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1:18 AM
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ایک شخص نے کہا، میں یہاں ایک چیز بھول گیا ہوں۔ فرمایا کہ دنیا میں صرف ایک چیزایسی ہے جسے کبھی فراموش نہیں کرنا چاہیے۔ اگر تجھے باقی سب چیزیں بھول جائیں اور یہ ایک چیز یاد رہے تو کوئی ڈر نہیں اور باقی سب چیزوں کو خاطر میں لائے اور یاد رکھے اور اس ایک چیز کو فراموش کردے تو تو نے کچھ بھی نہ کیا۔ یہ ایسا ہی ہے کہ ایک بادشاہ نے تجھے ایک خاص کام کے لئے کسی گاؤں بھیجا تھا، وہ تجھے نہ بھولا تو یوں سمجھ کہ گتونے کوئی بھی کام فراموش نہیں کیا۔ پس انسان اس دنیا میں ایک خاص کام کے لئے آیا ہے۔ اور وہی ایک مقصد ہے اگر وہ اسے نہ بھولا تو گویا وہ کچھ بھی نہیں بھولا۔
’’ہم نے خاص امانت آسمانوں اور زمین اور پہاڑوں کو پیش کی تو انہوں نے اٹھانے سے انکار کر دیا اور اس سے خوف کھایا اور انسان نے اسے اٹھا لیا بے شک وہ (اپنے حق میں) ظالم اور جاہل تھا۔‘‘ سورہٗ احزاب: ع۹)
وہ امانت ہم نے آسمانوں کو پیش کی، وہ اسے قبول نہ کر سکے دیکھو اس سے کئی کام ایسے ہوتے ہیں جن سے عقل دنگ رہ جاتی ہے۔ پھر کو لعل اور یاقوت بنا دیتا ہے۔ پہاڑوں کو سونے اور چاندی کی کانیں بناتا ہے اور زمین میں نباتات کو جوش میں لاتا اور زندہ کرتا ہے اور اسے بہشت عدن بنا دیتا ہے زمین بھی دانوں کو قبول کرتی ہے اور پھل دیتی ہے۔ عیبوں کو چھپاتی ہے اور صد ہا عجائبات ایسے پیدا کرتی ہے کہ ان کی شرح نہیں ہو سکتی۔ اسی طرح پہاڑ بھی گوناگوں معدنیات پیدا کرتے ہیں یہ سبھی کچھ کرتے ہیں لیکن ان سے ایک کام نہیں ہوا اور وہ کام انسان نے کر لیا۔ چنانچہ خدا نے کہا:
’’ہم نے بنی آدم کو بزرگی دی۔
اس لئے یہ نہیں کہا:
’’ہم نے بزرگی دی، آسمانوں اور زمین کو۔
پس انسان نے وہ کام کر دکھایا جو نہ آسمانوں سے ہو سکا، نہ زمینوں سے اور نہ پہاڑوں سے۔ جب وہ کام کر لیا، تو ’’ظلم‘‘ اور ’’جہالت‘‘ کی خود ہی نفی ہو گئی۔ اگر تو یہ کہے کہ اگر میں وہ ایک کام نہیں کرتا ، تو نہ سہی۔ بے شمار دوسرے کام تو کرتا ہوں۔ یاد رکھ کہ انسان کو ان دوسرے کاموں کے لئے نہیں پیدا کیا گیا۔ یہ تو ایسا ہی ہے کہ تو ہندوستانی فولاد کی انمول تلوار جو بادشاہوں کے خزانوں ہی میں ملتی ہے ، لائے اور اسے گوشت کاٹنے کا چھرا بنا لے، کہ میں اس تلوار کو بیکار نہیں رکھتا۔ اس سے یوں کام لینے میں مصلحت ہے، یا تو سونے کی ایک دیگ لے آئے اور اس میں شلغم پکانے لگے۔ حالانکہ اس کے ایک ذرہ سے سو دیگیں ہاتھ آتی ہیں۔ یا ایک جوہر دار تلوار کو ٹوٹا ہوا برتن لٹکانے کے لئے کھونٹی بنا لے اور کہے میں مصلحت اسی میں دیکھتا ہوں کہ برتن کو اس پر لٹکاؤں، تلوار میرے پاس بیکار نہیں ہے۔ کیا یہ افسوس اور ہنسی کا مقام نہیں کہ جبکہ برتن لکڑی کی کھونٹی سے یا ایک پیسے والی لوہے کی میخ سے لٹکایا جا سکتا ہے تو ناحق سو دینار والی تلوار سے یہ کام لیا جائے۔ کیا یہ عقل کی بات ہے؟
خدا تعالیٰ نے تیری بڑی قیمت مقرر کی ہے۔ وہ فرماتا ہے:
’’خدا تعالیٰ نے مومنوں سے ان کی جان اور مال کو خرید لیا ہے کہ ان کے بدلے میں انہیں جنت دے گا۔‘‘ سورہٗ توبہ
ترجمہ شعر: قیمت میں تو دو جہانوں سے بھی زیادہ ہے، کیا کروں تو خود اپنی قدرو قیمت نہیں جانتا۔
ترجمہ مصرع: اپنے آپ کو سستا نہ بیچ کیونکہ تیری قیمت بہت زیادہ ہے۔
