Sufi elements and Mevlânâ effect in Muhammad iqbal's thought

Abstract

Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938), who has an important place in the course of Islamic thought, is a thinker, poet and politician who grew up in the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent in the last century. It is possible to see traces of Sufism as well as philosophy in his poetry and speeches. Iqbal's conception of the God-universe and the influence of Sufism and and especially Mevlâ nâ (d. 1273) on this conception is a matter of debate. Iqbal's relationship with Sufism dates back to his childhood. We know that his father's bond with Sufism and his love for Mevlâ nâ influenced Iqbal as well. We also know from Iqbal's poetry that Sufism was widespread in his lifetime and that his poetry was sometimes the target of some Sufis. This situation suggests that Iqbal tried to reconstruct the understanding of Sufism, which he disliked and saw as a way to make Muslims accept exploitation and slavery more easily, through Mevlâ nâ. Iqbal, who received his higher education in the West, appears as a thought leader who deals with the problems of Muslims when he returns to his country. Unfortunately, Iqbal could not present his thought in a systematic way and produce independent works in this field. Although his The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam , published in 1930 and consisting of seven lectures in English given between 1928-1929, is extremely important, his approach to Sufism can be traced in by his poetry books written in Persian and Urdu. When his poems are analyzed, his thoughts on Sufism, which seem to contradict each other, draw attention. However, the influence of Mevlâ nâ is very clear especially in his book of poems tittled Câ vidnâ me. In this work, Mevlâ nâ appears as Iqbal's "piri" and guide. Nevertheless, it is not possible to say that Iqbal accepted Mevlana's thought completely. Although Iqbal was close to wahdat al-wujü d (unity concept of existence) in his youth, it is clear that he abandoned it in his maturity. His son, Javed Iqbal (b.1924), also says that his father rejected wahdat al-wujü d as "inadequate" after his European experience. Despite this, it is possible to see the traces of Mevlâ nâ in almost all of his works. Iqbal must have chosen Mevlâ nâ because Rumi is an iconic figure who is more or less known by people from all walks of life and who is integrated with Sufism. While Iqbal did not mention any couplet in Mesnevî and his Divan (Mevlâ nâ's books) that reflects his understanding of wahdat al-wujü d (unity of existence), he searched for and found Mevlâ nâ's ideas on personality, activity and love that were close to his own understanding. In fact, Iqbal did not do this only for Mevlâ nâ. We can say that his worldview is a 'philosophical harmony'. It is possible to find in him the traces of Mevlana's love, Imam -i Rabbani's unity (wahdat-i shuhud), Nazzam's idea of movement, Bergson, Einstein, and many other thinkers from the East and the West. Iqbal was influenced by many thinkers as well as many others: Annearia Schimmel, Eva de Vitray Mé yé rovitch, Ali Shariati, Mehmet Akif and Sezai Karakoç are a few of them. Despite all of Iqbal's inclination towards Sufism, another reason why he strongly criticized it is that he clearly saw the Iranian influence in Sufism. He sometimes expressed this in his poems, notes and even private letters.He thought that this Persian influence was particularly influential in the hearts and minds of Indian Muslims and that distracted them from the simplicity of Islam. From time to time, he drew attention to the influence of Ancient Greek Philosophy in Sufism. He found the views of Sufism especially on morality and practice valuable, but thought that its philosophy was completely useless and partly contrary to the Qur'an. In this article, we will try to shed light on Iqbal's approach to Sufism, his understanding of wahdat al-wujü d (unity of existence) and his approach to Mevlâ nâ as a Muslim thinker, who is mostly known for his poems in our country. In this context, we will endeavor to reveal the Sufi/mystical elements in Iqbal's thought and his criticisms against Sufism, especially by making use of his works called The Reconstruction of Islamic Thought and Javid Nama (Câ vidnâ me).