Love Conquers The World

( )
I thought of contemporary love as a feeling of deception that you have for somebody, enslaving you
to inferior desires. It was not until I read
1
by Khurram Ali Shafique and discovered
Iqbal through his Marghdeen
2
. This change introduced me to that powerful love through which
beloved says (What is your wish?)
3
.
My original thought was a reflection of the society, a society having boys and girls loathing(I think u
mean the opposite.. loath means to despise or hate) to talk to each other, spending sleepless nights
on phone and offering useless gossips about girls or boys in gatherings. It is an ignorant ?? world
view to which youth is forced to believe in, this world view of lust, promulgated by media.It is
nothing but a means of profiteering from the masses.
Love is much more powerful than all this because it is that curiosity for an infant to take the first
steps; it is in those sleepless nights of mother taking care of her child; it is in those scholars who
persevere to preach goodness; it is in those martyrs who stand for their countrymen. It is this love in
the universe that holds it all together.
Love is a quite real a phenomenon. It exists physically. It is tangible and can be felt and sensed. It can
be experienced and then held. It is supreme power of love that constitutes humanity today. It is the
foundation of human existence: He placed between you affection and mercy
4
.
Iqbal wanted to revive this love, this nigah-e-shoq to reach the ultimate love for the Creator- the
Sustainer. Our mullahs often talk about wrath of Allah Almighty, obscuring His forgiveness and His
love and mercy. This introduces to people a God-King who would punish them for wrong doings and
reward them for obedience. However, the basic element i.e. love is missing. Qurans message is not
the rulings of a King, but a code to search and reach in Him the muse So remember Me; I will
remember you.
5
This conception is a shared reality with Christianity that ended in a complete denial of the basis of
religion. (What ended in denial? Conception or reality? ) Karen Armstrong writes:
When I was about eight years old, I had to memorize this
catechism answer to the question, 'What is God?': 'God is the
Supreme Spirit, Who alone exists of Himself and is infinite in all
perfections.' Not surprisingly, it meant little to me and I am
bound to say that it still leaves me cold. It has always seemed a
singularly arid, pompous and arrogant definition. Since writing
this book, however, I have come to believe that it is also
incorrect. . . . As I grew up, I realized that there was more to
religion than fear.
6

Islams concept is based not on fear; rather, it regards fearlessness as the supreme attribute of a
Musalman. This love is what inspires freedom from all that restrains the true goodness in humanity.
The greatest obstacle Iqbal says that restrains mans ethical progress is fear.
7

. . . and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.
8
Due to centuries of decline negativity has been embedded in the genes of Musalmans of the present
era. We do not let any incident go without criticizing it, blaming someone or something, and a widely
heard line would be:
jokararaha hay America kararha hay
Everything is happening because of America/ all the happenings are caused by America/ its active
voice
It is a loveless life we are living. It was the primary objective of Iqbal to set mankind free of dogmatic
following, to think freely and to reach out for goals far reaching the capability of humans fulfilling
the prophecy of God:

You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid
what is wrong.
13
Our society tends to seek reality in those 'out of the box' opinions and theories (end of times,
illuminati, etc.). Instead of focusing on love for the society, and love for the Creator, our
conversations are confined in brackets with a negative outside. Popular beliefs define a society,
popular actions define their goal and it is these goals and beliefs in which Iqbal wanted to see
growth of a collective ego. Pakistan was founded on the basis of this collective ego and it is still
forming our society.
There is also an argument that suggests Iqbal said many things (I could not understand this
sentence. There is an error in it) but he didnt materialize them in his own life or:

Iqbal became the President of Muslim League. Pakistan was his conception and it was his goal (that
he envisioned through collective will). How can we point fingers on his actions when we are
ourselves in deep pessimism? Iqbal believed in a melioristic attitude towards life. He believed man
has an innate quality of expressing and developing. He saw in man the infinite possibilities to expand
his consciousness and will, to completely change what they believe in and to pursue and dream new
worlds- worlds that have new possibilities.


This speck remains incessantly ambitious of expansion
Not a speck but perhaps the constricted wilderness he is



If he wills he can change the face of the garden
This entity wise, clearsighted and powerful is.
9
Another argument that is widely spoken in our society is that when they are compelled to do
something instead of criticizing, they would say:

You are right but nothing would change unless the rulers change, what can we do?
This attitude aggravates the inactivity. It is that state which Iqbal pointed out about Musalmans of
that era:
Truly economic dependence is the prolific mother of all the
various forms of vice.Even the vices of the Indian Muhammadan
indicate the weakness of life-force in him. Physically too he has
undergone dreadful deterioration. If one sees the pale, faded
faces of Muhammadan boys in schools and colleges, one will
find the painful verification of my statement. Power, energy,
force, strength, yes physical strength, is the law of life. A strong
man may rob others when he has got nothing in his own pocket;
but a feeble person, he must die the death of a mean thing in
the worlds awful scene of continual warfare.
10
He points out the degraded state of Musalmans of that time as a mean thing in the worlds awful
scene. Unfortunately we still have to conceive a powerful Musalman in our society whose character
is the key to happiness of a freeman/freewoman. Freedom that allows the sterling character to grow
in a person, making him fearless of everything that enslaves him.Instead of giving in to such notions
we have to think hard of what we can give to this society.
The character of a Musalman seems to be incomplete without this integration of love for Allah. And
this love is not instinctive; rather, it is intellectual and conscious in nature, attained through
knowledge of His existence. This knowledge must have unadulterated 'nigah e shoq' (Fervent
Glance) in order to reach for the pearls buried deep down. If this ocean is murky with 'complexes' of
any sort, it would be difficult to witness the shimmering light of the reality of those pearls.


If fervent glance and vision keen You have not met or ever seen;
Your being is a source of shame on heart, and sight can bring a blame.
11
So, instead of rendering every activity of our society null by disclaiming its effectiveness, complete
transformation of thinking is needed to be that kind of Musalman. The natural melioristic attitude,
however, can only be achieved if we unlearn what we have learned. It is one of those hardest things
we are capable of doing. Let us revive this spirit to adopt a positive, collective goal, by treading the
road of shared love for humanity.


Make the lamp of desire bright in the heart of the tulip!
Make every particle of the garden a martyr to search!
12

References:
1. http://panipatnow.com/archives/314
2. Marghdeen Learning Center (www.marghdeenlearningcenter.com)
3. Iqbal:KhiradMandon Se Kya PoochunKe Meri Ibtada Kya Hai, Baal-e-Jibril [Translation
from:http://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/04/bal-e-jibril-053-kirad-mandon-se-kya.html]
4. Quran: 30:21
*
5. Quran: 2:152
*
6. Karen Armstrong: A history of God
7. Iqbal: Islam a moral and Political Ideal, 1909
8. Quran: 2:62
*
9. Iqbal:Insan, Bang-e-Dra [Translation from http://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/04/bang-e-dra-
113-insan.html)]
10. Iqbal: Islam a moral and Political Ideal, 1909
11. Iqbal:Nigah e Shouq, Zarb-e-Kalim. [Translation from
http://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/04/zarb-e-kaleem-119-nigah-e-shauq.html]
12. Iqbal:Tulu-e-Islam, Bang-e-Dra [Translation from: http://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/04/bang-
e-dra-163-tulu-e-islam.html]
13. Quran: 3:110
*

*
The translations are taken from www.quran.com of Sahih International.