خدا تعالیٰ فرماتا ہے کہ میں نے تمہیں، تمہارے اوقات، تمہاری جانیں، تمہارے مال اور تمہارے روزگار تم سے خرید لیے ہیں کہ اگر یہ سب چیزیں مجھ پر صرف کرو گے اور مجھے دو گے تو ان کے بدلہ میں تمہیں ہمیشہ کے لئے بہشت دوں گا۔ میرے نزدیک تیری قیمت یہ ہے اگر تو اپنے آپ کو دوزخ کے بدلے فروخت کردے، تو اس حالت میں تو اپنے آپ پر ظلم کرے گا۔ اگر تو ایسا کرے تو یہ اسی طرح ہوگا جس نے سو دینار سے خریدی ہوئی تلوار دیوار میں نصب کرکے اس پر کوئی برتن لٹکادیا۔
ہم اصل بات کی طرف آتے ہیں ۔ تو بہانہ پیش کرتا ہے کہ میں اپنے آپ کو دنیا کے کاموں میں لگائے ہوئے ہوں۔ میں فقہ، حکمت، منطق، نجوم، طب وغیرہ جیسے علوم حاصل کررہا ہوں۔ آخر یہ سب کچھ تیرے ہی لیے ہے۔ اگر فقہ ہے تو وہ اس لئے کہ کوئی تیرے ہاتھ سے روٹی نہ چھین لے، تیرے کپڑے نہ اتار لے اور تجھے مار نہ ڈالے اور تو سلامت رہے۔ علم نجوم کی پوچھتا ہے تو افلاک کا حال، زمین پر ان کا اثر، امن اور خوف کی زیادتی یا کمی ان سب باتوں کا تعلق تیرے حالات سے ہے اور اگر ستارہ کو لو تو سعد اور نحس کا تعلق تیرے طالع سے ہے، یہ بھی تیرے لیے ہے۔ تو غور کرے تو اصل چیز تو خود ہے اور یہ سب کچھ تیری شاخیں ہیں جب تیری شاخوں کی تفاصیل، عجائبات، احوال اور حیران کر دینے والے علوم کی کوئی حد نہیں تو سوچ کہ تو جو اصل ہے تیرا کیا حال ہے؟ جب تیری شاخوں کا عروج ، ہبوط، سعد اور نحس ہے تو تو کہ ان شاخوں کا اصل ہے، عالم ارواح میں تیرا عروج، ہبوط، سعد، نحس، نفع اور نقصان کیا ہوگا؟ کہ فلاں روح کی یہ خصوصیت ہے اور وہ یہ کچھ کر سکتی ہے اور فلاں کام اس کے لئے مناسب ہے۔
اس نیند اور خورش کے علاوہ تیری اصل خوراک کچھ اور ہے۔
’’میں اپنے پروردگار کے حضور میں رہتا ہوں، وہی مجھ کو کھلاتا اور پلاتا ہے۔‘‘
اس دنیا میں تو اس خوراک کو بھول گیا اور یہ خوراک کھا رہا ہے رات دن تو تن پروری میں مصروف ہے۔ آخر یہ جسم تیرا گھوڑا ہے اور یہ دنیا اس کا اصطبل ہے۔ گھوڑے کی خوراک سوار کی خوراک نہیں ہوتی۔ اسے تو اپنے سے بہتر خواب و خورش کی نعمتیں مہیاکر رہا ہے۔ لیکن اس کی وجہ سے کہ حیوانیت اور بہیمیت تجھ پر غالب ہے تو گھوڑے کا سوار ہوتے ہوئے سب گھوڑوں سے بھی پیچھے رہ گیا ہے اور عالمِ بقا کے بادشاہوں اور امیروں کی صف میں تیری جگہ نہیں ہے تیرا دل وہیں ہے، جسم تجھ پر غالب ہے اس لئے تو جسم ہی کا حکم مانتا ہے اور اسی کا تو قیدی بن گیا ہے۔ یہ ایسے ہی ہے جیسے مجنوں نے لیلیٰ کے شہر جانے کا ارادہ کیا، جب تک مجنوں کو ہوش رہا، وہ اونٹ کو اس طرح دوڑاتا رہا، جب وہ لیلیٰ کے خیال میں مستغرق ہو گیا تو اپنے آپ کو اور اونٹ کو بھول گیا، گاؤں میں اس اونٹ کا بچہ تھا اونٹ کو موقع ملا تو اس نے گاؤں کا رخ کر لیا اور وہاں لوٹ ایا۔ جب مجنوں کو ہوش آیا تو اسے معلوم ہوا کہ اس کی مسافت صرف دو دن کی تھی۔ مگر سفر میں اسے تین مہینے لگ چکے ہیں ۔ مجنوں چلایا کہ یہ اونٹ میرے لئے مصیبت ہے ۔ اونٹ پر سے کود کر اتر آیا اور پیدل روانہ ہوا:
’’میری اونٹنی تو میرے پیچھے پیچھے چل رہی ہے اور میرے آگے آگے محبت کا قافلہ رواں ہے، اس لیے میں اور میری اونٹنی دو مختلف راستوں پر گامزن ہیں۔‘‘
