Allama Sir Muhammad Iqbal was a poet, philosopher and politician born in Sialkot, British India (now in Pakistan), whose poetry in Urdu and Persian is considered to be among the greatest of the modern era and whose vision of an independent state for the Muslims of British India was to inspire the creation of Pakistan. He is commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal‎, Allama meaning "Scholar". Iqbal was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilization across the world, but specifically in India; a series of famous lectures he delivered to this effect were published as The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. One of the most prominent leaders of the All India Muslim League, Iqbal encouraged the creation of a "state in northwestern India for Indian Muslims" in his 1930 presidential address. Iqbal encouraged and worked closely with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and he is known as Muffakir-e-Pakistan ("The Thinker of Pakistan"), Shair-e-Mashriq ("The Poet of the East"), and Hakeem-ul-Ummat ("The Sage of Ummah"). He is officially recognized as the "national poet" in Pakistan. https://www.iqbal.com.pk/allama-iqbal-prose-works/speeches-writings-statements-of-allama-iqbal/984-prose-works/stray-reflections-the-private-notebook-of-muhammad-iqbal/stray-thoughts-1925 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 Int. Iqbal Society noreply@iqbal.com.pk 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 https://www.iqbal.com.pk/allama-iqbal-prose-works/speeches-writings-statements-of-allama-iqbal/984-prose-works/stray-reflections-the-private-notebook-of-muhammad-iqbal/stray-thoughts-1925/2619-10-the-present Noman Bokhari noman.bokhari@iqbalsociety.org

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">10. The Present</div> <div></div> <div id="_mcePaste">People extol the past and deprecate the present, not understanding that the present is the whole of the past concentrated in one point.</div> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">10. The Present</div> <div></div> <div id="_mcePaste">People extol the past and deprecate the present, not understanding that the present is the whole of the past concentrated in one point.</div> <p> </p> <p> </p> 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 https://www.iqbal.com.pk/allama-iqbal-prose-works/speeches-writings-statements-of-allama-iqbal/984-prose-works/stray-reflections-the-private-notebook-of-muhammad-iqbal/stray-thoughts-1925/2618-9-human-freedom Noman Bokhari noman.bokhari@iqbalsociety.org

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">9. Human Freedom</div> <div></div> <div id="_mcePaste">Most of our theologians thought the doctrine of human freedom could not be reconciled with the fore-knowledge of God. They looked upon belief in freedom as veiled atheism. So thought Mahmud Shabistri. But  the author of Gulshan-i-Raz made the tacit assumption of an absolute and independent Time like Newton. He did not see that if his view of Time were true, then the freedom of God would also disappear. Shabistri’s argument will not hold to-day; for God can be conceived as creating Time from moment to moment. If the Universe is an open one, there is no preexisting future, and God does not know the future because there is nothing to know.</div> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">9. Human Freedom</div> <div></div> <div id="_mcePaste">Most of our theologians thought the doctrine of human freedom could not be reconciled with the fore-knowledge of God. They looked upon belief in freedom as veiled atheism. So thought Mahmud Shabistri. But  the author of Gulshan-i-Raz made the tacit assumption of an absolute and independent Time like Newton. He did not see that if his view of Time were true, then the freedom of God would also disappear. Shabistri’s argument will not hold to-day; for God can be conceived as creating Time from moment to moment. If the Universe is an open one, there is no preexisting future, and God does not know the future because there is nothing to know.</div> <p> </p> <p> </p> 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 https://www.iqbal.com.pk/allama-iqbal-prose-works/speeches-writings-statements-of-allama-iqbal/984-prose-works/stray-reflections-the-private-notebook-of-muhammad-iqbal/stray-thoughts-1925/2617-8-miraj Noman Bokhari noman.bokhari@iqbalsociety.org

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">8. Mi‘raj</div> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>The idea of Mi‘raj in Islam is face to face vision of Reality without the slightest displacement of your own ego. It is impossible to forget the words of the Muslim poet who said of the Prophet this much:</div> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: center;"></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 28px; color: #000000;"> <div dir="rtl">موسیٰ زھوش رفت بہ یک جلوہ صفات</div> <div style="text-align: center;" dir="rtl">تو عین ذات می نگری در تبسمے</div> </span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <hr /> </div> <div style="text-align: center;">* Iqbal translated the couplet in  The Reconstruction of Religious</div> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: center;">Thought in Islam  as: “Moses fainted away by a mere surface</div> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: center;">illumination of Reality: Thou seest the very substance of Rality</div> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: center;">with a smile!” KAS.</div> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p>

