A Historical Study of Iqbal's Views on Sufism

7/28/2019 A Historical Study of Iqbal's Views on Sufism

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A HISTORICAL STUDY OF IQBAL'S VIEWSON SUFISM

MAZHERUDDIN SIDDIQIIn the sixth chapter of his book, T h e Reconstruction o f

Religious Thought in Islam, qbal maintains that the rise and growthof ascetic Sufism which gradually developed under the influenceof a non-Islamic character a purely speculative side, constitutedone of the many factors which compelled the jurists of Islam tomake the structure of their system as rigorous as possible with theobject of preserving the social integrity of Islam. The Sufis, ontheir part, also reacted strongly against the verbal quibbles of ourearly doctors of law. For example, Iqbal quotes the case of Sufygnal-Thawri- who was one of the acutest legal minds of his time, butwas driven t o ascetic Sufism by the dry-as-dust subtleties ofconte mporary 1egists.lIqbal does not approve of the spirit of radical other-worldlinessin Sufism and says that this spirit obscured man's vision of avery important aspect of Islam as a social p o l i t y . V e is alsocritical of the speculative side of Sufism, because it offered theprospect of unrestrained and undisciplined thinking in which itfinally absorbed the best minds of Islam. "The Muslim State wasthus left generally in the hands of intellectual mediocrities, andthe unthinking masses of Islam, having no personalities of a highercalibre to guide them, found their security only in blindly followingthe s~hools ."~Iqbal, however, repudiates the view put forward by theorientalists, like Von Kremer, Dozy, Merx and Nicholson who tracethe origin and development of Islamic mysticism to non-Islamicsources. "No idea," he says, "can seize a people's soul unless, insome sense, it is the peopIels own."4 It is important a t this pointto discuss the origins of Islamic mysticism, for this has a bearing onits subsequent development and on the moral and political effectthat i t produced on the general life of the Muslim Community.

ORIGINS OF ISLAMIC MYSTICISMI t is not necessary to go outside the Qur'sn and the Qadi&

literature t o look for the frame of mind which produced the ascetic

Islamic Studies (Islamabad) 5:4 (1966)Islamic Studies (Islamabad) 5:4 (1966)


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412 MAZHER UDDIN SIDDIQImovement in Islam culminating in the birth of Sufism. There areverses in the Qur'sn, which lend themselves t o mystic inter-pretation, if they are not read in conjunction with other equallyimportant verses. For example, the Qur'an says, "And strike forthem the parable of th e life of the world as water which We senddown from the sky, and vegetation of the ear th mingleth with it andthen becometh dry twigs that the winds scatter." (XVIII :46)."~es t ra in thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord a tmorn and evening, seeking His countenance; and let not thineeyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of the life of the world ;and obey not him whose heart W e have made heedless of Ourremembrance, who followeth his own lust and whose case hathbeen abandoned." (XVIII :29). And again, "He is the First andthe Last, and the Outward and the Inward ; and H e is the Knowerof all things." (LVII : 3). People with more than an ordinary shareof the devotional- spirit who preferred contemplation t o actioncould easily have put a construction on these verses suited to theirown frame of mind. Even among the Companions of the Prophetthere were people whose natural bent of mind inclined them moretowards contemplation and introversion. But, as ProfessorFazIur Rahman remarks, the emphasis of such Companions couldnot have constituted a "way of life," independent of the society-building ethos of t he Community a t

However, there came a time when this devotional and contem-plative atti tude gained strength from the socio-political conditionsthat arose af te r the assassination of 'AIi. There were two extremereactions to the political confusion and the declining moralstandards that prevailed intermittently down t o the period of thelater 'Abbs~sids. One was activist and tbe other based on worldrenunciation. The Q a w ~ r i jepresented the first type of reactionand ascetics, like Hasan Basri represented the other. But whilethe activist reaction of the B a w a r i j failed in its object ofoverthrowing impious regimes, the ascetic movement continued togain momentum because it advocated withdrawal from the politicalfield in which the worldly power of the Umayyads and the'Abb~sids was so firmly entrenched that i t could not be easilyreplaced. The failure of the Qaw'arij and the bloodshed causedby the internecine warfare must have contributed in a largemeasure to incline men's minds towards asceticism. In proportionas the moral standards of the people associated with the political