فرمایا سید برہان الدین محقق قد س سرہ نے ارشاد کیا کہ کسی نے ان سے کہا، فلاں آدمی سے میں نے آپ کی تعریف سنی ہے بولے دیکھوں تو وہ شخص کون ہے؟ کیا اس کا مرتبہ یہ ہے کہ وہ مجھے پہچان لے؟ اور میری تعریف کرے؟ اگر اس نے میری باتوں سے مجھے پہچانا ہے تو وہ مجھے نہیں پہچان سکا۔ کیونکہ نہ یہ باتیں رہیں گی ، نہ حرف نہ آواز اور نہ لب و دہن رہیں گے۔ یہ سب چیزیں قائم الذات نہیں بلکہ عرض ہیں۔ ان کی اصل کچھ نہیں اور اگر اس نے مجھے میرے فعل سے پہچانا ہے تو بھی ایسا ہی ہے اگر اس نے میری ذات پہچانی ہے تو میں سمجھتا ہوں کہ وہ میری تعریف کر سکتا ہے اور وہ تعریف میری ہی ہے۔
حکایت: کہتے ہیں، ایک بادشاہ نے اپنا بیٹا ایک اہلِ ہنر جماعت کے سپرد کر رکھا تھا کہ وہ اہلِ ہنر اسے علم نجوم اور رمل وغیرہ سکھائیں۔ انہوں نے اسے لکھا پڑھا کر مسلم الثبوت استاد بنا دیا۔ بیوقوفی اور احمق پن اس میں بکمال موجود تھا۔ ایک دن بادشاہ نے انگوٹھی اپنی مٹھی میں دبائی اور بیٹے کا امتحان لیا۔ کہا بیٹا مجھے بتاؤ تو میری مٹھی میں کیا ہے؟ اس نے جواب دیا آپ کی مٹھی میں کوئی ایسی چیز ہے جو گول ہے، زرد ہے اور اندر سے خالی ہے۔ بادشاہ نے کہا، جب تم نے ساری نشانیاں ٹھیک ٹھیک بتا دی ہیں، تو اب حکم لگاؤ کہ وہ کیا چیز ہے؟ وہ بولا اسے دف ہونا چاہیے۔ بادشاہ نے کہا، بیٹا تو نے کئی بڑی مشکل نشانیاں بتا دیں، جن سے عقل ورطہ حیرت میں پڑ گئی۔ لیکن یہ چھوٹی سی بات تیرے علم اور عقل میں کیوں نہ آئی کہ دف جتنی بڑی چیز مٹھی میں نہیں آسکتی۔
اسی طرح ہمارے زمانے کے علماء کئی علوم میں موشگافیاں کرتے ہیں اور جن چیزوں کا تعلق ان سے نہیں، انہیں خوب سمجھتے ہیں اور ان پر بہت حاوی ہیں اور جو چیز سب سے بڑی اور سب سے قریب تر ہے وہ ان کی اپنی خودی ہے۔ ان میں سے کوئی بھی اپنی خودی کو نہیں جانتا۔ چیزوں کی حرمت و حلت کے متعلق یہ فتویٰ دیتے ہیں کہ یہ چیز جائز ہے اور وہ ناجائز۔ یہ چیز حلال ہے اور وہ حرام۔ لیکن ان میں سے اپنے آپ کو کوئی جانتا ہے کہ وہ حلال یا حرام؟ جائز ہے یا ناجائز؟ پس اس کا یہ خلا، زردی، نقش اور گولائی سب عارضی ہے۔ تو اسے آگ میں ڈال دے تو ان میں سے کچھ بھی باقی نہیں رہتا، ذات ان سب سے معرا ہے۔
وہ جس چیز کی نشانی بتاتے ہیں، وہ علم، فعل اور قول سے ایسی ہی ہوتی ہے اور جوہر یعنی اصل ذات سے اس کا کوئی تعلق نہیں ہوتا۔ ان سب کے بعد باقی رہنے والی چیزذات ہی ہے۔ ان کی بتائی ہوئی نشانیاں ایسی ہیں ہیں۔ یہ وہ سب نشانیاں بتا دیتے ہیں اور ان نشانیوں کی تشریح خوب کرتے ہیں اور آخر میں حکم لگاتے ہیں کہ مٹھی کے اندر دف ہے۔ جو چیز کہ اصل ہے، اس کی انہیں خبر نہیں ہوتی۔ میں پرندہ ہوں، بلبل ہوں یا طوطی ہوں۔ اگر وہ مجھے کہیں تم کسی اور قسم کی آواز نکالو تو مجھ سے یہ نہیں ہو سکتا کیونکہ میری یہی آواز ہے۔ میں کسی دوسری طرز پر نہیں بول سکتا۔ اس کے برعکس اگر کسی نے پرندہ کی آواز سیکھی ہے تو وہ خود پرندہ نہیں ہے۔ وہ صیاد ہے اور پرندوں کا دشمن ہے۔وہ پرندوں جیسی آواز اس لیے نکالتا ہے کہ اسے پرندہ سمجھیں۔ اگر انہیں حکم دیا جائے کہ اس آواز کے علاوہ تو کسی اور رنگ کی آواز نکال سکتا ہے۔ چونکہ پہلی آواز بھی اس کی مانگی ہوئی تھی اور اس کی اپنی نہیں تھی۔ وہ کسی دوسری قسم کی آواز بھی نکال سکتا ہے۔چونکہ اس نے دوسرے لوگوں کا مال چرانا سیکھ لیا ہے۔ وہ ر گھر کا مال اپنا ظاہر کرکے دکھاتا ہے۔ 
چمن میں لالہ دکھاتا پھرتا ہے، داغ اپنا کلی کلی کو
وہ جانتا ہے کہ اس دکھاوے سے دل جلوں میں شمار ہوگا
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9:12 PM
[full-post]
 Dr. Javid Iqbal
 
