Dr. Abdul Khaliq

266 Pages·2012·4.5 MB·English

A M I
LLAMA UHAMMAD QBAL
O T
N HE
C O I
ONCEPT F MMORTALITY

(Dr. Naeem Ahmad’s rendered
into English, edited and reviewed)

By

Dr. Abdul Khaliq
Contents
Chapter Title
Page
Preface

1. Problem of Death and its Philosophical
Significance

2. Problem of Immortality and its Concepts

3. General Structure of Iqbal’s Thought

4. Intellectual Background of Iqbal’s Concept
of Immortality

5. Intellectual Background of Iqbal’s Concept
of Immortality (contd.)

6. Iqbal’s Concept of Immortality

7. Concluding Remarks

References Remarks
References and notes
Bibliography
Index
I ’ C
QBAL S ONCEPT
D , I
OF EATH MMORTALITY
A
AND FTERLIFE

Dr. Naeem Ahmad’s
“ ”

Edited, Translated into English & Revised by
Dr. Abdul Khaliq

I A P
QBAL CADEMY AKISTAN
All Rights Reserved

Publisher:
Muhammad Suheyl Umar
Director Iqbal Academy Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
Ministry of Culture
6th Floor, Aiwan-i-Iqbal Complex,
Off Egerton Road, Lahore
Tel:[+ 92-42] 6314510
Fax:[+ 92-42] 6314496
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.allmaiqbal.com

ISBN 969-416-373-0

Writer : Dr. Naeem Ahmad
Translator : Dr. Abdul Khaliq
1st Edition : 2006
Quantity : 1000
Price : Rs:300/-
Printed at : Dar-ul-Fikr, Lahore.

—————
Sales office: 116 McLeod Road, Lahore. Ph. 7357214
CONTENTS

Preface
(1-5)
Translator’s Note
(7-8)

Chapter I
Problem of Death and its Philosophical Significance
(9-30)

Chapter II
Problem of Immortality and its Doctrines
(31-62)

Chapter III
General Structure of Iqbal’s Philosophy
(63-97)

Chapter IV
Intellectual Background of Iqbal’s Concept
of Immortality
(99-126)

Chapter V
Intellectual Background of Iqbal’s Concept of
Immortality (contd.)
(127-164)
Chapter VI
Iqbal’s Concept of Immortality
(165-221)

Recapitulation and some Concluding Remarks
(223-233)

References and Notes
(235-248)

Bibliography
(249-257)