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A HISTORICAL STUDY O F IQBAL'S VIEWS ON SUFISM 413regimes declined, persons of a contemplative nature sought refugein self-denial and self-renunciation as the only method by whichthey could preserve their dignity as individuals and their spiritualityas men of religion.It is at this stage that we find isolationist UaiZth coming intocirculation, i.e. H a d i g which teaches the way of renunciation andwithdrawal from public affairs. For example. the $a&h of Muslimcontains the following Hadi& which incu lcat a absolute passivityin the face of social evils and political confusion. "There shallbe civil wars wherein a sitting person will be better than a standingone, and a standing person shall be better than one who walksand one who walks will be better than one who runs." SimilarlySunan al-Tirmi&i contains the following Hadi& : "Stick toyour home and control your tongue ; ake what you recognize asgood ;and mind your own business and have nothing t o do withthe affairs of the p ~ b I i c . " ~The ascetic movement, however, was not an organised affair.I t merely represented the reaction of certain individuals witha contemplative bent of mind to the socio-political conditionsof the time. The ascetics did not call themselves Sufis. I t wasnot till the time of al- fahi? (d. 2561869) that the appellation of Siif iwas used, and the tirst person to whom this term was applied wasAbri Ha&im of Kafa (d. 162A.HJ.7 Nor did the Muslim asceticsattempt any restatement of the metaphysical foundations ofIslam. They merely wished to return to the simplicity of theearly days of Islam and to be left undisturbed by politicalcontroversies in the pursuit of a life of religious devotion.Sufism proper with a distinct ethos of its own began some-what later. The distinguishing characteristics of the Sufis wastheir desire for union with God. The ascetics renounced the worldfor the sake of a better life in the Hereafter. The Sufis, on theother, sought union with God through renunciation. The asceticwas moved by the fear of God, the Sufi, by the thought of divinemercy and grace. Both these aspects are equally stressed by theQur'an, but Sufism is exclusively preoccupied with only one ofthese aspects.

Besides the political unrest of the time which contributedto the growth of Sufism, there were other factors from which themovement derived its strength. Iqbal himself has enumeratedsome of these factors. He says that the sceptical tendencies of


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Islamic Rationalism which found an early expression in the poemsof Ba&&%r b. Burd, ultimately necessitated an appeal to asuper-intellectual source of knowledge which asserted itself inal-Ristilah of al -Quaayri (986).8 Another factor was the bittertheological controversy between the A&'arites and the advocatesof Rationalism "which tended not only to confine religion withinthe narrow limits of schools, but also stirred up the spirit torise above all petty sectarian rang ling."^ Iqbal also says thatthe presence of Christianity was a further contributory factor inthe growth of Sufism. "It was, however. principally the actuallife of the Christian hermit ra ther than his religious ideas, thatexercised the greatest fascination over the minds of early Islamicsaints whose complete unworldliness, though extremely charmingin itself is, I believe, quite contrary to the spirit of I~ lam."~o

Although Iqbal is justified in his assertion that the doctrinesof Christianity did not influence the Sufi movement, it would notbe out of place here to mention the fact that the Messianicdoctrine of the mahdz' came into Islam through the Sufis. "Thebeginnings of Sufism are clearly connected with early popularpreachers-known by various names-who used Messianism intheir sermons to satisfy the politically disillusioned and morallystarved masses. In the beginning, the two doctrines-that of thereappearance of Jesus and that of the mahdi-are quite distinct,since their historical sources are quite different, but later the twofigures are brought together, although not entirely suc~essfully."~l

Sufism further shared with Shi'ism certain common doctrinalelements. For example, the Aqtab (poles) of Sufism arecharacterised by the invisibility, the infallibility and the esotericknowledge of the &i'i imizm who, by this time, was declared to beabsent (from public view). Similarly, the Sufis employ the methodof Ta'wT1 (mystical interpretation which differs from the commonlyaccepted interpretation of the Qur'anic verses), a practice whichis common among the $isah and, in particular. the Ismg'ilis. TheSufis, equally with the Ism%'ilis, stress the batin (the esotericaspect) of things. This shows tha t there had been some interactionbetween the Sufi and the &i'i movements.

The early ascetics of Islam had followed the path of self-renuncia-tion. The Sufis went to the extreme of self-annihilation (fang), adoctrine which smacks of Buddhist nirvtina. However, the Sufisclaim that it is not total self-annihilation to which they aspire,


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A HISTORICAL STUDY OF IQBAL'S VIEWS ON SUFISM 415but the annihilation of the lower self which is followed by theemergence of the higher self.