B
our Excellency Professor Dr. Iajuddin Ahmad, Hon’ble President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dr. M. Osman Farruk, Hon’ble Education Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Mr. Md. Rezaul Karim, Hon’ble Chairman, Southeast University and South Asia Foundation, Prof. Dr. M. Shamsher Ali, Vice-Chancellor, Southeast University, Deans, Faculty members, Your Excellencies, dear graduates, ladies and gentlemen:


It gives me great pleasure to be with you and specially to address the young graduates of Southeast University at its first convocation. I am profoundly impressed to learn that this new University provides facilities to the students to specialize in Management Sciences, Computer Sciences, Electronics and Information Sciences, Pharmacy, Textile Engineering, Law, English and Islamic Studies. It provides education not only on its campus but also caters for distance instruction.
 
On an occasion like the present one, one is expected to give some advice to young men and women who are about to cross the threshold from a protected life to a world full of numerous challenges. However, I do realize that ever since the dissemination of the doctrine of GG i.e. Generation Gap between the seniors and the new generation, the technique of giving advice has become obsolete and instead, in this highly individualistic and competitive modern world, every one is inclined to learn through his/her own mistakes.
 
But there may be consensus on this point that owing to globalization no nation-state in the third world today can survive without acquisition of the knowledge of Science, Technology and Economics. Studies of Science and Technology reveal that through creativity and the development of innovative way of thinking, the working of things and the quality of life can be improved.
 
It is difficult to define creativity, but any attempt to do so must include innovative and inventive bent of mind along with the elements of wonder and novelty. Generally speaking, in the fields of Science and Technology, the human mind, which has many potentialities, manipulates the existing ideas or external objects and as a result something unusual is produced. Creativity therefore breaks the conventional mode and thereby expands the limits of reason and perception. In fact human creativity, unlike God’s creativity, does not create anything out of nothing but it is a result of the assessment and rearrangement of the existing things and knowledge within our environments. But it is sad to observe that the reward of originality is usually received in the farm of hostility of our conformist fellow-beings, probably because the conventionalists prefer the maintenance of status quo and are inclined to disapprove anyone who has something new to say.
 
Usually a challenge in the collective life of a community demands the performance of a creative act for its resolution. Therefore, such a creative act is not only novel but it provides an appropriate solution to a given problem. However, the creative idea in its nature remains not only innovative but it is also exploratory and an adventure into the realm of the unknown. On the other hand, the conformist idea, as it avoids disturbing the status quo, is cautious and methodical. Thus, to quote my respected philosopher friend Professor Khawaia Masud, creativity is iconoclastic whereas conformity is dogmatic. The dictum of the conformist is “why change”? But the principle on which the creative operates is “why not”?
 
Creativity involves the ability to change one’s attitude, approach or prospect in regard to a given problem. We must not forget that every human being is endowed with numerous mental potentialities and happens to be creative in different fields and to different degrees. Consequently the difference between a genius and a common man is not of quality but is essentially of quantity i.e. the imagination, energy or persistence of the genius may be a little more developed than that of the ordinary man. There is however, another difference which is more important. Agreeing with Prof. Masud, the innovative man starts from doubting the value of the generally accepted paradigm, and his skepticism liberates him from the shackles of conventional belief, while his urge for the new, prepares him for courageously undertaking the responsibility of his creative discovery. Therefore, creativity implies non-conformity. A conformist is less intelligent as compared to a liberated mind. He is less confident of himself and therefore more dependant on others, more rigid and certainly more self-righteous and authoritarian.
 
I note that this illustrious University offers Islamic Studies as one of its courses. I trust this subject includes the causes of the collapse of Islamic polity and culture in modern times. According to all the eminent Muslim thinkers of South Asia there are three reasons for this decline: arbitrary Monarchy, sterile Mullaism and decadent Sufism. They have proposed that for the renaissance of Islamic polity and culture, Monarchy should be replaced in the world of Islam by democracy, equality for all, respect for Human Rights and Rule of Law as these values are not repugnant to Islamic Injunctions; Mullaism to be replaced by reinterpretation of Islamic laws pertaining to mundane affairs by the elected assemblies of Muslim countries through the process of Ijtihad; and the spirit of true Sufism to be revived through the dissemination of liberal modern education among the illiterate masses of Islam. But all such reformist thinkers like Shah Wali Ullah, Syed Jamal ud Din Afghani, Muhammad Abduhu, Rashid. Reza, Syed Ahmed Khan, Allama Iqbal and Muhammad Ali Jinnah were declared “Kafirs” by the dogmatic conformists because they dared to say something new.
 
It is necessary for the progress of the new education method to bid farewell to the medieval system of learning. The times have passed when prescribed text books were expected to be committed to memory and poured out during the examination. Now only that education system will succeed which draws out the creative potential of a student, for creativity comes as naturally to the average student as it comes to the clever and brilliant one. Therefore it is the responsibility of the teachers to encourage the development of original and innovative ideas among the students.
 
I am so pleased to learn that Southeast University has ventured to adopt a dual mode of education i.e. campus mode and distance mode. This new experiment of imparting distance education should be adopted by all the universities in the third world countries. Owing to the advancement in technology, it is now possible to make use of web-based modules, CD, email besides face to face tuition. It is a technology through which education could be provided and spread to a large number of people, as anyone who desires to be educated in any specific field of studies can learn by joining a campus or while sitting at home. I trust Southeast University takes a further step to establish contacts or affiliation with foreign centers of excellence.
 
Creativity in fact is self-direction; it is to learn at one’s own initiative.’ One cannot deny that this is an era of explosion of knowledge. In the modern world, knowledge is developing at such high speed that by the time cur dear graduates leave this grand University, what they have learnt so far, will become obsolete. Therefore after leaving your alma mater, it is only through self-education that you can keep pace with the latest developments in your field of studies. I am sure that the creative teachers of this University have launched the graduates on a new voyage of discovery by giving them an understanding of the basic structure of their subjects. This is not an advice but remember, to be creative is to fulfill yourself as a person. Consider this as this has to be, as this is your destiny.
 
