German thinker and writer, Nietzsche, was a multi-faceted genius who initiated the idea of ontological post-modernism. His conception of Superman is a declaration of a post-modern age and the end of the era of Man. His theory of “will to power” influenced philosophers and writers such as Heidegger, Jasper, Jean-Paul Sartre and the poet Rilke. He was not only influential in Western culture; his impact is visible on Eastern culture as well.

Allama Iqbal was basically an Eastern poet-philosopher but he was inspired by the idea of Superman presented by Nietzsche.[1] According to him, man is not the ultimate goal of history and his value cannot be determined without the meaning of Superman. Superman is a guiding star of the entire world. The centrality of Man was challenged by him and the highest achievement is Superman.

Iqbal’s conception of the perfect man was an idea of history and culture. He was inspired by Rumi and Nietzsche, and presented his idea of the perfect man. Iqbal was not satisfied by the status of Man. He was moving towards the idea of Superman and his idea was extremely limited. The transcendental element is absent from Nietzsche’s idea of Superman. Iqbal admires Nietzsche and his powerful Superman, but he adds spirituality to the idea.

In his famous book Thus Spake Zaratustara, Nietzsche says “Be faithful to Earth”. But Iqbal’s view is the unification of Eastern and Western values. In the East, Man’s spirituality is as important as his material being and Superman is Man plus the spiritual and transcendental elements. His Superman goes beyond the earthly bounds and touches the highest peak of perfection that is known as Insan-i-Kamil. Iqbal’s famous line is as under:

Iqbal’s Superman is the realization of the highest possibility of being, and the spiritual elements make him the crown of the universe.

This very conception of Superman inspired Derrida, Heidegger and Foucalt. The post-modern era is basically the era of the Superman. The centrality of Man was challenged by post-modernists and they presented a philosophy of the new cultural phenomena, Literature, anthropology, aesthetics and all other important disciplines deviated from the idea of Man. Post-modern’s include other topics such as legendary figures, myth and other areas of imagination.

Insan-i-Kamil or perfect man is basically a concept of the Muslim thinker, Al-Jili, According to him, the perfect man revealed himself in prophetic grace and Iqbal’s view of Superman was a combination of Nietzsche and Al-Jili, and according to Iqbal, the Prophet of Islam (Peace be upon him) was a complete and perfect being who inspired history, culture and the entire humanity. He is an exemplary perfect man for the entire humanity, as he writes:

Apart from his Islamic view of Man, Iqbal’s Superman is the conqueror of time and space. The rider on the horse of time and the light of possibility who makes Iqbal conscious of his absolute necessity for the evolution of history and Man. It is omega point for the spiritual evolution of Man.

Post-modern thinkers such as Derrida and Foucalt believe in the superiority of coming Man or post-modern Man, as he is the ultimate goal of history and culture, and post-modern culture is basically a culture of Superman. Iqbal’s thought is partly post-modern, but he does not agree with the post-modernists who deny the spiritual element and transcendental reality as the guiding star for humanity.

According to post-modern philosophers, the idea of Man presented by the Renaissance thinkers cannot be a model for historical development and the cultural evolutionary process. Man was their basic concern, and not the entire universe, including all beings. Iqbal and his philosophical message of selfhood or khudi is not limited to Man and his mode of existence. Khudi is universal and all the beings are moving towards perfect khudi, according to their different status of being, as Iqbal says:

Iqbal’s post-modernism is basically spiritual, ontological and contains an idealistic element. The objectives of khudi are not limited. They are as infinite as the ideal Man who never realizes and dose not take the objective form, but moving towards the infinity or the absolute being, as Iqbal says:

According to Iqbal, the birth of Khudi is the first ontological event and this ontological process in the universe makes all things move. And this process does not terminate in the being of Man, but moves on and on. Life and death are just passing phases, and not the objectives of Khudi.

Idealism of the self is the shining star of the creation and is a permanent incentive to human imagination. The literary and creative process is inspired by his ideal of Khudi, and human imagination realizes the essence hidden in human imagination.

Note