The main characteristic of Sufism, however, is its ideal ofknowledge, the ma'rifah or gnosis. I t is not the intellectual know-ledge of God, however, to which the Sufi aspires but mystical unionwith Him through spiritual ecstasy. In fact, Sufism is opposed to allintellectual modes of knowing and disparages them. In this senseit is anti-rational. For example, the author of KasJf-al-Mabjiibsays :

You must know that there is a great difference of opiniontouching the gnosis and right cogniticn of God. The M'utazilitesassert that gnosis is intellectual and that a rational person('iiqrl) has the possibility of possessing it. This doctrine isdisproved by the fact that mad men within Islam, are deemedto have gnosis, and tha t children, who are not rational, aredeemed to have faith. If the criterion of gnosis was anintellectual one, such persons must be without gnosis, whileunbelievers could not be charged with infidelity, provided onlythat they were reasonable beings. In reality, Man's onlyguide and enlightener is God. Reason and the proofs adducedby reason are unable to direct any one into the right way.Ordinary objects of search are found by means of demonstra-tion. but knowledge of God is extraordinary. Therefore,knowledge of Him is attained only by unceasing bewildermentof the reason, and His favour is not procured by any act ofhuman acquisition, but is miraculously revealed to men'shearts.12In spite of their disparagement of reason, the Sufis had to

justify their moral and metaphysical at ti tudes by means of rationalthought. For this purpose, they developed the doctrine ofmetaphysical monism, called wabdat al-wujud (unity of existence),which had very grave ethical consequences, since it entailed thedenial of the existence of evil and resulted in a full-fledgeddeterminism that could admit of no free-will. From all thesestandpoints, i.e. its monistic world-view which abolished thedistinction between God and man, it s denial of the efficacy of thehuman will and its obliviousness to the presence of evil, Sufistandpoint was very different from that of early Islam, and becausethe moral att itudes engendered by Sufism permeated the massesof the Muslim Community, Iqbal rightly thought t h a t it must


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416 MAZHERUDDIN SIDDIQIshare with other contributory factors the responsibility for thedecline which set in among Muslims after the classical periodof Islam.

SUFI METAPHYSICS AND ETHICSThe greatest exponent of Sufi monism was Ibn aL'Arabi.

According to him, God is pure existence which at its transcendentallevel has no essence and no name, and is, therefore, t o be describednegatively. A t the second level, God contemplates and knowsHimself. This self-knowledge generates the attributes of Life,Knowledge, Will, etc., which also form the content of His know-ledge. Ibn al-'Arabi regards this realm of the content of theDivine knowledge as an enti ty in itself. This is the world ofessences which constitutes the realm of Divine consciousness. Thisworld is co-eternal with God and does not exist externally (forwhat exists so far externally is the transcendent Reality) but onlyin the mind of God. Ibn al-'Arabi, who has a great deal t o sayabout this world, calls it the "inner" of God and God the "exterior"of it. The essences have not "tasted concrete existence." Godgives them existence by reflecting them in the mirror of His ownexistence which is the only external concrete existence that thereis. When the essences are thus reflected, they come into existenceand become the world. This is, in the words of Professor FazlurRahman, "the existential pantheism of Ibn al-'Arabi. Nothing hasreally changed, there has been no becoming of any kind: the worldsimply existentially reproduces God's interior exactly."l3Ibn al-'Arabi abrogated the whole idea of contingency for,according t o him, the world is as necessary as God. Things, inIbn aL'Arabi's view, are either necessary or impossible. On t heother hand, Ibn Sina regards the world as the realm of contingentbeings. The existence of the contingent, in Ibn Sins's philosophy,is not given in its essence but is bestowed by God. How could thecontingent, then, ever hope t o shed its limitations so completely ast o become identical with God-even in mystic experience ? "It isfor this reason that Ibn Sins regards with genuine horror the sug-gestion that God conceived as soul, exists in everything accordingt o its measure."l* But this is actually the central idea in Ibn al-'Arabi's metaphysics which teaches us that the world is but theother side of God. Indeed Ibn al-'Arabi calls the Perfect Man theGod-Creature and identifies the Essence of Essences with the Sufi


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A HISTORICAL STUDY OF IQBAL'S VIEWS ON SUFISM 417essence of Muhammad.The metaphysical monism is carried by Ibn aL'Arabi unrelent-ingly into the denial of ethical dualism. "For time, the world takenin its entirety, is the revelation of God, and the conflict of likes anddisIikes constitutes the rhythm of God Himself a t this level."15Another important Sufi thinker, who contributed to the monisticsystem of Sufi beliefs was _Shaykh s i h a b al-Din al-Suhrawardiwho was born about the middle of the 12th century. He isknown as the s a y & '2-I&rnq (the propounder of the philosophyof illumination). Like Ibn al-'Arabi, he denied the distinctionbetween the necessary being and the contingent being. "Necessarybeing, he says, is that pure being which is the most perfect,whereas my being is imperfect : t is related t o God as the ray oflight is related to the sun. When the difference in perfection andimperfection (as between me and God) does exist, no otherdifferentia is needed. The contingency o f my being consistsprecisely in its imperfection (and nothing else) and the necessityof His being means His perfect existence. If it is objected thatin a self-subsisting entity (like being) there is no more or less(or perfect and imperfect). I shall say this is pure dogmatism."l6Thus, according t o al-Suhrawardi, Man is only a lesser godas God is just a greater Man. The scale of the continuum ofReality is differentiated only by points of varying degrees andthese points represent the eternal realm of platonic Ideas whichhe reaffirms in tiikmat 'Ll&r8q. But the realm of Ideas is not theheterogeneous mass of peripatetic essences, but a homogeneoussubstance-Light in which the Ideas appear as so many glittering

