IQBAL’S CONCEPTION OF HISTORY

M. Moizuddin

Iqbal’s early interest in history is evident from the fact that, as early as in 1913, he compiled an elementary book of history as text-book under the title Tārīkh-i Hind for school students similar to text-books of Urdu and Persian. He firmly believed that the fall and rise of nations, if studied in historical perspective, may save nations from decline and disaster and help them to preserve their cultural heritage. He had deep insigh tof human history and Muslim society and penetrating eyes on their social and cultural evolution. He studied particularly the history of Islam. References and allusions to events in Islam are copiously given in his works of prose and poetry and events and anecdotes are found in abundance in his writings.

In the year 1910 he gave a lecture in the Strachey Hall, Muslim University, Aligarh. It was later translated into Urdu by Maulānā Zafar ‘Alī Khan under the title “Millat-i Baidā’ Par Ek ‘Imrānī Nazar”.

This was a very important lecture from the point of view of his analysis of the causes of the rise and fall of nations, particularly with reference to Muslims’ decline in educational, social and cultural fields. Like Ibn Khaldūn, a great Muslim historian, he analyses the moral and cultural experiences of different nations and states that human experiences are governed by a definite set of historical laws. If examined from anthropo­logical and sociological point of view, it appears that there are stages of development of human faculties of different nations. Bravery, kindness and self-control are the virtues exemplified in notable personalities. If we take examples from the history of Muslim India these qualities are reflected in Taimūr, Bābar and ‘Alamgīr, respectively. He considered Aurangzeb ‘Alamgīr as a pioneer of Muslim nationhood in the history of Muslin’s of the subcontinent—the same ‘Alamgīr who is described by some historians as tyrant, fanatic and a symbol of machination against non-Muslims.

To grasp fully Iqbal’s concept of history, it must be remembered that the absolute unity of God and the innate freedom of man’s inner self are the basic principles through which, accord­ing to him, the socio-economic and moral values in a society are governed. As a matter of fact, moral and ethical degradation resulted in the economic and political backwardness of the Muslims in the subcontinent. Nations which do not change their lot by moral, economic and social improvement have no right to exist on earth. They are bound to crumble and collapse. History does not sympathise with any individual or nation. It is cruel to those who deviate from the set pattern prescribed by historical forces and is favourable only to those who follow the Divine laws. Survival of the fittest does not mean only the physical fitness, but moral and spiritual strength is also necessary to gain power and a place in the annals of history. He illustrates this point in the following line :

“You are fully aware of the reasons of the decline of the Muslims;

It is certainly not on account of want of money.”

According to Iqbal, history changes its course. New events take place with the forces of evolution; nevertheless the basic facts of history remain the same. According to him, the love for power, lust for money, domination over the weak all are universal facts of life and have remained the same throughout different periods of history.

“Adam is old but the idols are young.”

Thus his vision of human history is not merely the narration of facts ;it is rather realisation of the empirical truth. According to him, life is not only for the conquest of the universe ; its ultimate achievement is nearness to God. He considers history an unbreakable chain between man and God. Living individuals, by their collective self, change the course of history. They create history. When this chain of historic man and God is weakened, it ends in tragedies. Thus the philosophical side of history, according to him, is that the events in this world never lead to mental peace. Man has to struggle to conquer happiness.

In his note-book. Stray Reflections, he notes :

“History is a sort of applied ethics. If ethics is to be an experimental science like other sciences, it must be based on the revelations of human experience. A public declaration of this view will surely shock the susceptibilities even of those who claim to be orthodox in morality but whose public conduct is determined by the teachings of history.”[1]

In his opinion, the interpretation of history is a delicate and sensitive matter. The facts from fiction are to be sifted with care and caution. He says :

“History is only an interpretation of human motives ; and, since we are liable to misinterpret the motives of our contemporaries and even of our own intimate friends and associates in daily life, it must be far more difficult rightly to interpret the motives of those who lived centuries before us. The record of history, therefore, should be accepted with great caution.”[2]

He is delighted to read the glorious history of the Muslim community, and praises them in the following words :

‘The more you reflect on the history of the Muslim communi­ty, the more wonderful does it appear. From the day of its foundation up to the beginning of the sixteenth century—about a thousand years—this energetic race (I say race since Islam has functioned as a race-making race) was continually busy in the all-absorbing occupation of political expansion. Yet in this storm of continuous activity this wonderful people found sufficient time to unearth and preserve the treasures of ancient sciences, to make material additions to them to build a literature of a unique character, and above all to develop a complete system of law—the most valuable legacy that Muslim lawyers have left to us.”[3]

His poetic mind thinks of a beautiful simile and compares history to a gramophone. He says that “History is a sort of a huge gramophone in which the voices of nations are preserved.”[4]

Now coming to the philosophical side of history, as a source of human knowledge, Iqbal considers history as a great power of inner experience. According to him, the function of Sufism in Islam has been to systematise mystic experience. But according to him Ibn Khaldūn was the only Muslim historian who approached it in a thoroughly scientific spirit. In his book Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam Iqbal writes :

“But inner experience is only one source of human knowledge. According to the Quran there are two other sources of knowledge-Nature and History ; and it is in tapping these sources of knowledge, that the spirit of Islam is seen at its best.”[5]

He further elaborates that

“It is one of the most essential teachings of the Quran that nations are collectively judged, and suffer for their misdeeds here and now. . . . The Quran constantly cites historical instances, and urges upon the reader to reflect on the past and present experience of mankind.”[6]

Every nation has its fixed period (Holy Qur’ān, vii. 32). Iqbal in his lecture, “The Spirit of Muslim Culture,” included in his monumental work Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, has discussed at length the Quranic references in history. The Qur’ān extends farther than mere indication of historical generalisation. He says :

“Since accuracy in recording facts which constitute the material of history is an indispensable condition of history as a science, and an accurate knowledge of facts ultimately depends on those who report them, the very first principle of historical criticism is that the reporter’s personal character is an important factor in judging his testimony. . . . The growth of historical sense in Islam is a fascinating subject.”[7]

lbn Khaldūn, Ibn Ishāq, Tabarī, and Mas’ūdī are the pro-duct of the desire to furnish permanent sources of inspiration to posterity.

According to Iqbal, the possibility of a scientific treatment of history means a wider experience, a greater maturity of practical reason, and finally a fuller realisation of certain basic ideas regarding the nature of life and time. These are based on two Quranic teachings: (I) the unity of human origin ; (2) a keen perception of time and concept of life as a continuous movement in time.

Iqbal’s concept of history is derived from Quranic teaching. Elaborating this aspect in the essay referred to above he says that “considering the direction in which the culture of Islam had unfolded itself, only a Muslim could have viewed history as a continuous, collective movement, a real inevitable development in time.”[8]

A living nation with the help of its collective ego may change the current of history. It will be an epoch-making nation. But if the collective unity is broken and forces of disintegration start working, the tragic side of the history of a nation is manifested. The creation of Pakistan is a unique feature of Muslim history. It is our sacred duty to preserve and safeguard it keeping in line with the golden period of Muslim history.

Let us remember the following admonishing verses of ‘Allāmah Iqbal:

NOTES