Ibrahim Waheed

Dr Easa Saad

Introduction to Muhammad Iqbal

The Significance of Prayer Within Iqbal’s Interpretation of Islamic Belief and Practice

5/19/24

For Muhammad Iqbal, prayer is the essential practice of the individual ego to interact

with Reality in its total and true form. Using some of his specific terminology, it is the

necessary exercise of the individual to realize their appreciative self. By doing so, the

individual ego is like a thread seeing beyond its individuality and perceiving the entirety

of the tapestry which it is part of. The individual is able to see that beyond its artificially

bounded existence lies an organic whole, an Absolute Ego from which all individual

egos share a unified origin point. This interpretation supports Iqbal’s view of Islam as a

‘prophetic religion’, and it places prayer as the bridge between the ‘Living’ God of Islam

and His supplicants —the avenue through which both egos communicate with one

another.

To understand Iqbal’s position on praying we must first define a few of his specific

terms. We recall his efficient and appreciative selves, the former responsible for the

everyday bounding of reality into finite and serialized units, resulting in a linear series of

ends and purposes for the individual to fulfill/satisfy1. Before we discuss the appreciative

self, let us quickly define what Iqbal would describe as a ‘prophetic religion’. In her work

1 Iqbal, Sheikh Mohammed. The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh. (Stanford,
California: Stanford University Press, 2012), 38,39
exploring Iqbal’s position on prayer, Annemarie Schimmel writes that “in a prophetic

religion…God is active, creative personality, the Living God to Whom men dare come…

with all the tale of their griefs and sorrows…Man’s aim is not to be united with God but

to unite is will with the Divine will” 2. This aspect of connecting with the Divine will leads

us to our understanding of the appreciative self. As Iqbal defines it, the realization of the

appreciative self is the individual’s understanding that their bounding of reality is a

superficial construction, and that reality is, in truth, an infinite and organic whole which

lacks linearity or serialization 3. It is not a series of ‘nows’, but a single ‘now’ which

spans our conceptions of past, present, and future. However, Iqbal holds that this

understanding is not easily reached —one cannot flip a switch between efficient and

appreciative selves— and that to break away from the more convenient, efficient self

the individual must make an active and demanding effort. Quite simply, this is the

function of prayer.

For Iqbal, prayer is the personal mi’raj, the ego degrading its superficial bounds and

reaching out to be recognized by the Absolute Ego, ie, God 4. As he describes, it is a

piece of human nature to seek connection outside its individual ego, a nature that

perhaps stems from an ingrained recognition that there is a greater unity outside said

ego 5. Through the active effort of praying, the individual comprehends their identity in

the absence of external pursuits, a process which somewhat paradoxically leads them

2 Schimmel, Annemarie. Gabriel’s wing a study into the religious ideas of sir Muhammad Iqbal. (Lahore: Iqbal
Academy Pakistan, 1989.), 184
3 Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 38,39,40,48,62
4 Schimmel, Annemarie. Gabriel’s wing a study into the religious ideas of sir Muhammad Iqbal., 174
Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 74
5 Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 71
to look beyond their individuality altogether 6. As he writes “Prayer as a means of

spiritual illumination is a normal vital act by which the little island of our personality

suddenly discovers its situation in a larger whole of life.” 7. Outside the confines of the

individual ego is the unity of reality, unity which arises from the identity of God as an

infinite and absolute Ego from which the ‘little islands’ of individuality are fissioned 8. The

recognition of the unity of absolute reality through the unveiling of the individual ego

dispels the completely and overwhelmingly isolated operation of the efficient self. In this

sense, it frees the individual from the bounds of serialized reality 9.

This freedom also has another dimension, as returning to the idea of the prophetic

religion, the connection formed during prayer between the individual and the absolute

egos is a reciprocal relationship. While it is perhaps not a universal opinion, Iqbal

indicates that he personally believes that humans are a part of the creative process of

Reality, and therefore he is of the belief that prayer is a genuine avenue to the

engagement and even modification of the Divine Will 10. This makes the relationship

between God and supplicant dynamic and leads the supplicant to seek out God through

love and not formulaic or impersonal formality 11. Another side-effect of this reciprocal

relationship: the supplicant comes out of prayer with a sense of validation, of

empowerment, from the recognition by their omnipotent God 12. Thus, through prayer

the supplicant is given a sense that they have been given some consideration by the
6 Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 38,49
7 Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 72
8 Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 57,75
9 Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 59,73,87
Schimmel, Annemarie. Gabriel’s wing a study into the religious ideas of sir Muhammad Iqbal., 173
10 Schimmel, Annemarie. Gabriel’s wing a study into the religious ideas of sir Muhammad Iqbal., 184
Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 58
11 Schimmel, Annemarie. Gabriel’s wing a study into the religious ideas of sir Muhammad Iqbal., 173, 176
12 Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 71,74
Schimmel, Annemarie. Gabriel’s wing a study into the religious ideas of sir Muhammad Iqbal., 183
Divine Will, some autonomy and authority, and in tandem/ as a result they themselves

have been renewed. They have distanced themselves from superficial limitations and

been brought once again closer to their God and a sense of limitless potential 13. In one

exercise, the individual is reminded of the overwhelming and awesome power of God,

but it also reminded of their own power, their own position as God’s vicegerent over His

creations14). While perhaps not to the intensity of the mystic experiences discussed by

earlier mystics, Iqbal definitely considers these aftereffects of prayer to be powerful and

useful in shaping action even once the individual has reverted back to the efficient self
15
. Specifically, he insists that prayer maintains an essential relationship with scientific

inquiry —no doubt a point to his overarching argument of the compatibility of Islam with

scientific methodology. Scientific inquiry is done in pursuit of knowledge, and Iqbal sees

prayer as the zenith of this pursuit; the desire and passion for knowledge pushes one to

go beyond the easy limits and pursue answers with an undeterred zeal 16. As he states:

“The truth is that all search for knowledge is essentially a form of prayer. The scientific

observer of Nature is a kind of mystic seeker in the act of prayer… his thirst for

knowledge is eventually sure to lead him to the point where the scent of the musk-gland

is a better guide than the footprints of the deer. This alone will add to his power over

Nature and give him that vision of the total Infinite which philosophy seeks but cannot

find.” 17. For Iqbal, it is essential to ground the more esoteric elements of his views in a

mundane practicality, ultimately dispelling the exclusivity of his ideas to a particular

demographic. In this, we can once again see Iqbal bridging religious observance and

scientific pursuit —displaying his mission to integrate the languages of both cultures into

13 Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 73

Schimmel, Annemarie. Gabriel’s wing a study into the religious ideas of sir Muhammad Iqbal., 185,187
14 Schimmel, Annemarie. Gabriel’s wing a study into the religious ideas of sir Muhammad Iqbal., 178
15 Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 72
16 Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 72,73
17 Iqbal, The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M. Saeed Sheikh., 72
a single understanding of reality that holds them to be not only equally valid, but deeply

interconnected and complimentary.

Bibliography:
Iqbal, Sheikh Mohammed. The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Edited by M.

Saeed Sheikh. (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2012),

Schimmel, Annemarie. Gabriel’s wing a study into the religious ideas of sir Muhammad

Iqbal. (Lahore: Iqbal Academy Pakistan, 1989.)