Iqbal, Parliament and Islamic Jurisprudence

By: Munir Ahmed Khalili
muneer.khalili@hotmail.com

‘The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’ is no doubt an essence of philosophical ideas and and reflective wisdom of Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal, very easily conjectured when only single part of his name ‘Iqbal’ is mentioned. This name is on the tongues and in the hearts of both the elders and the youngsters, regardless of whether they understand his writings, both prose and poetry, or not. But this is an undeniable fact that if there had nothing there of his poetic works, only the above mentioned academic hallmark could not have earned him the unrivalled reverence which he enjoyed throughout his life and around 80 years after his passing away still he is held in high regard. The thing keeping him alive and making him far-famed and loved one all over the world, particularly in the Muslim world is his longstanding poetry. So, it is indispensable to reevaluate his thoughts keeping his poetic works in consideration. It is insufficient to judge Iqbal rightly, only in light of ‘Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’ with connivance at his poetry, a comprehensive and basic source of his thoughts.

Inert, inactiveness and uselessness, might that be of religious, social or political nature, Iqbal was a bitter critic of it. Twenty two thousands out of around 24 thousands verses of his poetic work construe as and have the message of movement, struggle and advancement. In spite of a robust feeling of his love for the Messenger of Allah, be peace and blessings upon him, Iqbal was not a conservative in the sense of being an opponent of change. The communities live with the struggle because, in his opinion, life is the second name of ‘ Kashmakash-e-Inqelab’, an unending struggle, change, vicissitude. He said: ‘Sabaat Aik Taghayur Ko Hei Zamane Mein’ (only a change has the permanence). He got highest degrees of education from Europe, studied the western theories and philosophies and himself had been a member of legislative council during the British rule and was in favor of making avail of all useful modern institutions. But what he never had been in short of was his close touch with the Quran and his ‘Ishq-e-Rasool’, the warmest feelings of love and reverence for the Holy Prophet. Even when he was world-famous as one of the greatest philosophers and poets of that time, Iqbal never lost the emotional feedback of ‘Ishq-e-Rasool’.

He beseeched the Muslim Ummah to tell about sift the ideologies and thoughts coming from the west in the strainer of the Quran and Sunnah before accepting them. The authority of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet, be peace and blessings upon him, was not to assert in Masjid only, but also in the power galleries, parliament, courts and all administrative units it is to be conceded. Iqbal thought everything coming from out acceptable only in case it did not clash with the mainstream of our ideological basis, moral values and cultural traits. So when someone comes forward to scrutinize Iqbal’s thoughts about political, economic and social issues and also his views about nations and civilizations, he should not pass over this root of his thinking.

Iqbal had formulated a ‘whole’ of his thoughts and it is necessary we keep this ‘whole’ in mind in the critiques about him and not to break this ‘whole’ into pieces. Many of the writers had and still have the interpretation of Islamic Laws (Ijtehad) a favorite subject of their discussion. Naturally they try to make Iqbal a reference for supporting their arguments. It is unfortunate that Muslim Ummah has been in spiritless condition for last several centuries and Iqbal was in bitter disliking for this state of inanimateness of thinking and action, so many of the ‘enlightened, moderate and progressive thinking’ intellectuals under the sway of modernity, mistakenly or mischievously, separating him from his root and also from his ‘whole’, try to fit him in the frame of modernity and prove the things extremely contrary to Iqbal’s ideological position.

Parliament, having major job of legislation, is one of the four fundamental pillars of the democracy. While studying Iqbal’s views about the function of the parliament it is more appropriate to first know his opinion about the democracy. Democracy is not a political system. An evil collaboration between the Church and cruel feudal lords under the umbrella of the monarchies had created a fierce manipulating system in the Medieval Europe. The people had suffered a lot and were fed up of the exploitations of this trio.

Actually, democratic concepts sprouted from Protestant religious doctrines in Christianity (a reformation movement in the Church by Martin Luther), Capitalistic economy replacing the feudal economic system and some later the Industrial and the French Revolutions. In the beginning it might have been a simple thought of just making the people free from the shackles of rigid religiosity, ruthless feudalism and authoritarianism of the kings. But later it became an absolute freedom.

Freedom is the greatest gift of democracy to the mankind. Yes, an absolute freedom, freedom from religion and moral disciplines. Getting free from some other forms of coercion, very foxily man was made a slave of carnality and sensuality. Though the Western communities had successfully purged the religious influence, still they feared it could be an obstructive force against materialistic nature of politics. So, using the democracy as a beautiful instrument they fully banished the religion

First of we see Iqbal thinks democracy to be a part of the Devilish scheme, actually a covering dress of the ugly face of monarchism making it credible and acceptable.

Ham Ne Khud Shahi Ko Pehnaya Hae Jamhoori Libas          Jab Zara Aadam Huwa Khud Shanas o Khud Nagar

(The second advisor of Iblees proclaims this in the poem Iblees Ki Majlise Shuraa)

Religion, in spite of losing its effectiveness, still can curb many of the evils of the rulers and politicians. It arouses elegance and purity of the feelings and blocks crookedness and mischief. Iqbal used a metaphor ‘Changezi’ (the uncivilized and savage character of notorious Mangol emperor Changez Khan) to express brutality and mercilessness of the political forces in case they are unbridled of the religion and morality.