,centres of radiation.Self-awareness is regarded by al-Suhrawardi as the constitutiveelement of being. The Self is nothing but self-manifestation andself-luminosity. Al-Suhrawardi claims tha t only by taking Lightto be the real nature of being and not merely immateriality-asthe philosophers had done-can one establish a spiritually self-conscious ego. Al-Suhrawardi, thus, erects a pantheism of self-luminous, self-reflecting, self-present existences varying in degreesof intensity. "The whole of God is existence and the whole ofexistence is God."17W e see how this Sufi monism overlooks the diEerences, theconflicts and the moral tensions that exist in the world, and whichcan be ignored only at great peril t o the social integrity of the


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418 MAZHERUDDIN SIDDIQIMuslim Community. I t is a deterministic structure of the universein to which the Sufi theosophs want us to fit ourselves. Doubtlessthe Sufi thought produced a certain catholicity of outlook, but italso created indifference to social conditions and t o the preserva-tion of the socio-political integrity of Islam, for the Sufi wasexclusively preoccupied with the spiritual progress of theindividual and had no thought to spare for the moral and materialprogress ~f the society in which he lived, as if the individual couldescape and flout his social destiny.

REACTION

The reaction against Sufism was led, in the first instance, byIbn Taymiyah. In a small treatise entitled Ah1 a2-$uffah,18Ibn Taymiyah undertakes a refutation of the Sufi thesis that theCompanions of the Prophet who lived in $uffah (adjacent t o theProphet's Mosque at Medina) had anything in common with theSufis of the later times. He says that when the Prophet migratedto Medina, only a few migrants from Mecca joined him but later onthere was constant addition to this small group of emigrants, so thatthe Helpers could not provide accommodation to the large streamof emigrants. Therefore, the Prophet ordered them to use theJuffah of the Mosque at Medina for residential purposes. Butit is historically wrong to claim that the "people of Suffah" werea permanent body of residents. On the other hand, there was aconstant influx and efflux going on. New emigrants came in toreside at Suffah,while those who already lived there left the Suffah,if they could find accommodation for themselves and theirfamilies. Again, the Cowpanions of the Prophet who lived atJ u f f a h made their own living, if they could. Only those whocould make no living were helped by the Prophet. Therefore,there was no person among the Ah1 al-Suffah who had taken tovoluntary poverty. If some of them did not make any living, i twas not by choice that they did so but by the compulsion ofcircumstances. Ibn Taymiyah further refutes the theory that theAh2 al-Suffah abstained from warfare. H e says that most ofthem joined the campaigns undertaken by the Prophet and noneof them fought against the Muslims on the side of the disbelievers.H e also repudiates the view expressed by the Sufis that theAh1 al-Suffah were in any way considered superior in rank toother Companions of the Prophet. He says tha t the ten Corn-


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A HISTORICAL STUDY OF IQBAL'S VIEWS ON SUFISM 419panions of the Prophet who were promised rewards in theHereafter, as expressly stated in the Qur'an, were definitely moreexalted in rank. Similarly, the verse of the Holy Qur'an, "Restrainthyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn andevening, seeking His countenance ; and let not thine eyes overlookthem, desiring the pomp of the life of the world" (XVIII :29) is ofgeneral application and does not apply, Ibn Taymiyah forcefullyasserts, specifically to the people living at Suffah .

Ibn Taymiyah's criticism of Sufi metaphysics is directedagainst the doctrines of Union (Ittihad) and Incarnation (Huliil).He says that the doctrine of Incarnation is associated with manySufis of later times and that is the reason why some of the leadersof Sufism repudiated it. For example, Junayd said: Tawhidconsists in making a distinction between the eternal and theoriginated. But Ibn al-'Arabi rejected this stand and said thatJunayd and his associates died without knowing the real natureof Tawhid for, according to Ibn al-'Arabi, Tawhjd consists in notmaking a distinction between God and His creatures. He furthermaintained that no one can establish a distinction between theeternal and the originated unless he himself belonged to neithercategory.19

