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CONCEPT OF MUSLIM CULTURE-IN IQ ,BAL
.1
MAZHERUDDIN SIDDIQI,R lader, T sltJmk Restan" butihd,.
\8,~.'
ISLAMIC RESEARCH INSTITUTEISLAMABAD - PAKISTAN
1970 A.D
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Allama Muhammad Iqbal
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08 C01\CEI'T OF ~!USLIM CULTURE IN IQBALthe assumption that
every human being is a centre oflatent power the possibilities of
which can be developedby cultivating a certain type of character.
Out of theplebian material, Islam has formed men of the noblesttype
of life and power. Is not, then, the Democracyof ~rly Islam an
experimental refutation of the ideas ofNietzsche"?
'This passage makes it clear that Iqbal does notdespise the
common man and that his concept of theMard-e-Momin or
Mard-e-Qalandar has nothing to dowith Nietzsche's idea of the
Superman. What he wantsis that the Community should be able to
benefit by theguidance of great men who are also good men in
theIslam ic sense of the word. In other words, he wouldlike to have
effective leadership, a leadership that canserve as a model to the
mass of people, that" can inspirethem to heroic action. There is
nothing incompatiblewith democracy in the idea of such leadershi1J.
Thefact that Iqbal does not want a superman who can over.shadow
everyone else and by whose side all others willlook ' lik e pygmies
is amply borne out by his remark:JL.j ;..T ...,-:J
8/14/2019 Concept of Muslim Culture & Imam Mahdi by Dr Sir
Allama Muhammad Iqbal
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IQBAL ON ISLAMIC DEMOCRACY 81mutual differences by means of froe
d,iscussion. In a.democratic system of life and govenuncnt, new
supermenmay come up and replace those who have outlived
theirutility or become outmoded, for life requires perpetualrenewal
and abhors stagnation. Any system of life orgovcmrnent which
prevents this renewal of life by itselfw ill soon find itself
underm ined and wrecked by thelaws which govern human society.Iqbal
OD Early IsIaDlie Caliphate
In an essay entitled "KhilMat-e-lslamiya"," Iqbaldeals at length
with the mode of election that pr",'ailedamoug the pre-Islam ic
Arabs aud says that this pre-Islam ic custom of election became a
fixed principle inthe early Islam ic polity knO\\1l as the
Khiliifut-e-Rashida.In this connection !qbalquotes a I:Iadim which
says thatan old man named TufaH b. 'Amir camc to the Prophet
ofIslam am! asked him whether the Prophet at his deathwould entrust
to him the reins of the government, if he, decided to accept Islam
. The Prophet replied thatwhc:1 he did not have the reins of
government in his 0 71hands, how could he entrust it to any other
person?IqbiH then quotes the address delivered by Abu Bakrsoon
after his election as the Caliph in which Abu Bakr isreported to
have said tllat the people should obey him solong only as he obeyed
God and His Prophet and thatthey should try to reform him if they
felt that he wasacting in disr.,gard of the laws promulgated in
theQur'an. .A ll these facts show, Iqbal goeS. on to remark,
thatIslam had from the }very outsct rcccfgnisecl the principlethat
the community is the real repository of politicalpower. The
electors only choose a reliable personwhom they co~sider fit for
the exercise of political powerand entrust him with the reins of
government. But the