What is authentic living? This is essentially a question of philosophy although it concerns itself with certain moral values which may be permanent in nature or may not be permanent but subject to the law of change in accordance with the changing needs of a person. The conformist’s view is that authentic living is not achievable in this world and that by observing religious obligations one should prepare himself for realizing authentic living in the hereafter. The generally accepted view is that education only informs and this is not sufficient; because a student has to be “formed” besides being “informed”. It has also been held that what you have gained through your studies so far is not genuinely relevant. Your life at the university has merely been an exercise of a warrior equipped with certain tools. The real battle or trial shall now commence when your skill to handle the tools shall be put to a test and you would be judged also on the grounds whether as a person you are good or bad.
 
Once upon a time it was believed that authentic living is realized when one becomes “cultured” in the real sense through developing a good understanding of literature, fine arts, philosophy, history etc. Then came a stage when some moralists formulated the view that it was irrelevant to involve oneself in the futile discussion as to how authentic or unauthentic living can be associated with “culture”. The argument proceeded, why one should bother to establish a connection between the Greek versions of the tragedy called “Electra” (written by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides) with that of Eugene O’ Nielle’s “Mourning Becomes Electra”. No one is interested to find out who among Marlowe, Kyd and Shakespeare originally conceived or actually wrote “Hamlet”; or which out of the three proofs i.e. teleological, ontological or cosmological establishes the existence of God. Who cares whether or not you approve the cosmology of Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton or Einstein. The study of literature, philosophy, history etc. or mastering of the classical languages may make one knowledgeable or may even make one cultured, but what has such specialization to do with authentic living?
 
There is also a view that “Peace” leads to the realization of authentic living. “Peace” is a laudable ideal for which one should aspire although it appears very difficult to achieve. One of my learned colleagues in the Supreme Court once informed me that the Chinese word for “Peace” is pictorially depicted by a roof with one woman under it. On the other hand, “War” is depicted by a roof with two women under it. The wisdom of the Chinese in these picturesque linguistic expressions is obviously indisputable so far as domestic peace and harmony is concerned.
 
There is another way of evaluating “Peace” as a concept. Ali Hajwari, better known as Data Ganj Bakhsh, the patron-saint of Lahore, in his Kashf al Mahjub (Lifting of the Veil) narrates that a young student from Merv once came to him and pleaded that he desired “Peace” for authentic living but since he was surrounded by enemies who wanted to exterminate the saint should pray for their destruction. The saint replied: “you should be grateful to your enemy for he is your best friend in the sense that he always keeps you awake and in a state of preparedness. Authentic living means awareness and alertness, and if conflict or competition is eliminated from your life the result will be apathy and death”.
 
In South Asia the Muslim poet-philosopher Iqbal’s contribution to the cultural renaissance of Islam is his philosophy of the “Self’ which is reflected in his poetic and prose works. He believes that man is potentially a creative activity and has a capability to become co-worker with God in the process of progressive change if he takes the initiative. Iqbal desires the rebirth of the spirit of inquisitiveness and defiance among the modern Muslim youth so that their lost station in the field of Science could be recovered.
 
He demonstrates through an analysis of history that in the sphere of human knowledge the Western civilization is a further extension of Islamic civilization. Everything in the Western thought that led to human progress is an elaboration of those very ideas, theories and debates which were initiated by Muslim thinkers and scientists. Therefore, if we learn those sciences and equip ourselves with that technology in a more developed form today, we will not be receiving something from an alien culture, but taking back what we originally gave to the West. In this way, he attempts to create a bridge between Islam and the West.
 
The values, on the basis of which Iqbal elaborates his concept of authentic living, are the adoption of such moral attributes as love, freedom, courage, high ambition, and indifference towards the acquisition of material comforts. The cultivation of these attributes in one’s character, according to him, is likely to result in the fortification of man’s “ego” and the acts of such a person may become creative and innovative. He is of the view that the factors which destroy man’s “ego” or “self’ arise out of stagnation. Stagnation disseminates passive virtues like humility, submission or obedience as well as fear, cowardice, corruption, begging or asking not only for the means of livelihood but also for ideas from others, imitating and finally servitude.
 
Iqbal also highlights the symbol of “Eagle” to illustrate his concept of authentic living and advices the Muslim youth to adopt the five qualities which he notes in this regal bird:
 
(i) it soars high in the sky; (ii) has keen eyesight; (iii) enjoys loneliness; (iv) does not make a nest; and lastly; (v) abhors to eat the “prey” killed by someone other than itself.
 
In this modern age, since everyone is expected to learn at one’s own initiative. My young friends! You are free to choose your own pattern of moral values for determining what is going to be your personal ideal of authentic living. I conclude by most sincerely wishing all of v u the best of luck as you leave the portals of this illustrious institution and give you this parting message through the verses of Iqbal.
 
The passive meandering of the stream,
Creeping slowly within its muddy banks,
Is a sight unpleasant to my eye!
Do not look at it my dear youth!
Turn yourself to the other side and behold
The fountain surging magnificently upwards
By its own inner force.