Commenting on the theory put forward by Ibn al-'Arabi, IbnTaymiyah says that his theory is based on two presuppositions.Firstly, that the non-existent is an entity. This doctrine was heldby many of the Mu'tazilah and the extremists among the Si 'ah.Secondly, that the existence of the originated and created thingsis identical with the existence of the Creator. This doctrine isshared by Ibn al-'Arabi with other Ittihiidiyah (those who believein Union), but Ibn al-'Arabi is in nearer to Islam by comparisonwith them, because he makes a distinction between ~iihir ,.e. thatwhich manifests itself (God) and the mazahir (phen~mena).~~

However, in spite of this, the theory of Ibn al-'Arabi isunacceptable, because, says Ibn Taymiyah, according to Ibn al-'Arabi the subsisting essences (al-A'yan 'I-&&itah) exist in theirown right prior to their actual existence as phenomena. Thus,they do not stand in need of God. Rather, God stands in need ofthem in order to confer existence on them. Now, according tothe Qur'sn, God is independent of the world. He stands in needof nothing, but everything else stands in need of Him. Therefore,Ibn al-'Arabi's metaphysical theory conflicts with the fundamentals


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420 MAZHERUODIN SIDDIQIof religion.21

Ibn Taymiyah further criticises Ibn al-'Arabl for makingGod's knowledge of His creatures dependent on His knowledgeof the subsisting essences (in their state of non-existence). Godin Himself knows nothing about His creatures, on Ibn al-'Arabi'stheory. All such knowledge is derived from His knowledge ofthe essences. Again, His knowledge of the subsisting essences(in the state of non-existence) prevents Him from doing anythingcontrary t o His knowledge. This leads to a rigorous determinismand destroys God's freedom of will, because everything is alreadygiven in the essences. God has only to make them manifest by con-ferring existence on them. Things cannot be different from what isalready contained in their essences.Z2 Ibn Taymiyah further quotesIbn aL6Arabi's dictum that God rarefied Himself and calledHimself Haqq (God) in this state. He, then, condensed Himselfand called Himself creation (in this state). But this is untenable,"because if that which is rarefied is identical with that which hasbeen condensed, then God is the world and there has beenneither rarefaction nor condensation, but if that which is rarefiedis different from that which has been condensed, then the identityof God and His creation cannot be affirmed and this is the realtruth."23

~ i m i l a r l ~ ,bn Taymiyah criticises Ibn al-'Arabi for his dictumthat the exterior of God is His creation. while the interior of Godis H e Himself. But this presupposes that there are two entities,one of which is His exterior and the other His interior, which isnot true, because, says Ibn-Taymiyah, the distinction betweenexistence and essence is totally unreal.24

But Ibn Taymiyah's most trenchant criticism against the Sufis isdirected against their determinism and denial of free-will in man.He says that the Sufis waver between free-will and determinismopting neither for the one nor for the other. "As some of the'IUama' have remarked, you are a believer in free-will in mattersof obedience (that is, when you carry ou t the divine commands).but when you commit a sin you turn into a d e t e ~ m i n i s t . " ~ ~fdeterminism were true, says Ibn Ta y m i ~ ah as the Sufis maintain)then the determinist should not seek the help of the law in case heis wronged. If the wrongdoer destroys his property or inflictsphysical injuries on him or brings him to dishonour, the deterministshould do nothing against the wrongdoer and let him live in


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A HISTORICAL STUDY OF IQBAL'S VIEWS ON SUFISM 421peace. But, adds Ibn Taymiyah, this is impossible as i t runscounter t o human nature.26A far deeper criticism of Sufi metaphysics came from Shag&Ahmad Sirhindi. Ibn al-'Arabi held that the multiplicity of theattributes, which constitute the divine mind, was the furniture ofthe universe. The world, in fact, was nothing but the divineattributes reflected in the only external existent. These divineattributes Ibn al-'Arabi calls the essences of the contingents. But&ay&-- Ahmad Sirhindi claims that when attributes come t o existin a multiple manner in the mind of God, they generate their ownopposites. Thus, knowledge stands against an antithesis calledignorance, power is opposed by it s contradictory, uiz . , powerlessness,and so on. The sum-total of these attributes and their specificantitheses constitute both the divine consciousness and thematerial of the universe. The essences of the contingents arereally the opposites of the divine attributes, or non-being. Butin these opposites or antitheses the positive attributes cast theirreflections. The essences of the contingents are thus these non-beings plus the reflections that come to inhere in them of thepositive attributes.Now. since one of the perfections of God is external existence,the contingents by receiving an effluence of this perfection ceaseto be mere essences in the Divine Mind and come to existexternally. This is creation. When Ibn aLaArabi alks of reflec-tion, he makes the world only an attenuated carbon copy of God.But, according t o Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi, "the world existsexterna lly not only to G od's mind but also to H is Being. It is animperfect Being with only a derivative existence, but it is on itsown, with its own constitution, its own capacities and destiny.lV27The chief concern of a a y k h Ahmad Sirhindi is t o bring intofocus the moral dualism between God and the World and meta-physics is used as means to this end. The essence of the world isnon-being and evil : t cannot be predicated of God. But the worldas it actually exists, is not pure evil because the reflections of theDivine are also its constitutive elements. These reflections,however, are reflections of God and cannot, as such, be predicatedof God. The error of Ibn al-'Arabi and of the majority of theSufis who followed him consists in (a) not recognizing thefundamental evil in the world and ( b ) calling it a reflection ofGod but identifying the reflection with the original. A reflection