‘Juda Ho Deen Siasat Se Tu Reh Jati Hae Changezi
(When the politics is separated from the religion, it becomes a ferocity practiced by Changez Khan)

Iqbal had a deep insight and could easily read that the more the West went advance in its dazzling material progress the more man’s suffering from psychological ailments grew and his restlessness and lack of peace of mind increased. It was hoped the freedoms guaranteed by the democracy would prevent the inner anguish (Qalb-u-Nazer Ki Ranjoori) of man but instead it grew high. In a short poem of ‘Zarbe Kaleem’ titled ‘Mashriq u Maghrib’ (The East and the West) with diagnosing this distress he mentioned the root cause of this ailment.

Yahan Maraz Ka Sabab Hae Ghulami u Taqleed                       Wahan Maraz Ka Sabab Hae Nizam-e-Jamhoori


Nah Mashriq Is Se Bari Hae Nah Maghrib Is Se Bari               Jahaan Mein Aam Hae Qalb u Nazer Ki Ranjoori

In his another poem in the same collection of the poetry we see a new ugly episode of this Western democracy.

Meri Nigah Mein Hae Yeh Siasat-e-Ladeen               Kaneez-e-Aharman o Doon Nehad o Murdah Zameer


Hoi Hae Tarke Kalisa Se Hakmi Azad                         Farangyun Ki Siasat Hae Deiv-e-Bae Zanjeer


Mata’e Gheir Peh Hoti Hae Jab Nazer Is Ki             Tu Hein Hirawale Lashkar Kalisa Ke Safeer

(I see this secular politics of the West working as a slave girl of Devil. It has a mean nature and dead conscience. Since the ruling power has become free of the influence of the Church (religion) it is behaving like a chainless monster. When it casts its avaricious eyes on the wealth of the other nations, it uses the agents of the Church sending them there as vanguards)

Ijtehad needs some basic qualities. Along with being a farsighted, a man of high character, pious and a practicing Muslim. One more minimum requirement is to have a full command over the Arabic language, a deep look in the previous works of Ijtehad. Moreover a wide range of the Quranic knowledge and an ability to draw a distinction between different degrees of Ahadith and skill of their application according to the situation is a requisite for the task of interpreting the Islamic laws.

Now have the convex lenses to find out men of these qualities in the parliament of Pakistan. Even the Ulama (religious leaders) of different sectarian groups sitting there hardly come up to the mark. The interior minister, on one occasion, was asked to recite Surah Ikhlas, one of the shortest but most significant Surah of the Quran, he could not. Even the president, prime minister, almost all of the ministers, advisors, Senate Chairman, Speakers of the National and Provincial Assemblies, both the opposition and leaders of the houses fail in coming up to the required level. It is really sad, the parliament has become the hotbed of the corrupt politicians, plunderers, smugglers, opportunists, fake degree holders, liars and fraudulent. Is it not a stupidity to suggest a sacred task to be entrusted to people of such a low level, both in knowledge and morality?

In the democratic system, the number of the members is a crucial thing. Only heads (number of the elected members) and not the brains (moral qualities and knowledge) are important. Whichever of the parties is higher in numbers is declared winner and is eligible to form the government, irrespective of the fact that most of its elected members neither prove any distinction in sagacity nor in goodness of their moral character. That is what Iqbal said in the verse below:

Jamhooriyat Ik Tarze Hakomat Hae Keh   Jis Mein Bandon Ko Gina Karte Hein, Tola Nahin Karte
(Democracy is a system of government wherein the members are counted and not weighed)

And the last but not is the least point in this discussion. It is a commonly known fact that in the last years of his life Iqbal had a desire to get Sayed Abul A’la Maududi convinced to shift from Hyderabad to Punjab and without any delay set an institution to work for the great cause of revival and resuscitation of Deen. Both were in contact with each other and had exchanged mails. Sayed Maududi had shifted to the East Punjab and there Darussalam had been established. Iqbal wanted Maulana Maududi to undertake the task of recompilation of Islamic Fiqh in the light of the Quran and Sunnah keeping the challenges and problems of the modern world in sight. In the other words Iqbal had come to the conclusion that the reconstruction of Islamic Fiqh in accordance with the demands of the modern ages is beyond the capability of the institution of the parliament. Secondly the modern polity and the democratic system, in his opinion, had failed to bring any good ‘kheir’ to the people. Though the despotic monarchical system ostensibly has mainly come to its end, yet very wickedly many other forms of exploitation under the banner of democracy have been contrived. Parliaments provide beautiful coverings to these contrivances, particular for the manipulation.

Sayed Maududi was Iqbal’s choice to come forward for the project of, in the term of Iqbal ‘Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’, and in the term of Sayed Maududi for ‘Tajdeed-u-Ihya-e-Deen’. The question is that if the parliament was a suitable forum to accomplish that enterprise then why so emphatically Iqbal urged Maulana Maududi to give up his abode in Hyderabad and come to live close to him?