 
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9:03 PM
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 Dr. Javid Iqbal
 
The problem of evil has baffled many thinkers. Evil is not mere darkness that vanishes when light arrives. In other words, evil does not have a negative existence. This darkness has as positive an existence as light. The problem is how to account for evil in a world created by an all‑good God? Rumi’s answer is that the existence of evil is necessary for the fulfilment of the divine plan. Goethe thinks that evil is the reverse of good. Without evil, it would not be possible to identify good. Iqbal is of the view that the running parallel lines of good and evil meet in infinity. He points out in one of his quatrains:
How may I describe good & evil?
The problem is complex, the tongue falters,
Upon the bough you see flowers and thorns,
Inside it there is neither flower nor thorn.
(Payām i Mashriq)
 
 
Rumi’s long poem titled “Mu‘awiyah  & Iblis”, Goethe’s Faust and Iqbal’s verses dedicated to Satan can be considered as great diabolical apologies in the world literature. The three poets blend the “classical” with the “romantic”, and despite the gaps in the times of their lives, their ideas on the role of evil in the spiritual and material development of man are similar.
In Iqbal’s poetic vision, Rumi and Goethe meet in paradise. Goethe reads out to him the tale of the pact between the Doctor and the Devil, and Rumi pays tribute to him in these words:
O portrayer of the inmost soul
Of poetry, whose efforts goal
Is to trap an angel in his net
And to hunt even God.
You from sharp observations know,
How in their shell pearls form & grow,
All this you know, but there is more.
Not all can learn love’s secret lore,
Not all can enter its high shrine,
One only knows by grace divine,
That reason is from the Devil,
While love is from Adam.
 (“Jalal and Goethe”–Payām i Mashriq)
When Goethe became acquainted with Rumi’s Mathnavi through German translations, he found it too complicated and confusing as he initially failed to fathom the depths of Rumi’s thought. Iqbal had an identical experience of lack of comprehension and in his early stage of life mistakenly believed that Rumi was a pantheistic Sufi.
In the revealed scriptures, evil is connected with the story of the creation of Adam or, in Rumi’s words, when man in the process of evolution, had passed through the stages of plant & animal life and arrived at the stage from where he was to develop into superior forms of life.
When God informed the angels that he was about to place Adam on Earth in His stead, and that Adam would be granted freedom of choice, they expressed apprehensions that Adam would do ill therein. But God admonished them that they knew not what he knew. Since disobedience of Adam by partaking the forbidden fruit was his first act in exercise of freedom of choice, he had to choose between good and that which is reverse of it. Therefore it was necessary to introduce evil by deputing a “tempter” to mislead Adam before he was to exercise the freedom. It is probably in this background that Iqbal is prompted in one of his verses to blame God for conspiring with Satan against man. He wonders suspiciously:
How could he (Satan) have the courage to
refuse on the day of creation?
Who knows whether he is your confidant or mine?
(Bāl i Jibrīl)
Goethe’s view of evil is Pelagian when he claims that evil is merely the reverse of good. The forces, good and evil, apparently working in opposite directions, in fact work in cooperation in order to carry out the divine plan. The action and reaction of good and evil or the succumbing before temptation and the resulting remorse in the course of conflict between the Devil and man, according to Goethe, brings out the best in man.
Iqbal supplements Goethe when he affirms “evil has an educative value of its own. Virtuous people are usually very stupid”. (Stray Reflections)
He says:
I asked a sage: “What is life”?
He replied: “It is wine whose bitterness is the best.”
I said: “They have put evil in its raw nature.”
He answered: “Its good is in this very evil.”
(Payām i Mashriq)
While the positive existence of evil is acknowledged by Rumi, Goethe and Iqbal, the nature of evil can only be poetically illustrated through a reference to the Devil. Therefore, Iblis in Rumi, Mephisto in Goethe and Shayṭān in Iqbal represent different aspects of the same “cobweb” personality.
Rumi’s Iblis wakes up Mu‘āwiyah at dawn reminding him to offer the morning prayers before the time runs out. A dialogue ensues, in the course of which Iblis tries to convince Mu‘āwiyah that he adores God. It was the hand of God’s bounty that sowed his seed and brought him into being from nothingness. God procured milk during his infancy. God rocked his cradle. Therefore God’s wrath is only temporary like a mother’s anger. The doors of His grace are not permanently shut on anyone.
“My refusal to bow before Adam”, Iblis argues, “did not amount to disobedience of God’s command. On the contrary, it resulted from my extreme love of God. Has he not himself commanded ‘do not bow before any other except Me?’ This forehead which has always bowed only before God cannot bow before anyone else even at His bidding.”
Iblis contends, “This was a game between lover and beloved. He commanded me to play and I played the predetermined hand of lover. Thus I did what I was destined to do and was made to accept His wrath. But I still remain His companion, friend and comrade.”
Iblis advances the argument that although virtue and vice are opposed to each other, their operation is complementary. He asks: “How can I be held responsible for transforming good into evil. I am not the Creator. The Creator makes man good or bad. I am only expected to hold a mirror through which virtuous and vicious can see their faces and identify themselves.” According to Iblis’s reasoning evil circulates in every drop of human blood and yet man blames. Iblis for his own frailties.
Rumi’s Iblis is equipped only with reason, like a snake who attacks with his head. None can controvert his arguments, and no one can get out of his snare except through divine grace. However Mu‘āwiyah is not persuaded by Iblis’ articulate apology. He finds it deceitful and consisting of a pack of lies. When Iblis sarcastically claims that man is incapable of distinguishing between truth & falsehood, Rumi steps in and points out that falsehood always agitates the heart whereas truth provides solace and satisfaction.
Eventually Mu‘āwiyah overpowers Iblis who confesses that he woke up Mu‘āwiyah because had he missed the morning prayers his remorse would have earned him more grace. Iblis remains a liar until the end when he defends his act as based on envy, i.e. as a lover of God he is envious of man.
Rumi’s portrayal of Iblis depicts him as a lover of God. But a heartless being is incapable of loving, and here lies his deceit. Therefore when Iblis claims that all envy arises from love, for fear lest another becomes the chosen of the beloved, he is lying. In fact Rumi’s Iblis is nothing but reason (‘aql), the reverse of love (‘ishq). According to him Adam lapsed because of his stomach and sexual passion whereas Iblis was accursed because of pride and ambition engendered in him by reason. Rumi also shows to us that Iblis not only instigates man to commit sin, he sometimes persuades man to perform a virtuous act in order to deprive him from earning a higher reward.
In Goethe’s Faust the role of Mephisto is not that which is usually attributed to the Devil. He represents a spirit of nihilism, negation and contradictions, which is inimical to all life and higher forms of existence. Goethe first takes up the conflict of good and evil on a subjective plane and thereafter at the cosmic level. It is only when Faust rejects all pretensions of knowledge that Mephisto appears at Faust’s own craving. The events that follow take the reader through the problems of human innocence, suffering, love, hate, desire, appetite and ‑sin. It is the unique quality of Goethe’s genius that he picked up an ordinary legend and filled it with the experiences of the entire human race. According to Goethe, evil is a stepping-stone to virtue in a mysterious way, and this is conveyed through the words of Mephisto in Faust:
Part of that power, not understood,
Which always wills the Bad,
And always promotes the Good.
The pact that Mephisto made with Faust was to dissuade him from striving in life. He offered Faust all forbidden worldly pleasures that Faust readily accepted but his nature did, not change. He was only temporarily lulled to sleep. According to Goethe it is in the nature of man to move from lower to ever higher plane and from there to still higher planes, and it is only by constant striving that man can carve out his destiny. Faust went on striving Without regard to good and evil as, in the eyes of Goethe, to strive is an act of willing and an act of willing does not fall in the realm of freedom, but to that of nature. Mephisto used all his devices to lure Faust into accepting conditions which were not conducive to the fulfilment of the divine plan. It was not only striving for a virtuous life that ultimately won Faust the divine grace. But it were fear and hope which elevated him to forgiveness. He was delivered in the end and God’s faith in man was vindicated. Mephisto did not succeed in dragging Faust down to nihilistic depths of hell.
Thus restless activity in the nature of Faust did not hinder him in any manner even to wager his soul to the Devil:
To hear the woe of earth & all its joys,
To tussle, struggle, scuffle with its storms,
And not fearful in the crash of shipwreck.
In Goethe’s words, God himself has provided an explanation for the creation of the Devil. In the “Prologue in Heaven” He declares:
Of all the spirits that deny,
The Rogue (Devil) is to me least burdensome,
Man’s activity too easily run slack,
He loves to sink into unlimited repose
And so I am glad to give him,
A companion like the Devil, who excites,
And works and goads him on to create.
On the other hand, when the Devil confronts God in the “Prologue in Heaven”, he complains that Adam is not his match, but is only a “long‑legged grasshopper.” Mephisto sarcastically affirms:
                My Lord! I find things there (on earth),
                Still bad as they can be,
                Man’s misery even to pity moves my nature,
                I’ve scarce the heart to plague the wretched creature.
................
When a corpse approaches, close my house,
It goes with me as with the cat the mouse.
It is interesting to note that Goethe refrained from describing the nature of God. Faust only explains that He is All‑embracing and All‑preserving and therefore cannot be named. Faust says:
Call it Bliss! Heart! Love! God!,
I have no name thereof, feeling is everything,