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422 MAZHERUDDIN SIDDIQIof ai t isb u t

shadow can only metaphysical ly be said t o be th a t of whicha reflection o r a shadow. "A l i teral identif ication is nothinga n intel lectual confu sion and a rel igious disaster."28

SUFISM AN D THE MODERN WORLDW e have discussed th e speculat ive phi losophy developed by

th e Sufis and a lso noted th e rea c t ion i t produced among th eMusl im th ink ers l ike Ibn Taym iyah and Shay& Ah m ad Si rhindi.It is evident th a t Su f i specula t ive thoug ht d id no t appeal to thoseminds which w ere interested in th e task of reconstructing M uslimsociety along th e l ines envisaged by the Q ur 'an and th e Pro phe t ofIslam. Indee d, i t is on e of th e basic deficiencies of Sufism t h a ti t t akes society fo r g ran ted as i t finds i t and then a t t emp t s t oreform th e individuals within th e existing fram ew ork of society.T h a t th e task of the individual's re form at ion and se lf -improvementi s necessary , we adm i t , fo r we ca nn ot a t te m pt t o recons t ruc tsociety on Islamic lines without individuals who are not onlyM uslims b ut good M uslims, too. Bu t th e diff iculty is th a t t h eSufi conc eption of a good M uslim d iffers in man y respects from t h eQur'Hnic con cep t of a good Muslim a nd the techniqu es ad op ted bySufism are no t conducive to th e shaping of individual l ives in aman ner th a t could be of any help in th e reco nstruct ion of Muslimsociety. T h e Qur 'snic co nc ep t of a good Muslim is n ot merely th atof a n individual wh o possesses religious piety in th e generallyacce pted sense of t h e word bu t of o ne w ho is actively vir tuous, onew ho is ready t o sacrif ice his w ealth an d, if need be, his l i fe in th ecause of fai th. Th is means th a t he should be act ively interestedn o t merely in his own self- improvem ent bu t a lso in th e dest iny ofIs lam as a mo vem ent and in th e welfare, moral an d mater ial , ofthose w ho form pa r t of the movement. Th is is a much broaderco nc ep t of goodness tha n th a t posi ted by Sufism which seeks toproduce good men bu t no t good c i ti zens . I t i s t ru e th a t you can-n ot be a good ci tizen w ith o ut being a good man, bu t th e reverseis also equ ally true. A ty p e of person ali ty which is mainly pre-occupied with i ts ow n spir i tual progress an d regards all mater ialpossessions a s sup erfluo us, if n o t w ho lly evil, wh ich is indifferentt o pol it ica l and economic t rends and w hich does no t prepareitself fo r part icip ation in th e task of social rec on struc tion , is hardlyth e typ e of personal i ty th a t can be of mu ch value in th e cr i ticalt imes throu gh which we ar e passing.


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A HISTORICAL STUDY OF IQBAL'S VIEWS ON SUFISM 423It may be objec ted to th is th a t toda y we a re no t t h rea t enedby to o much sel f- renunciation or to o much other-worldl iness. O nth e cont rary , the th rea t to our soc ia l and spir itua l in tegr ity comes

