Allama Muhammad Iqbal was a famous Pakistani philosopher, poet and politician. He wrote extensively about reviving Islam and encouraging ideals of brotherhood, justice and service. His works explored concepts like the ego/self and its relationship with God, individuality, freedom, and achieving perfection. Iqbal emphasized strengthening the ego through love and questioning, and viewed the self as a unity between subject and object that can attain timelessness and divine vicegerency through self-realization. His book Asrar-e-Khudi extensively outlines his philosophy of khudi/ego and how it can progress through different stages including obedience, self-control, and representing God on Earth.

1. A Presentation by
AFIA SHAHID
&
QURAT UL AIN

2. Allama Muhammad Iqbal
(1877-1938)

3. Introduction
Writings devoted to the revival of Islam.
Encouraged Muslims to embrace ideals of
brotherhood, justice and service.
“The Song of Eternity” (1932) similar in theme to
Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, relates his ascent
through all realms of thought & experience,
guided by 13th century poet Jalal ud Din Rumi.
Free the muslim mind from prevailing colonial
mentality & from narrow self interests, also
reflected in “Toloo-e-Islam” (Rise of Islam).

4. Poems & Works
Baang-e-Dara (1924)
First written in Persian, later translated into
Urdu.
Anthology of poems divided into 3 parts.
Baal-e-Jibraeel (1935)
Gabriel’s Wing continues from Baang-e-Dara
Contains 15 ghazals addressed to God & 61
ghazals & 22 quatrains dealing with the ego,
faith, love, knowledge, the intellect & freedom.

5. Continued
Zarb-e-Kaleem (1936)
Collection of Urdu poems, described as his
political manifesto.
Published with the subtitle “A Declaration of War
against the Present Times”
The Blow of Moses Staff meant to rescue
Muslims from the ills of modern civilization.
Armaghan-e-Hijaz (1938)
Published a few months after his death
Containing verses in Persian & Urdu
The title means “Gift from the Hijaz”.

6. Prose work
The Reconstruction of Religious thought in
Islam (1930)
Religion vs Philosophy- To embrace or
Exclude?
The Development of Metaphysics in
Persia (1908)
Summary of Iqbal’s 1930 presidential
Address.

7. Iqbal’s concept of KHUDI (Ego)
Significance of the Self in an individual is the
source through which we can bring ourselves
closest to the Ultimate.
Like Soren Kierkgaard (Danish philosopher) for
Iqbal, self emerges as a vital entity in the
individual, energetic & productive.
Vitalism renders the self an internal dynamic
activity with intensity of violation, feeling &
thought.

8. Continued
For Iqbal, man is the caretaker of all possibilities
of life. In a verse he says: “Your nature is the
care-taker of the possibilities of life”
Self in individual is speculative, possesses a
sharp insight that sees the whole, sees not
merely the observable part of an object but the
whole of it.
In the subjective intensification (inner individual)
of existence, truth comes to be in the life of an
individual, Iqbal says; “ Dive into your own self,
it is the very secret of life”

9. Continued
Iqbal’s concept of self with regard to collective self is similar to
that of Hegel (German Philosopher).
Iqbal’s idea of collective self & individual self, or universal self &
individual self, highlights full scope of self.
Self is a synthesis of ideality & reality, infinitude & finitude,
possibility & necessity, eternity & time, universality &
individuality.
The individual self derives attributes from All Embracing Ego.
Role of self in this world is constructive & fight against
destructive forces, activity of one’s first self towards right
direction that can achieve perfection & becomes an authentic
self.

10. Continued
Iqbal explains the way of such trial (self examination)
“Art thou in the stage of ‘life,’ ‘death,’ or ´death-in-life.’
Invoke the aid of three witnesses to verify thy ‘station.’
The first witness is thine own consciousness–
See thyself, then, with own light.
The second witness is the consciousness of another ego–
See thyself, then, with the light of an ego other than thee.
The third witness is God’s consciousness–
See thyself, then, with God’s light.
If thou standest unshaken in front of this light,
Consider thyself as living and eternal as He!
That man alone is real who dares–
Dares to see God face to face!

11. Continued
What is ‘Ascension?’ Only a search for a witness,
Who may finally confirm thy reality–?
A witness whose confirmation alone makes thee eternal.
No one can stand unshaken in His Presence;
And he who can, verily, he is pure gold.
Art thou a mere particle of dust?
Tighten the knot of thy ego;
And hold fast to thy tiny being!
How glorious to burnish one’s ego.
And to test its lustre in the presence of the Sun!
Re-chisel, then, thine ancient frame; And build up a new being.
Such being is real being;
Or else thy ego is a mere ring of smoke.”

12. Continued
Like Bergson (French philosopher) Iqbal says, Infinity is not beyond the
reach of finite man. He says: “In the world of Love Time is not limited to
past, present & future, There exists Times as well, which have no
names.”
Such a person holds intuitive eye. His relation with the matter remains but at
the same time he remains relating to transcendental world, without breaking
ties with the physical world.
Iqbal says “action alone is the highest form of contemplation”. In great
action alone the self of man becomes united with God without losing its own
identity, & transcends the limits of space & time.
In Baal-e-Jibreel Iqbal says,
There are as yet many worlds to be manifested
For the womb of Being is not empty
Every world is waiting to be attacked by you
To feel the sharpness of your thought & deed
This is the object of the revolutions of day & night
That yourself may reveal itself to you

13. Continued
For Iqbal Pure ego is the self which is ‘authentic’,
& awakened self or inner of the individual which
becomes moving force in the practical world.
Such a man is God vicegerent, like Nietzsche’s
‘super Man’, Kierkegaard’s ‘authentic person’ &
Iqbal’s ‘perfect man’.
Self doesn't end anywhere, even death doesn't
stop its movement as Iqbal says, death opens
up way to more light & carries us to those
regions where we stand face to face with eternal
beauty & truth.