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">8. Mi‘raj</div> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>The idea of Mi‘raj in Islam is face to face vision of Reality without the slightest displacement of your own ego. It is impossible to forget the words of the Muslim poet who said of the Prophet this much:</div> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: center;"></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 28px; color: #000000;"> <div dir="rtl">موسیٰ زھوش رفت بہ یک جلوہ صفات</div> <div style="text-align: center;" dir="rtl">تو عین ذات می نگری در تبسمے</div> </span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <hr /> </div> <div style="text-align: center;">* Iqbal translated the couplet in  The Reconstruction of Religious</div> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: center;">Thought in Islam  as: “Moses fainted away by a mere surface</div> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: center;">illumination of Reality: Thou seest the very substance of Rality</div> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: center;">with a smile!” KAS.</div> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 https://www.iqbal.com.pk/allama-iqbal-prose-works/speeches-writings-statements-of-allama-iqbal/984-prose-works/stray-reflections-the-private-notebook-of-muhammad-iqbal/stray-thoughts-1925/2616-7-knowledge-and-fate Noman Bokhari noman.bokhari@iqbalsociety.org

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">7. Knowledge and Fate</div> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>Knowledge partly contributes to the structure of what we call objective reality; but the character of events that drop out of the womb of Fate is wholly determined by the heart of man. It is the weak man who endows Fate with its sting. The strong man exploits his misfortunes, in as much as he enhances the force of his soul by maintaining an attitude of total indifference to them</div> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">7. Knowledge and Fate</div> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>Knowledge partly contributes to the structure of what we call objective reality; but the character of events that drop out of the womb of Fate is wholly determined by the heart of man. It is the weak man who endows Fate with its sting. The strong man exploits his misfortunes, in as much as he enhances the force of his soul by maintaining an attitude of total indifference to them</div> <p> </p> <p> </p> 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 https://www.iqbal.com.pk/allama-iqbal-prose-works/speeches-writings-statements-of-allama-iqbal/984-prose-works/stray-reflections-the-private-notebook-of-muhammad-iqbal/stray-thoughts-1925/2615-6-the-rebirth-of-humanism Noman Bokhari noman.bokhari@iqbalsociety.org

<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: justify;">6. The Rebirth of Humanism</div> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: justify;"></div> <div style="text-align: justify;">One of the most interesting phenomena of modern history is the birth, or rather the rebirth of humanism in the world of Islam. This will no doubt sharpen our sense for matter which centuries of speculative Sufism had dulled; but we must not forget the distinction which the mediaeval thinkers of Europe made between “use” and “enjoyment”. We “use” all that is a means to the acquisition of the ultimate good. The Eternal alone is enjoyable; all else is useable only. Europe forgot this distinction long ago and there is no knowing where her unrestrained humanism will carry her.</div> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>

<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: justify;">6. The Rebirth of Humanism</div> <div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: justify;"></div> <div style="text-align: justify;">One of the most interesting phenomena of modern history is the birth, or rather the rebirth of humanism in the world of Islam. This will no doubt sharpen our sense for matter which centuries of speculative Sufism had dulled; but we must not forget the distinction which the mediaeval thinkers of Europe made between “use” and “enjoyment”. We “use” all that is a means to the acquisition of the ultimate good. The Eternal alone is enjoyable; all else is useable only. Europe forgot this distinction long ago and there is no knowing where her unrestrained humanism will carry her.</div> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 https://www.iqbal.com.pk/allama-iqbal-prose-works/speeches-writings-statements-of-allama-iqbal/984-prose-works/stray-reflections-the-private-notebook-of-muhammad-iqbal/stray-thoughts-1925/2614-5-self-sacrifice Noman Bokhari noman.bokhari@iqbalsociety.org