from a tota l lack of sel f- renunciation an d from to o much world-liness. Gro sser form s of m aterial ism ha ve invade d us. T h eindifference t o ou r social an d sp iri tua l well-being comes n o t fro mSufism or an y form of perverted religion bu t from th e hedonisminh eren t in industrial cu ltu re which regards ma terial possessionsand sensuous pleasures a s th e end of l ife. T hi s is al l very true .But one excess cann ot be corrected by another . Ce rtainly weneed todny a grea ter devotion to t h e th ings of th e spi r it orhigher values, nor is the re any do ub t tha t wi tho ut a cer tain degreeof self-renunciation nothin g high can be achieve d in th e realm ofintel!ect o r in th e field of politics. I t is in this sen se t h a t self-imposed poverty becomes necessary, nam ely, th e fayr required byth e Stifis. I t is a lso t ru e th a t in a world in which th e race formaterial prosperi ty and social prest ige has becom e t h e al l-absorbingconcern of l i fe , the re is nee d for a cer tain am ou nt of ret i reme ntand devotional exercises , so as t o prod uce a greater degree ofGod-Con sciousness. Similarly, in a soc iety wh ere material progressis the only yard st ick for th e measurement of social worth, the reis a greater need of individcel effort being d irecte d tow ard s moralself-imprcvem ent. T hi s much of Sufism we d o require, if i t canbe s o called. But what we do no t requi re toda y i s th e spi r i t oftotal wi thdrawal f rom th e affai rs of th e world and a purelyindividual moral i ty or absolute unconcern with mat ters whichvital ly affect ou r de stiny as a dist in ct poli tical society. T h ePro phe t of Islam withd rew himself t o th e cave of H im ' only tore turn wi th redoubled energy an d change th e soc ie ty and th eworld around him. H e never went back t o th e cav e af te rwards .T h e society and th e world of today req uire n o less radical changes.For this purpose we need individuals w ho can combine their ownmoral se l f -improvement wi th t h e enthus iasm an d energy tha t shouldcharacterize those who attempt a radical social reconstruction.All ret irem ent, all devo tional exercises, al l self-renunciation an dall a t tem pts to foreg o worldly possessions should be directed t othis suprem e task. If no t, th ey will a chie ve nothing . Sufism inth e sense of individual eE orts t o reform and imp rove oneselfmorally and spir itual ly is s ti ll re levan t t o th e t imes in which welive. Bu t as an organ ised and form al affair with i ts special


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424 MAZHERUDDIN SIDDIQItechniques, i t is a spent force that will never come into its ownagain.

In one of his lectures Iqbal has stressed the dangers of over-organization and expressed himself in favour of rearing self-concentrated individuals. "In an over-organised society," he writes,6 6the individual is altogether crushed out of existence. H e gains thewhole world of social thought around him but loses his own soul.The only effective power, therefore, tha t counteracts the forces ofdecay in a people is the rearing of self-concentrated individuals.Such individuals alone reveal the depth of life. They disclose newstandards in the light of which we begin to see tha t our environmentis not wholly inviolable and requires revision. The tendency toover-organization by a false reverence of the past as manifested inthe legists of Islam in the thir teenth century and, later, wascontrary to the inner impulse of Islam and consequently invokedthe powerful reaction of I l n ~ai mi ya h."~ gIf we wish to understand what Iqbal means by self-concentratedindividuals, we shall have t o study his poetry where he oftenspeaks of mard-i-qalandar, mard-i-mu'min and mard-i-burr andbuilds u p the image of a personality that resembles the Sufis insome respects but differs from them in other respects. He is not infavour of formal and traditional Sufism, because he thinks that thespark of life has gone out of it :j r & ~ J2 ly dfi J ;?4: 966 2 e.9* & *=+IL 1Nothing of f aqr (voluntary poverty) remains-in the secluded roomof the Sufi whose documentary evidence is the blood that coursesin the hearts of lion-hearted people-"30oc .-jF & + & S A j d dl tet . & 6GL; 3 &a& \* bbl"I rose from the madrasah (of the 'Ulamii') and the monastery (ofthe Sufis) saddened by the experience that there is neither life,nor love, nor gnosis, nor vision in these places."3194 9 GLIJ 2" &LA &L j4- a+& L L 4ib)"Nothing of the fire of curiosity and desire remains in the circleof the Sufis. Only storks of thei r miracles have survived."3"Nevertheless. some of the qualities which characterized Sufisform the ingredients of a character which Iqbal holds up as a model.For example, he says :d3-; Cd&j6 d'".&%s & 12'&. a+4" L &9J c%"The warmth of Rami's fire constitutes th y remedy. Thy reasonhas been waylaid by the magic of W e ~ t e r n e r s . " ~ ~


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A HISTORICAL STUDY OF IQBAL'S VIEWS O N SUFISM 425Like the Sufis, Iqbal stresses the fact that formal teaching

is as nothing compared to the living contact of a dynamic perso-nality, which has a transforming effect on character :9i$J p & I > / GI 9 G3L d\S+ j II. Company (of Iivind personalities) is better than the knowledgeobtained from books. The company of free men is creative offresh personalities."34Like the Sufis, again, Iqbal holds up the ideal of voluntary

poverty and disparages academic learning by comparison with thevision imparted to the disciples by a spiritual teacher :a G ,+ & L A& r>; >r;,& sJ'4 p' >+a c +sIKnowledge aims at the purification of reason and intellect, butfaqr (voluntary poverty) aims a t the purification of the heart andthe sight."35But to these qualities of character which are shared by theSufis, are superadded higher qualities which were exemplified bythe Prophet and his Companions, who differed in some fundamen-tal respects from the Sufis. For example, Iqbal often refers to th erevolutionary character of their personality, in the politics: as wellas the social sense of the word :

