I was struck by his repeated reference to a theory of biological evolution apparently espoused by Sufis like Mawlana Jalaladin Rumi, including through poetic verse.
His reference of the Quranic verse stating that human beings hold the trust of Allah as His viceregents - a trust which the mountains and the earth refused to carry - would make sense to someone familiar with the Sufi tradition, but I imagine it would likely be perplexing otherwise. Like much Sufi writing and poetry, much of what he writes is only directly understandable to people who have engaged in Sufi practices, or, somewhat less so, those who are otherwise familiar with the underlying philosophy through study. In addition to being an intellectual conversant in modern Western thought, Iqbal was what many today would refer to as a Sufi. He argues for the enduring importance of spiritual gnosis and practice, alongside modern activist knowledge and empiricism. Iqbal attempts to synthesize the spiritual outlook of Islam with modern rationality, explaining the worldview of the Quran in comparison and contrast with the philosophies articulated by Nietzsche, Bergson, Einstein and other modern Westerners.
This book - a collection of speeches that Iqbal gave on reconstructing the metaphysical worldview of Islam in the light of modernity - is a deeply humbling piece of contemporary Islamic scholarship. Iqbal attempts to synthesize the spiritual outlook of Islam with modern rationality, explaining the worldview of the Quran in comparison and contrast with the philo Muhammad Iqbal is one of those subcontinental Islamic intellectuals who is celebrated by all, read by few, and understood by even fewer. Muhammad Iqbal is one of those subcontinental Islamic intellectuals who is celebrated by all, read by few, and understood by even fewer.
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