

If European civilization is death to the motherland. Its fruit for man is sure to be death.

But Iqbal, at the same time had great respect for women and his criticism was only leveled against her ultra-modern tendencies:

The colour in the picture of the universe is due to women. The inner burning of life is due to her instrument.

Indignity, her handful of dust is superior to the Pleiades. For all dignity is the secret pearl of this precious box.

To Iqbal, the fundamental purpose of education is not to turn out employable graduates, but to produce the type of character that would ensure society’s survival and continuity. Judged by this yardstick, neither the traditional Islamic Madrassa or seminary education nor the modern secular scheme of education would by itself seem to have much merit. Iqbal stressed the need for technical education for the masses and, more importantly, viewed education as an instrument not just of a certain type of individual character but also of a certain type of national mindset, both informed by an Islamic ethical vision. Above all, Iqbal urged Muslims to make both a deep critical study of their own cultural and intellectual traditions and a serious study of modern western thought with a view to finding creative ways of reviving the Islamic legacy and making it relevant and viable in modern contexts. In other words, Iqbal believed that education could be used to bring about a veritable renaissance of thought in the Muslim world.

Iqbal believed that Islamic values and norms have the potential to guide the wandering humanity towards its goal. The acute problem that Muslims are facing for him, however, was the fact that the Muslim Ummah, in most parts of the world, was not only under the subjugation of colonialism but also suffered from overall moral decline and disunity. According to Iqbal, the quest for knowledge was reflected in the libraries that existed in the Islamic cities of Baghdad, Damascus and Cordoba. In 1171, when the legendary warrior Salahuddin, entered Baghdad, the public library had 150,000 volumes. In Cordoba, Al Hakim’s library has between 4000,000 and 600,000 volumes. At this period in history, the universities in Europe had hardly any access to books. In his book, The Rise of Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West, the Arabist and Islamists, the George Makdisi, traces the origins of humanism, the modern system of knowledge imparted in western universities, to the early Islamic era. He writes about how from the eighth century onwards there was an environment of learning in Arab collages, Madrassas, and the courts of Iraq, Sicily, Egypt and Andalusia, where disputation, dissent and argument were the order of the day. By the end of the eleventh century, most Muslims cities had universities. Iqbal vehemently speaks about the misery and despondency of contemporary Muslims, because of their decay and decline in their intellectual thought, as he speaks;

Those deprived of any skill, in this world, are you.

The only people who cares not for their dwellings are you. The haystacks that conceals lightning fires, are you. The creatures who sell the tombs of elders, are you. Drawing profit out of graves has secured thou renown; Thyself would not hesitate in trading Gods made of stone.

From the above discussion, it becomes crystal clear that the basic aim of the Iqabalain Educational philosophy was self-Realization or self-introspection. But at the same time, Iqbal believed that Muslims should excel in every field of science or philosophy. For hundreds of years, all top scientists were Muslims, dominating the fields of logic, metaphysics, chemistry, algebra, astronomy and medicine. Until the advent of Islam, scientific knowledge amongst the Arabs had been stagnant for centuries. By the eighth century, medical and philosophical texts were translated into Arabic, allowing the Arabs to build on the wisdom of the past and make vast leaps forward in science. Islamic scholars had a profound effect on European thought centuries later. By the tenth century, everything worth translating from Ancient Greek works was available in Arabic. It was also during this period of cultural flowering that Muslim merchants developed modern commercial instruments such as cheques, letters of credit and joint-stock companies.

Ibn Sina (980-1027), Ibn Rashid (1126-98) and Al Ghazali (died 1111) were amongst the Islamic philosophers who had a huge impact on European thought. Roger Bacon, one of the greatest names in western science, considered Ibn “ina ‘the prince and leader of philosophy’. Bacon learned from Arab thinkers about experimental science and Aristotelian philosophy. He was also a great transmitter of Arab knowledge into the mainstream of European thought. By the end of the eleventh century, Latin translations of Arabic works on science began to filter into Europe mainly from Muslim Spain, Iraq and Sicily. Among the centers of European learning that helped diffuse Islamic knowledge throughout the European world was the Arabist school at Montpellier in the south of France. From Montpellier scholars spread in all directions across Europe. The philosopher Al Ghazali’s, work had a great influence on both Islamic and European scholars. His development of Greek philosophers, especially Aristotle’s influenced European philosophies like, Thomas Aquinas which helped spark off the spirit of inquiry in Europe that would later lead to the reformation.

Iqbal was, therefore, constrained towards establishing an ideal society. He has used new ideas to explain the classical institutions of Islam, which he thought were instrumental in the revival of Muslim societies. He feels if those very institutions were revitalized in the light of his ideas, the Muslim societies could regain their lost status. The important thing is that he is not setting aside those classical institutions, but recommending measures through which all these institutions attain new meanings. He is, therefore, for the rediscovery of the dynamic spirit of Islam inherent in its original message and wants this process of rediscovery to continue so that it can measure up to ever-emerging challenges. His optimism in his conviction that the solution to the problems of the Muslims be in reverting back to the dynamics spirit of the classical Islam is simply unprecedented when he states:

Although the world has presented the age-old idols with new attractions, a thousand times, I have not abandoned Islam because it has been founded on eternally solid foundations.

References

The references and poems are available on the website of the journal.