Y4 2.J* dl$ d Sk& y?-, dl3.1 4;14,*- f h C * lqi$c+tl,cS"Neither in Iran nor in Tiiran, survive those creatures of Godwhose faqr was destructive of the empires of Caesar andC h o ~ r o e s . " ~ ~The reference clearly is t o the early Companions of theProphet, who destroyed the Byzantine and the Sasanian em,pires,despite their poor llving conditions.

Similarly, Iqbal says :>&L 1 ) 4 '/ r &I p' -U.vrCL rp+l,du, p"The qalandar calls to account the moon and the stars. He is notridden by the Time, rather he rides over the This p:ainlymeans that Iqbal wants a character-pattern which instead of adjust-ing itself to the exigencies of the times, changes the direction ofhistory and overcomes i t by the sheer force of will and insight.Iqbal likewise speaks of the lofty aims which mark out adynamicpersonality from men of lesser stature :j\l; L!J ~ L ~ Y It e d b 3 3 9 o& Y p :-k+ >If:~ ~ $ 3'Ljl_O;J>& J'J ++I> l>lJ'L~YI &A?. &bzJ &b &-+J J' .4


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426 MAZHERUDDIN SIDDI(11"Created of du st , bu t having th e effulgence of l igh t , this crea turewh o resembles th e Cre a tor in h i s qual it ies is uninteres ted in ( thepossessions of ) e i ther world. H is (wo rldly) exp ectat ions are few,but h is a ims are lof ty , h i s man ners a t t rac t ive an d his eyes charm-ing."38

Th is is t h e kind of self -concentrated individual on whom Iqbalpins his hopes. I t i s c lear th at he is n o t anxious to revive Sufism,thou gh he would l ike to preserv e some of th e chara cter t ra i tsproduced by th e Sufi m ovem ent . But unless oth er qua l i t ies areadded t o these ch ara cte r t ra i ts , qual i ties of a mo re vir i le , act iveand dynamic na ture , th e t radi tional Sufi cha rac ter -p a t te rn is noanswer t o t h e chal lenge of modernism.

NOTES1. Iqbal, Th e Reconstruct ion o f Religious Thought in I sla m , Lahore, 1962, 150.2. Ib id .3. Ib id . , 150 and 151.4. Iqbal. Th e Development o f Me taphys i c s in Persia , Lahore, n.d. 176.5. Fazlur Rahman. Is lamic Methodology in His to ry . Lahore. 1964. 107.6. For a detailed discussion of the subject, i b i d . . 57.7. a a l i l al-JBrr and Hannii al -F aa ii ri . Ta'r ikh-al -Falsafat cr l - 'Arabiyah, Beirut.

n.d., I :293.8. Iqbal. Metaphys i c s in Pers ia , op . c i t . , 79.9. Ibid.10. Ibid. . 80.11. Fazlur Rahman, op. ci t . . 110.12. Al-Hujwiri. K a d f a l-M ah jT ib . English translation by R. A. Nicholson.

London, 1922. 268.13. Fazlur Rahman, Zntroduct ion to Sirhin di ' s L ~ t t e r s (MaktTibdt) . Chapter I

(unpublished).14. Ibid.15. Ib id .16. Ibad.17. Ib id .18. Ib n Taymiyah, Rasii 'i l wa E;atEwd a a y & al - l s l iint , Cairo. 1341 A.H.. I : 5-60.19. Ibid., 71.20. Ib id . . 175.21. l b i d . . 67.22. Ibid. , 50.23. l b id . . 67.24. Ib id . . 77.25. Ib id . . 72-73.26. I b i d . , 89-90.


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27. Fazlur Rahman. Introduct ion to a a y & Ahmad Sirhindi 's Let ters, op . c i t .28. Ibid.29. Iqbal. Reconstruction., op. c i t . . 151.30. Iqbal. Bii l - i -d ibri l . Lahore. 1959. 42.31. Ibid . , 70.32. Ibid.. 95.33. Ibid., 44.34. Iqbal, M ag na w i Pas ch i Bii yad Ku rd , Lahore, n.d., 34.35. Iqbal. Bd - i - J i b r i l , o p . c i t . . 110.36. Ibid . , 38.37. Iqbal. Darb- i -Kal im. Lahore, 1959. 36.38. Iqbal, Bdl-i-Jibri l . op. cit.

A Historical Study of Iqbal's Views on Sufism

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