7 Comments
Aug 12Liked by M. Saad Yacoob

Are his works translated to English? If so, which ones would you recommend?

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All of his major Persian works are translated, yes.

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Jun 10Liked by M. Saad Yacoob

Very true analysis! This truth makes me cry copiously. Please tell me what old people like me can do? Actually u have stated it…. Love Allah and His Rasool Sallallaho Alayhi Wassallam and ACT upon it. Keep writing please.

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And to encourage the young ones to have the courage to risk it all but not accept subjugation

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A great piece. You have an engaging writing style, and from the little I've read of Iqbal, the recommendation to read/imbue more of his works certainly resonates with me. I would be curious to hear your thoughts on this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBX2l3FXh-U

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It's fine. It's a very usual reading of Iqbal with all the usual criticisms. But it misses the forest of great thinkers for the trees that academics love to fiddle with. Yes, there were blind spots in Iqbal. Yes, Iqbal could have had a much more in depth understanding of certain traditional sciences, especially fiqh - but to a smaller extent Aqidah. But, as was mentioned somewhat flippantly, Iqbal was in constant conversation with Ulama and continuously sought their input in not only his own thought but also in political matters.

The reality though is that Iqbal saw what almost no one else saw in his era, and what we are still struggling to come to terms with: The Islamic tradition is important and deep, but the complete revolutions that have taken place in contemporary ways of living and interacting with each other and the world make the majority of the pre-modern world view extinct. It has to be brought into conversation with our realities, otherwise we will satisfy ourselves by convincing each other that perpetual misery is piety.

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Jazakallah for the detailed response. I've only read little of Iqbal — The Reconstruction and some of his Persian poetry — so it's good for me to hear different perspectives. From what I've read of Iqbal I rate him highly, both as a thinker and a poet. The Ummah would certainly be a better place if more people were familiar with his writings.

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