Index
(259-263)
Preface

Learned people, in general, and Iqbal scholars, in particular,
are aware that voluminous literature has already been produced
and is being produced at a very rapid pace on various aspects of
the thought and message of Allama Muhammad Iqbal;
nevertheless, it is also a truism that there still remains an acute
shortage of such research-oriented writings in this field as may
correctly be described ‘purely philosophical’ in character, both as
regards the appraisal as well as the critical evaluation of his point
of view. Many books, essays, theses and dissertations in almost all
the major languages of the world are available which dilate on his
political, social and religious ideas as expressed in his poetical
works but rarely an attempt has been made to give an exhaustive
and strictly technical treatment to his philosophical standpoint,
specially as it is enunciated in his The Reconstruction of Religious
Thought in Islam. The Reconstruction is the only work of Allama
Iqbal, or at least it is the major work, which has really earned for
him an international renown and which has given to
philosophical thought in Pakistan a sense of belonging to the
world philosophical tradition. The book is a difficult reading as
the understanding of its contents presupposes a thorough
comprehension of almost the entire Eastern and Western thought
that is relevant to its subject-matter. Given that comprehension,
it proves to be an interesting, thought-provoking reading and the
reader loves to go deeper and deeper into its meanings. During
my academic travels abroad, every teacher of philosophy, to
whom I happened to introduce this book, read it with thorough
involvement and appreciated it immensely. Muslim students and
teachers, particularly, evinced special interest in its contents.
Encouraged by this response I had to send for a number of
2 Iqbal’s Concept of Death, Immortality and Afterlife
copies of the book from my home-country for gifting to them as
my humble contribution towards the propagation of the religio-
philosophical ideas of Iqbal in foreign lands.
My own interest in Iqbal’s thought dates back to the earliest
days of my educational career. Being myself a student of
Philosophy, Iqbal’s philosophical thought captured my attention
more than his socio-political and literary concepts, mostly
expressed in his poetry and also in his letters and statements. It
was my ardent passion for understanding Iqbal’s thought that was
partly the reason why I opted for the teaching of philosophy as
my profession despite various other professions that were open
to me. After entering this profession I started writing articles on
different aspects of Iqbal studies for various learned journals of
the country. Some years ago, my article on ‘Iqbal’s Concept of
Eternity’ appeared in ‘Iqbal’–a research journal published by the
Iqbal Academy–which was well received in knowledgeable
quarters. During the writing of this article I was genuinely
convinced that Iqbal had a very keen interest in this problem and
the eloquent references to it that he had made in his Reconstruction
could not sufficiently be elaborated and explained within the
limits of a single article. Consequently I set up a plan to carry out
a detailed research and write a whole book on the subject. The
result of this study is in your hands now.
On philosophical and technical subjects it is easier to write in
English than in Urdu. One reason is that in the English language
technical stature of a strictly philosophical writing can be
maintained with convenience. On the contrary, if one undertakes
to write in a language whose vocabulary is not so elaborate and
comprehensive, he encounters difficulties of expression and
communication at every step and so the process of the
production of research becomes seriously hampered.
Consequently, I too, while writing this book in the Urdu language
faced various restraints and difficulties–difficulties of translating
the mood of another language, particularly English, and of
finding exact equivalents of technical terms. This was all due to,
besides, in general, the poverty of the presently available Urdu
vocabulary itself, its in-built limitation to discuss extremely
Preface 3
profound philosophical problems.
The question arises: if it was more convenient to write this
book in English, why did I choose to adopt the Urdu medium?
My answer is: though it is not the case, yet I desire that it ought to
be the case that the Urdu language becomes so comprehensive
and rich that it can easily absorb all kinds of sophisticated,
technical and philosophical discussions. Obviously this kind of
service to the Urdu language cannot be fruitfully rendered simply
by producing more and more Urdu translations of already
existing highly academic and scientific texts but also–and more
appropriately–by producing in Urdu itself original research. I
have been carrying out this project for quite some time almost
with a passion. During the past many years I have consistently
written in this language even on extremely profound metaphysical
subjects. Anyone who undertakes this kind of endeavour will
definitely have to face difficulties of expression, to begin with;
but ultimately, I am confident, will ensure for it the kind of
potential adequate enough to be able to discuss with ease all sorts
of sophistications and intricacies.
Today the status of Urdu is the same as was the status which
English had in the 17th/18th centuries. During those times, Latin
was the living language of the Christian world of Europe. Popes
and theologians of various countries acquired their religious
education in this language and communicated with others in the
same. The entire literature of the medieval period was in Latin. So
every student in the European countries had no option but to get
his education in this language. However, with the passage of time
the scholars began to write in their regional dialects. British
thinkers, for example, Locke, Berkeley and Hume, had acquired
their education in Latin but they wrote their own philosophies in
English. Thus gradually the intellectual heritage of centuries was
transmitted to the English language which in due course replaced
Latin as the vehicle of original writings.
More or less this is the kind of bright future that I visualize
and desire for our own language. Importance of English cannot,
of course, be over-estimated and to adopt a prejudicial attitude
towards it would not only be improper but also academically
4 Iqbal’s Concept of Death, Immortality and Afterlife
harmful. To begin with, what is required is that along with, and
parallel to, the English language, Urdu should also be patronized
and adopted. Particularly, our experts who are skilled in arts and
sciences should try their utmost to make their own language an
equally reliable and authentic means of expression and
communication. For the realization of this objective it is
indispensable that our scholars should first be well-versed in the
diversities of all kinds of knowledge available in the English
language and then, having absorbed it and made it their own,
should create knowledge afresh in their own language.
Importance of the work of translation apart, genuine creativity
will be of really durable service to the Urdu language.
Hence my choice to write the present book in Urdu!
During the writing of this book, I had to quote certain
passages from English books. I have given Urdu translations of
these passages in the main body of the book but at the end of the
relevant chapters under ‘Notes and References’ I have quoted the
original texts also. Wherever I have felt that an Urdu word would
sound unfamiliar for the reader, I have written the original
English equivalent in the brackets. Anyway, at the end of the
book I have given a comprehensive glossary of all the
technical/semi-technical terms used which shows at one glance
the mutual equivalence of English and Urdu terms and phrases.
As to the main theme of the book, I was earlier of the
opinion that eternity of life and existence is only a metaphysical
problem; but during my studies on the subject I realized that the
phenomenon of faith in the life hereafter registers a far-reaching
impact on the individual as well as on the collective life of human
beings. One example of this truth is the great pyramids which
grew out of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Similarly, if we
undertake an analysis of Muslim conquests in wars, we shall
discover that their faith in the hereafter worked as a great
motivating and consummating factor. I have tried to highlight,
during the course of this work, the profound socio-cultural
implications of the concept of immortality.
Before I close, I shall be failing in my duty if I do not thank
Mr. Justice (Rtd) Dr. Javed Iqbal who, despite his multifarious