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Newsletter for April 2012
The Hidden Potential
By Robert Whiteside, North Carolina, USA
I was led to discover Allama Iqbal in November 2011. A trusted
friend shared with me the following piece of Iqbal’s writing.
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 thane 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 stands 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!
I greatly enjoyed this, so much, in fact, that on that November
day a new quest was initiated to find out more about who was
this man named Allama Iqbal, his poetry, and his philosophy on
life. I immediately began scouring the internet in search of his
writings.
It took only a moment to discover the websites for the Marghdeen
Learning Centre, the Iqbal Academy Pakistan, and the Dr. Iqbal
Society of North America (DISNA). Quickly catching my attention
was also a notice about an upcoming online course (offered
through the Marghdeen Learning Centre) offering to introduce
people to the poetry and teachings of Allama Iqbal. I knew that
I had to sign up for this course, and did so immediately.
I quickly came to discover that this course, and others as well,
had been designed by a man named Khurram Ali Shafique, someone
who is (as I came to learn) clearly an ocean of knowledge
regarding Allama Iqbal. He has received awards for his study and
work on Allama Iqbal, including the Presidential Iqbal Award.
His outpouring of writing, scholarly research, and commentary on
Iqbal is tremendous.
As I was signing up for the Introduction to Iqbal Studies
course, I was simultaneously reading everything I could get my
hands on by and about Iqbal. I found a wealth of his material,
freely available, on the aforementioned websites.
His poetry is powerful and inspiring. Rooted firmly in Islam, he
speaks of a unity of humanity, a humanity cooperating, and at
peace with one another. He speaks of a humanity on a journey
together toward growth into something very beautiful and in
stark contrast to the current world in which we all live.
He speaks to the great potential that exists for people to
become whole human beings, tapping into the very deepest parts
of themselves. Sometimes poetry, sometimes social commentary,
and at other times, historical analysis, Iqbal writes
beautifully of a new kind of social harmony that humanity can
create if only they would attend to certain perennial,
Quranically based, truths that are both beautiful and practical.
It’s clear that Iqbal saw the possibility of a new world,
achievable through the realization and application of what is
highest in human beings. His poetry speaks strongly about the
sanctity of what resides within the souls of humans, and thus
conveys a deep spirituality that is based in Islam. In this
sense, his poetry is far beyond pleasing rhyme and verse. I’ll
go so far as to say that it has the power to awaken what may be
asleep in humanity, and that, if awoken, could startle us all
into coming together again in peace.
How odd for this message from the national poet of Pakistan to
be reaching me, a rather typical American living in the United
States. Allama Iqbal’s message struck me immediately as more
positive, inspiring, and deep than anything available here in
the west, particularly in how it portrayed a path of not only
one nation (Pakistan), but all of humanity, toward a world that
some might dismiss as unattainably perfect, but which Iqbal very
directly points to as attainable. How utterly refreshing to read
his poetry which so beautifully depicts the growth of human
beings in this positive light.
Iqbal was Muslim, and his writings very clearly reflect this.
Here in America, there is a pervasive Islamophobia, fed by a
constant stream of media images and agenized purposes. Iqbal’s
writings could certainly allay this fear. He elevates in front
of the eyes of the reader an Islam that is a path toward
wholeness and unity of humankind.
I’m just beginning to scratch the surface of Iqbal’s writings.
There’s much more to come. I eagerly look forward to continuing
my studies of his writings. The people of Pakistan are indeed
fortunate to be able to call their own this great poet.
I refuse to buy into the pessimism offered to us daily by media
and distorted thinking. I am confident that humanity can work,
together, to elevate itself, together, well beyond differences
(not obliterating the differences, but finding the unity of
them). Thanks to the online courses offered by the Marghdeen
Learning Centre, I was introduced to a Muslim poet who has
outlined just such a path.
His loving expression of Islam, with an embrace that far
transcends nationality, borders, and cultural differences,
points to the immense potential in the soul of each and every
human being in growing themselves (and their society and all of
humanity) toward a wholly new sense of personal, social, and
universal sense of harmony. It’s what the world needs.
Courtesy: Noman Bokhari ( Noman Bokhari:
bokhari@disna.us )
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