Understanding Iqbal: The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam
Course Announcement
Inshallah, I’ll be offering a course on Iqbal’s reconstruction. The details are below. If you are a paid subscriber, the course will be covered by your subscription, inshallah. Just email me directly, and I’ll add your email to the list.
Who Is Iqbal
Allamah Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938) is one of the most innovative and profound Islamic thinkers of the last 200 years. Born in colonial India, Iqbal’s works have been translated to languages across the world and has been credited as the spiritual forefather of several of the most important Muslim social and political movements.
A philosopher-poet in both Eastern and Western traditions, Iqbal inherited both the German idealist and nihilist traditions as well as the Sufi philosophical tradition and attempted one of the a daring and challenging syntheses of Eastern and Western thought
What Is the Reconstruction?
The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam is Iqbal’s most challenging prose work. While it is often read as a metaphysical text, this course approaches it as Iqbal’s attempt to build a foundation for an alternate modernity.
At a time when other thinkers were attempting to theorize resistance movements, Iqbal was more concerned about the destructive tendencies inherent in European modernity’s philosophical foundations. The Reconstruction, paired with his seminal Persian poem, the Javidnama, is his attempt to rectify those dysfunctions and imagine a Muslim modernity that overcomes Western limitations.
Who Is Saad Yacoob?
Saad Yacoob is a PhD Candidate in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University where he researches the thought and reception of Allamah Muhammad Iqbal. He is also a student of knowledge, having read texts with teachers around the world in the Hanafi madhhab. He engages Western philosophical thought as well as the Muslim legal, spiritual, and philosophical traditions, making him a uniquely well-positioned reader and evaluator of Iqbal’s project. His current research project is a critical reading of the Javidnama in English.
Course Details
Start Date: Saturday, July 25
Course Length: 4 weeks
Schedule: Saturday mornings at 11:00 AM EST
Class Duration: 2 hours per week
Contribution: $50
Recordings will be made available to students
Ethics Statement on Monetization
Knowledge that leads to moral and spiritual growth should be free. It is not a commodity; it should not be subject to market forces. The reality, however, is that charging for courses allows me to dedicate time and mental energy towards teaching without worrying about the cost of teaching on myself. Therefore, while I wish for a world in which courses could be given for free without restriction, that is not the reality I currently occupy, and thus I ask for a small contribution towards the course. If you need a scholarship, please don’t dedicate to indicate that in the form. I will not gatekeep knowledge behind a paywall.
Just upgraded! Will DM you with my email-looking forward!!
Can’t wait!