A friend introduced me to the intellectual and poetic brilliance of Mawlana Iqbal, who was an academic, politician, and philosopher in the early 20th century. He was an avid student of Shaykh Rumi and an endorser of Ibn al Arabi. “I am two personalities in one, the outer is practical and business like, and the inner is the dreamer, philosopher, and mystic.” -Iqbal
I read the book, Iqbal, an illustrated biography, by Khurram Ali Shafique (KAS) and shared my notes and gems here:
“Many a poet was born after his death,
Opened our eyes when his own were closed,
And journeyed forth again from nothingness,
Like Roses blossoming o’er the earth of his grave.”
-Iqbal in “Secrets of the Self” translated by R.A. Nicholson
“The powers of your mind may be unlimited but the time at hand is always measured.” -KAS
“The perfect man is the pivot around which revolves all the ‘heavens’ of existence, and the sum of the realities of material existence corresponds to his unity.” -Iqbal
According to Iqbal, the Throne of God, the Footstool, the Lote Tree, the Pen, and the Preserved Tablet correspond directly to the heart, the I-ness, the spiritual station, the intellect, and the mind of the perfect human being.
Iqbal’s thesis was The Doctrine of Absolute Unity as expounded by Abdul Karim Al-Jily.
“The Prophet is a prism for Divine Light.” -Iqbal
“God is the separated beloved whom the human being has to find in everything beautiful, including one’s own heart. The thousands of forms in this world are like thousands of veils across the face of a single Reality. True seekers learn to ignore the appearance (majaz) of whatever they see, and concentrate instead on the unseen, the Reality (haqiqat). In other words, God exists everywhere and those who can see beyond appearance see Him manifest in things as little as a glow-worm and as huge as the Himalaya.” KAS
“Everything in nature represents mystical secrets to Iqbal; flowers, streams, rivers and meadows may be mute to other listeners but not to the poet. He explores their mystery, connects to the vibrations of the Divine rhythm emanating from them, and develops a wavelength with birds, bees, and animals.” KAS
“The candle is naked flame while the human being is light contained in the chandelier of opaque dust.” KAS
“The ancient Greek ideas, devoid of empirical spirit as they were, could not have provided a basis for the Modern European civilization without input from the great Muslim mind.” KAS
“Our soul discovers itself when we come into contact with a great mind.
It is not until i had realized the infinitude of Geothe’s imagination that I discovered the narrow breadth of my own.” -Iqbal
“Fight not for the interpretation of the truth, when the truth itself is in danger.” -Iqbal
“Give up waiting for the Mahdi. Go and create him.” -Iqbal
“The scientific observer of Nature is a kind of mystic seeker in the act of prayer.” -Iqbal
“The beauties of nature can be realized only through the eyes of a lover. Hence the importance of a true marriage.” -Iqbal
[True marriage: marriage of the soul to the spirit]
“The effect of the wine doesn’t depend on the cup in which it is served.” -Iqbal
“If you wish to be heard in the noise of this world, let your soul be dominated by a single idea. It is the man with a single idea who creates political and social revolutions, establishes empires and gives law to the world.” -Iqbal
The human self should receive its illumination from the Absolute Reality and in turn illuminate all areas of human existence. An ideal nation can be formed from the collective will of enlightened individuals. (My Notes)
The principle of growth is inward-out, not out-and-out. The seed contains the stem in it, and likewise by nurturing the fountainhead within and not by envying the power of others a human being grows stronger. (KAS)