The name is sound & smoke, only to obscure celestial fire

When Eckermann asked Goethe about the nature of relationship of the Divine with the Daemonic and the incompatibly of one with the other, he answered:
“Dear boy! What do we know of the idea of the Divine, and what can our narrow conceptions presume to tell of the Supreme Being? If I call him by a hundred names, like a Turk (Muslim), I should yet fall short & have said nothing in comparison to the boundlessness of his attributes.”
Iqbal was profoundly influenced by Rumi who is his spiritual guide. On the other hand he was also a great admirer of Goethe. Yet Goethe’s spirit, like the Urdu poet Ghalib’s, is that of a poet, whereas Iqbal’s spirit, following in the footsteps of Rumi, is more of a prophetic nature.
Iqbal is acknowledged as the poet of “Khudi” (Self/Ego). “Khudi” has many dimensions and forms. Therefore, Iqbal’s Satan is one of the forms of “Khudi”. Since Iqbal believed in the greatness of human ego and was a poet of action, he could not resist being attracted by the dynamic personality of the Devil.
Iqbalian Satan is a gigantic five dimensional figure. His first dimension is that no one can surpass his deceit, cunning, remarkable planning and constant striving for the realization of his objective. He is not evil incarnate. His self‑confidence, determination, pride and ambition are the qualities that make him a model of self‑hood (Khudi).
Like Rumi and Goethe, Iqbal believes in restless & feverish activity for attaining the goal. The goal itself has no significance to Iqbal. It is the striving for the goal, the energy for tireless effort, and the strength to always continue to remain a wayfarer that matters. Life is a chase after a goal, which must go on changing. Iqbal says:
In a spark 1 crave a star,
And in a star a sun.
My journey has no bourn,
No place of halting, it is death for me to linger.
In the same strain there is another verse:
‘When my eye comes to rest on the loveliness of a beauty,
My heart at that moment yearns for a beauty lovelier still.
Iqbal, like Rumi and Goethe, believes that evil is necessary for the development of man. Had there been no evil, there would have been no conflict, no struggle and no striving. Therefore, Iqbal emphasizes:
Waste not your life in a world devoid of taste,
Which contains God but not the Devil.
                                         (Payām i Mashriq)
Iqbal does not want man to get involved in the controversy of virtue & vice or good and evil, but must only concentrate on striving for better destinations. Life which leads to paradise is a life of passivity, inactivity and of eternal death.
The second dimension of Iqbal’s Devil is his cheeky confrontation with God. Addressing God, he claims that he is no less than Him:
You bring stars into being,
I make them revolve,
The motion in your immobile
Universe is as I breathe my spirit into it.
You only put soul in the body
But the warmth of tumultuous activity
In life is from me.
You show the way to eternal rest,
I direct towards feverish activity and constant striving.
Man who is short‑sighted, clueless and ignorant,

