Allama Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal

[ BACK ] The renowned Muslim philosopher and poet of the Indian sub-continent published a paper in 1900 in The Indian Antiquary, a learned journal of oriental research, entitled The Doctrine of Absolute Unity as expounded by Abdul Karim Jilani. The paper deals with the metaphysical thought of this saint (d. circa 1408 C.E.) as expounded in his classic work Al-Insan al-Kamil. While commenting on Jilani's philosophy, Iqbal writes:

``It will appear at once how strikingly the author has anticipated the chief phase of the Hegelian Dialectic and how greatly he has emphasised the Doctrine of the Logos --- a doctrine which has always found favour with almost all the profound thinkers of Islam, and in recent times has been readvocated by M. Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, probably the profoundest theologian among modern Indian Muhammadans.''

(The Indian Antiquary, vol. xxix, September 1900, p. 239. The reference is quoted above in the original English; text given in bold is bold in the original. Journal published from Bombay and London; in London by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co.)