| Mohammad Iqbal is a distinguished poet, philosopher and statesman of South Asia. For his grand verse and in-depth knowledge of the subject matter he has been hailed as the poet of the East, Allama, Sir Mohammad Iqbal and so on. The basic sources of his philosophy are the Qur'an (holy book for Muslims), the Muslim Philosophers and mystics, and the Western philosophy and science. Drawing on the religious, spiritual, and literary source of Islam, Iqbal in his magnum opus work, Asrar-i-Khudi (written in Persian verse and translated into English language by Professor R.A.Nicholson as Secrets of the Self), offers a detailed statement of his philosophy of Khudi (selfhood), illustrating the main elements of that philosophy with stories and anecdotes. It is tangible in this book that Iqbal is conscious of his role as a bearer of prophetic message to the Muslims of his age and the generations to come. The essence of that message is the cultivation of dynamic human personality through action, struggle and acceptance of life's challenges. In this book, Iqbal mentions primarily factors that strengthen Self (for example, love of God and Prophet Mohammad SAW, devotion to a noble cause, selfdiscipline and struggle against odds) and the reasons that weaken it (such as dependence on others, inaction or inertia and life-negating philosophy and literature). The concept of self is the central idea of Iqbal's philosophy on which rest of his thought structure is based. The central premises of the Secrets of the Self, revolves around the elevation of the Self and addresses the Muslims to improve their spiritual being rather than bodily and worldly needs. |