14. ASRAR-I-KHUDI
(The Secrets of the Self)
Famous book on Khudi in Persian language
Translated by Prof. R.A Nicholson
A few words from the translator about Iqbal’s idea are
as:
“Everyone, I suppose, will acknowledge that the
substance of the ´Asrar-i-Khudi` is striking enough
to command attention. In the poem, naturally, this
philosophy (i.e.Self) presents itself under a different
aspect. .............., its logical brilliancy dissolves in the
glow of feeling and imagination, and it wins the heart
before taking possession of the mind.”

15. Continued
Asrar-e-khudi is composed in the metre & modeled on
the style of the famous Masnavi.
Paid homage to the pure & profound genius of Rumi.
After Persian fashion, he invokes Saki
“That I may lead home the wanderer.
And imbue the idle looker-on with restless impatience.
And advance hotly on a new quest.
And become known as the champion of a new spirit."
What is the far-off goal on which Iqbal’s eyes are fixed?

17. Asrar I Khudi
It emphasizes the spirit and self from a
religious, spiritual perspective and can be
divided into three different phases for the
better understanding.
The philosophical basis of the Asrar I
Khudi.
The Ego and continuation of Personality.
The Education of the EGO.

18. The philosophical Basis of The
Asrar i Khudi
Iqbal believes that,
“Experience should take in finite centers
and should wear the form of finite this-
ness is in the explicable” (prof.Bradley)
The Ego (Khudi) attains to freedom by the
removal of all observations in its way.

19. The finite center is only an appearance.
All life is individual; there is no such
thing as universal fundamental fact.

20. God himself is an Individual. He is the
most unique individual. In Iqbal’s view
orderliness and adjustment is not eternally
achieved but it is a gradual travelling from
chaos to cosmos.
There can be no complete truth about the
universe, because the universe has not
yet become complete. The process of
creation still going on.

21. In Iqbal’s view, the moral and religious ideal of
man is not self-negation but self-affirmation and
he attains to this ideal by becoming more and
more unique.
The Prophet said,
“Create in yourself the attribute of
GOD.”
Thus man becomes unique by becoming more
and more like the Most Unique Individual.

22. Life is individuality and its highest form is EGO in which the
individual becomes a self contained exclusive center.
The greater his distance from God the less his individuality.
He who comes near God is the completest man. The true
person not absorbs the matter but he absorbs God in
Himself and into his EGO(Khudi).

23. The Ego and continuation of
Personality.
In man the center of life becomes an Ego or
Person. Personality is the state of tension. If that
state of tension is not maintained , relaxation will
ensue which turns a man into common being.
Here Iqbal gives us the concept that the idea of
personality gives us a standard of value: it
settles the problem of good and evil.
Art, religion and ethics must be judged from the
stand-point of personality.

24. For Freedom of ego, we o
have to face the problem
of matter and in
connexion with its
immortality, we have to
face the problem of time.
Pure time has no length
and personal immortality
is an inspiration.
The true nature of time is
reached when we look
into our deeper Self.

25. The true essence of lofe is Self-
Realisation according to Iqbal.
In reality human beings are timeless and
its possible to realize about this
timelessness even in this life through
revelation and that can be momentary.

26. The Education of the EGO
The Ego is fortified by Love(ISHQ).
Love individualizes the lover as well as the
beloved. And this individuality makes you
unique.
As love fortifies the Ego, asking(Sua’l)
weakens it.
All that is achieved without personal effort
comes under Sua’l.

27. The Ego in its movement towards
uniqueness has to pass three
stages
1. Obedience to law.
2. Self-control, which is the highest form of
self-consciousness or Ego-hood.
3. Divine Vicegerency (Nayabt e Alahi)
Human is vicegerent(Nai’b) on earth of
God.

28. Iqbal regards ego as a unity of subject and
object.
Khudi az kaa-i-naat-i rangu bu neest,
Hawaas-i maa mian-i maa-o ou neest.
Nigah ra dar hareemash nest rah-i,
Kunee khud ra tamaasha bey nigahey.”
(Self does not belong to this phenomena,
Our senses do not come between us and it.
Our eyes have no access to its secret chamber,
You see the self without the help of the physical
eye).

29. Conclusion
In Asrar, Iqbal has explained his philosophy of "
Self". He proves by various means that the
whole universe obeys the will of the "Self". Iqbal
condemns self-destruction. For him the aim of
life is self-realization and self-knowledge. He
charts the stages through which the "Self" has to
pass before finally arriving at its point of
perfection, enabling the knower of the "Self" to
become the vicegerent of Allah on earth. Iqbal
believes the answers to essential questions
regarding the ego are important in determining
morality for both the society and the individual .

30. “The form of existence is an effect of the Self,
Whatsoever thou seest is a secret of the Self.
When the Self awoke to consciousness,
It revealed the universe of Thought.
A hundred worlds are hidden in its essence;
Self-affirmation brings Not-self to light.
By the Self the seed of opposition is sown in the
world:
It imagines itself to be other than itself.”