Allama Iqbal as

Visionary and Reformist

(January 2010)

by Muhammad Iqbal Malik

2007-2010 LetsStartThinking.org. All rights reserved.

Social Change and the Role of Leadership

All great movements and social reconstruction are inspired by a moving thought, belief or vision The greatness of change is correlated with the greatness of thought and effort The leadership roles essential to any significant social change are: visionary and architect These roles are commonly assumed by two or more personalities, though on rare occasions by a single leader

Social Change: The Role of a Visionary

A visionary is a creative thinker who perceives new reality which is profoundly different and more favourable than the present His blueprint of the future is not constrained with the ground realities and hard facts of the present. Thats why most visionaries are labeled as dreamers, mad men and even lunatics by their contemporaries He rejects to see status quo as impregnable and works on to unleash a force or energy that pierces through the present day inertia. This force is known as inspiration

Social Change: The Role of a Visionary

The basic toolkit of a visionary includes:
a fantastic yet simplistic model of the future
the ability to connect with the people and the future passionate articulation of the idea that excites the masses, powerful enough to be owned and internalized by the people the ability to sell the idea as a real possibility rather than mere fiction, instilling belief and conviction

Thus, visionary is the one who fuels change

He represents the creative dimension of social change

Social Change: The Role of an Architect

An Architect is the one who:
Plans and orchestrates change connects at the same time, with the vision, the people and the situation (the present) refines the simplistic model, into a workable scheme that keeps into account the present day constraints and realities inculcates trust and commitment in people and drives them through change against all odds, either through his charismatic personality or through his personal character

Without an effective architect, a great vision is termed as a wild dream. Simply put, its a vision without an owner

Social Change: The Role of an Architect

Thus, architect is the one who drives change

He represents the rational dimension of social change

Iqbal as a Visionary

Allama Iqbal as a Visionary

Iqbal was not an architect. This fact is clear from his personal efforts towards making Jinnah, the Quaid-e-Azam, or the architect of Pakistan; he did not project himself as the leader of Muslim India And he never positioned himself as a poet either; he used poetry to connect with the people and as a vehicle to advance his vision His primary aim as I understand was to reconstruct and reform the social polity of Islam in general and Muslim India in particular

Allama Iqbal as a Visionary

Iqbal envisioned renaissance in Islam and viewed the existing plight as a transient trough Iqbal rejected to see the present state as destiny He heralded degeneration of the western civilization and looked at the Islamic Civilization as its successor And he asserted all that when all Muslim societies across the world were subjugated and colonized leaving no room for any ray of hope

Iqbals Call for Back-to-Basics

Iqbal rejects to see the present as an advanced state of the Past; he instead projects it as a corrupted instance of the great civilization of Islam Much of his writings, is aimed at unearthing the roots of above cited corruption He thus vigorously calls for back-to-basics; he tends to connect the past (rather than the present) with the future; he draws his energy and inspiration from the past and then addresses the future with revitalized zeal

Iqbals View on Islamic Culture

His perspective about Islamic societies can be summarized as follows: Our culture has been grossly corrupted through the natural phenomenon of the rise and fall of nations The beliefs, values and attitudes that led to the development and advance of Islamic civilization across the world have significantly decayed over time, rendering our social systems, including religion as dysfunctional

Consequentially, we have lost social vitality, viability and are incapacitated to advance as a people

Iqbals View on Islamic Culture

This decay however, is not limited to Islam but can be witnessed in any great nation with a long enough history In order to regroup, and reposition ourselves as a vital polity with an integrated sociopolitical identity, we must get back-to-basics and pick up the lost pieces Failure to recognize the above need of the hour would further dampen our national and social existence, ultimately leading to further fragmentation and disintegration

The Future of Islam and The Encounter With the West

After salvaging the lost values, attitudes and revitalizing our social system, we must initiate a process of reinterpretation of Islamic thought to address contemporary challenges and to reclaim our status as a modern, vibrant and dynamic polity

According to Iqbal, no other civilization has the real prospect to counter and rise as an alternative to western thought and civilization
And he views this encounter, between Islam and the west as essential to the advance of the human civilization as a whole