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">5. Self-Sacrifice</div> <div></div> <div id="_mcePaste">Before you talk of self-sacrifice you must see whether you have got a self to sacrifice. The egotist alone is capable of self-sacrifice.</div> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">5. Self-Sacrifice</div> <div></div> <div id="_mcePaste">Before you talk of self-sacrifice you must see whether you have got a self to sacrifice. The egotist alone is capable of self-sacrifice.</div> <p> </p> <p> </p> 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 https://www.iqbal.com.pk/allama-iqbal-prose-works/speeches-writings-statements-of-allama-iqbal/984-prose-works/stray-reflections-the-private-notebook-of-muhammad-iqbal/stray-thoughts-1925/2613-4-the-tauhid-of-islam Noman Bokhari noman.bokhari@iqbalsociety.org

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">4. The Tauhid of Islam</div> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>Nietzsche thinks that belief in God makes man feeble. The wisdom of Islam consists in exploiting the idea of God in the interest of Man, and transforming him into a source of power for the  Tauhid of Islam means absolute freedom from fear and superstition in actual life. A mere intellectual belief in God does not count for much in Islam. *</div> <div></div> <div> <hr /> </div> <div>Tauhid refers to the Muslim belief in the oneness of God. In Arabic it means unity – KAS.</div> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">4. The Tauhid of Islam</div> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>Nietzsche thinks that belief in God makes man feeble. The wisdom of Islam consists in exploiting the idea of God in the interest of Man, and transforming him into a source of power for the  Tauhid of Islam means absolute freedom from fear and superstition in actual life. A mere intellectual belief in God does not count for much in Islam. *</div> <div></div> <div> <hr /> </div> <div>Tauhid refers to the Muslim belief in the oneness of God. In Arabic it means unity – KAS.</div> <p> </p> <p> </p> 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 https://www.iqbal.com.pk/allama-iqbal-prose-works/speeches-writings-statements-of-allama-iqbal/984-prose-works/stray-reflections-the-private-notebook-of-muhammad-iqbal/stray-thoughts-1925/2612-3-islam Noman Bokhari noman.bokhari@iqbalsociety.org

<p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>3. Islam</div> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>Islam is not a religion in the ancient sense of the word. It is an attitude – an attitude, that is to say, of Freedom and even of defiance to the Universe. It is really a protest against the entire outlook of the ancient world. Briefly, it is the discovery of Man.</div>

<p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>3. Islam</div> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>Islam is not a religion in the ancient sense of the word. It is an attitude – an attitude, that is to say, of Freedom and even of defiance to the Universe. It is really a protest against the entire outlook of the ancient world. Briefly, it is the discovery of Man.</div> 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 https://www.iqbal.com.pk/allama-iqbal-prose-works/speeches-writings-statements-of-allama-iqbal/984-prose-works/stray-reflections-the-private-notebook-of-muhammad-iqbal/stray-thoughts-1925/2611-2-the-question Noman Bokhari noman.bokhari@iqbalsociety.org

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">2. The Question</div> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>For centuries Eastern heart and intellect have been absorbed in the question – Does God exist? I propose to raise a new question – new, that is to say, for the East –</div> <div></div> <div>Does man exist?</div> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">2. The Question</div> <div id="_mcePaste"></div> <div>For centuries Eastern heart and intellect have been absorbed in the question – Does God exist? I propose to raise a new question – new, that is to say, for the East –</div> <div></div> <div>Does man exist?</div> <p> </p> <p> </p> 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 2021-02-20T04:08:21+00:00 https://www.iqbal.com.pk/allama-iqbal-prose-works/speeches-writings-statements-of-allama-iqbal/984-prose-works/stray-reflections-the-private-notebook-of-muhammad-iqbal/stray-thoughts-1925/2610-1-the-weak-and-the-strong Noman Bokhari noman.bokhari@iqbalsociety.org

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">1. The Weak and the Strong</div> <div></div> <div id="_mcePaste">The weak lose themselves in God; the strong discover Him in themselves.</div> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p> </p> <p> </p> <div id="_mcePaste">1. The Weak and the Strong</div> <div></div> <div id="_mcePaste">The weak lose themselves in God; the strong discover Him in themselves.</div> <p> </p> <p> </p>