Iqbal's Concept Of God

Book Summary

This book is based upon a detailed and critical examination of Iqbal's concept of God as expounded in Chapter II of The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. His concept of God is a finite (panentheistic) one and is based largely upon Iqbal's reading of Western philosophy (Hegel, Whitehead and Bergson). Iqbal draws extravagant metaphysical conclusions from his reading of these Western thinkers; he then relates these philosophical theses to the Quran and the tradition of Muslim thought. Iqbal's finite (panentheistic) deity is very close to the (pantheistic) Sufi concept of God. However, Iqbal manages to ignore the whole tradition of tafsir (exegesis) and kalam (theology). Additionally, his finite deity cannot be reconciled with the Quranic doctrine of God. A similar conclusion is reached following an examination of the Sufi teaching as expounded by Isa Nuruddin (Fritjhof Schuon) and Abubakr Sirajuddin (Martin Lings).This conclusion leads to contemporary discussions of mysticism. Finally, an attempt is made to go beyond Iqbal and to specify the precise logical peculiarity of 'the problem of God'.

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