The Future of Islam and The Encounter With the West

He recognizes the western contribution in advancing the human civilization in terms of thought and the sciences and sees opportunities for the Muslims to draw from western experience While on one hand he vehemently criticizes the social evils of the Muslim culture, he is also relentless in condemning the corruption of the western system, especially the devices of colonization, subjugation and exploitation of humanity It is important to note that while Iqbal heralds and impatiently anticipates the encounter between Islam and the West, his notion of this encounter is not militaristic in essence

Islamic Alternative to the Global Exploitative Systems

He considers the unhindered advance of the exploitative system of the West as a threat to humanity including the West itself He asserts the potential in Islam for providing alternatives in the following areas
Social system (based on justice, humanity and brotherhood as against racism and other class systems) Economic system (equitable distribution of wealth, free from interest, and other forms of exploitation) Political system (A value based system, an alternative to utilitarianism, nationalism and other exploitative systems that by design, empower and enrich a fragment of the population by manipulating, enslaving, and depriving much of humanity)

Iqbal as a Reformist

Hakeem-ul-Ummat
The widespread acknowledgement of Iqbal as Hakim-ul-Ummat is not a mere emotional expression It is rather a careful articulation of the fundamental character of his works

Like a physician, he aims to restore health, not of an individual however but of the society as a whole
And he too, analyses, diagnoses and prescribes He carefully distinguishes between symptoms and the problem (disease)

Hakeem-ul-Ummat
He observes with razor sharp lens, and analyses with penetrating eyes His diagnosis and prescription however, is not polluted with the bland tradition of his age He fearlessly asserts what he sees, feels and experiences

Introspection of Social Systems, Corrupt Norms and Values

Iqbal serves like a psychoanalyst and a behaviour therapist Part of his poetry serves as introspection of our social systems, attitudes, beliefs and norms He makes us review our false beliefs, negative attitudes and social norms that were shaped and corrupted through history Then carefully connects these attitudes and norms with our failures and desperate social conditions thereby establishing a causal link He makes us vividly see our social and religious systems as dysfunctional and points to the ideal type from Islamic History for therapy

Confronting the Problem

Unlike a psychoanalyst however, his style is fairly blunt and shocking He first destroys your self-image as an individual (Muslim) and as a people, making you feel as totally exposed and vulnerable, then reconstructs and completely reshapes your self and social image from grounds up, revitalized and rock solid You have to go through phases of shock, shame and shattered self-esteem in order to enjoy the strength of your real self and existence. You have to bear the heat of his message to gain anything worthwhile there is no easy way out!

Confronting the Problem

This realization and acceptance of self-defeating attitudes and behaviours is integral to any serious effort of individual or social reform Compare this with our current tendency of silencing critics of the system, and attributing most of our ills to external factors, making us feel like pathetic victims of fate and conspiracies
Its a recipe for disaster A vicious escape from reality and a guaranteed approach for eternal status quo

The above two tendencies are often called approach and avoid behaviour respectively

The Therapeutic Dimension of Iqbals Message

There is a very important psychological implication of the two attitudes (approach vs. avoid) towards problems The approach and accept behaviour (as adopted by Iqbal), implies that the problem is selfcreated and thus can be cured from within (internal locus of control) The current and more prevalent attitude of avoidance and scapegoating, implies that the problem is inflicted by a powerful yet external entity and thus the cure is beyond internal control (external locus of control) The former attitude empowers the system whereas the latter makes it helpless

The Therapeutic Dimension of Iqbals Message

It is in this spirit that Iqbal vehemently criticizes the social, religious, political and economic systems of the Muslim society with earthshaking zeal completely exposing the vulnerabilities of the system And it is with this empowering approach that he completely rebuilds the self-image of the reader, both as an individual and as a member of the great Muslim Civilization And finally, he injects a very potent doze of hope by contrasting the diseased present with the glorious and healthy samples from the past and his emphasis on the true self as against the ruptured and corrupt self of the present

The Final Experience

And the emotions that stem from this therapeutic process are elation, hope, positive self-image, conviction and can do feeling It is these very emotions that fuel change in a diseased system No amount or quality of prescription can ever cure a system without the aid of a healthy psychological state And thats precisely what one gets from Iqbal a healthy state of mind
After going through his text, being a Muslim feels good! The prior states of shame and inferiority just vanish like a bad dream