Takes birth in your lap

Attains maturity only in my care.
The third dimension of Iqbal’s Devil is that he is the first lover (of God’s Unity). He unhesitatingly accepted God’s wrath and separation by his disobedience. But even in the state of negation he fulfilled the inner will of God. While introducing Iqbal to Satan in Javīd Nāmah, the crucified Sufi Manṣūr Ḥallāj says:
Since Satan is the first lover,
Preceding all others,
Adam is not familiar with his secrets.
Tear off the garb of imitation,
So that you may learn the lesson
Of “Tawīd ” (God’s Unity) from him.
The fourth dimension of Satan that fascinated Iqbal is his pride and rivalry with his adversary, man. Here Iqbal follows Rumi by affirming that satanic reason is the basis of the Devil’s entire activity. Therefore, Iqbal says:
If reason remains under the command of heart, it is Godly.
If it releases itself, it is Satanic.
Iqbal’s Satan mocks at Gabriel’s cloistered piety and declares proudly:
In man’s pinch of dust my daring spirit
Has breathed ambition,
The Warp and Woof of mind and reason,
Are woven of my sedition.
       The deeps of good & evil you only see from land’s verge,
Which of us it is, you or 1, that dares tempest’s scourge?
       Ask this of God, when next you stand alone within his sight,
       Whose blood is it has painted Man’s long history so bright?
       In the heart of Almighty like a pricking thorn I live
You only cry forever God, Oh God, Oh God, most high!
Iqbal’s Devil like Goethe’s, shows his disgust for the weakness of his rival. His Satan’s complaint to God in Javīd Nāmah sounds very much like that of Mephisto:
O Lord of good & bad! Man’s company
And commerce has degraded me. Not once
My bidding dares he to deny; his “self’
He realizes not. And never feels
His dust the thrill of disobedience,
His nature is effeminate
And feeble his resolve, he lacks the strength
To stand a single stroke of mine.
A riper rival I deserve. Reclaim
From me this game of chaff and dust,
For pranks and impish play
Suit not an aged one.
Confront me with a single real man
May I perchance gain bliss in my defeat!
The fifth dimension of Iqbalian Devil is political i.e., how he, on national and international planes, carves out earthly devils in the form of political leaders who through their strategies lead to war, decease, misery and destruction of mankind. In his poem, “Satan’s Parliament” (Armaghan i Hijaz) Iqbal’s Devil prophesises that since he himself is the founder and protector of capitalism, he is not afraid of the communist revolution of tomorrow.
But Iqbal’s Devil is as miserable as man in this world full of complexities. In one of his quatrains Iqbal says:
From me convey the message to Iblis,
How long he intends to flutter,
Twist and scuffle under its net?
I have never been happy with this world,
Its morning is nothing but a prelude of the evening.
On another occasion Iqbal entreats the Devil for cooperation. If divine help is not forth coming, why not ask the Devil:
Come! Let us cooperate and lead the life of harmony.
Our mutual skills can transform
This wretched planet into a paradise
Under the skies, if we together
Disseminate love and healing,
And banish jealousy, hatred, disease & misery.
To sum up, good without evil amounts to the passivity of paradisal rest. Therefore it is disapproved by the three poets as against the divine plan. Man’s destiny lies in constant creative activity. Iqbal is categorical when he asserts:
When act performed is creative,
It’s virtuous, even if sinful.
The crux of the message of the three poets is that the creation of Adam is not a “‘wasteful effort. It must be clearly understood that under the divine plan man is still in the state of becoming. Rumi says man has taken millions and millions of centuries to evolve, from insect to plant, from plant to animal, and from animal to man. The evolution continues and through man’s ceaseless efforts he is bound to cross higher stages of life and presumably go beyond angels. Goethe also lays emphasis on the achievement of higher forms of life by man. Iqbal through the constant strengthening of “ego” expects man to become a co‑worker or rather a counsellor of the Divine Being in creating a more perfect universe. He hints that man would perhaps eventually democratize the arbitrary divine system, so much so that if a destiny is to be changed, action would be taken by God in consultation with and according to the will of man.
However, this indeed would be the man of distant tomorrow, the aspiration of the triangular poets, who, with the assistance of the Devil, could go beyond good and evil. But he justifiably cannot be found today, as Rumi in his famous quatrain asserts:
An old man carrying a lamp,
Was seen wandering in the streets.
When asked: “What are you looking for?”
Replied: “I am sick and tired of the beasts,
And look for a real man.”
I said: “You can’t find him
Our search was in vain.”
“This is what I look for” he said,
“That which can’t be found.
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Muhammad Atif Saeed

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