Islamic Philosophy and Allama Iqbal: A Comparative Study of Commonalities and Differences

Abstract

This study, titled “Islamic Philosophy and Allama Iqbal: A Comparative Study of Commonalities and Differences,” examines the intellectual relationship between the classical tradition of Islamic philosophy and the philosophical thought of Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Islamic philosophy developed through a rich engagement with revelation, reason, metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, and human existence, while Iqbal emerged as a modern Muslim thinker who critically examined both the classical intellectual heritage and the philosophical challenges posed by modern Western thought. The study seeks to identify the major areas of convergence and divergence between Islamic philosophical traditions and Iqbal’s intellectual framework. The research particularly focuses on the concepts of God, the nature of reality, human existence, reason and revelation, free will, knowledge, morality, selfhood, and the relationship between religion and philosophy. It explores how Muslim philosophers such as Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, and Ibn Khaldun contributed to the development of philosophical discourse in the Muslim world and how Iqbal engaged with, adopted, transformed, or challenged aspects of this intellectual legacy. Iqbal’s concept of Khudi, his dynamic understanding of the self, his emphasis on action and creativity, and his reconstruction of religious thought are examined in relation to earlier Islamic philosophical positions.The study employs a comparative and analytical methodology, using primary and secondary sources to examine similarities and differences between Islamic philosophical thought and Iqbal’s philosophy. The findings indicate that Iqbal maintained a strong connection with the Islamic intellectual tradition while simultaneously seeking its reinterpretation in response to modern scientific, philosophical, and socio-political developments. His thought neither represents a complete rejection of classical Islamic philosophy nor a simple continuation of it; rather, it constitutes a critical and creative engagement with inherited ideas. The study concludes that Iqbal’s philosophical project can be understood as an attempt to restore dynamism, intellectual vitality, and spiritual orientation to Muslim thought while preserving the fundamental principles of Islamic worldview.

Keywords: Islamic Philosophy, Allama Iqbal, Muslim Philosophy, Comparative Study, Khudi, Reason and Revelation, Metaphysics, Islamic Thought, Modernity, Reconstruction of Religious Thought.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23479168