Muhammad Iqbal on the Reality and Dynamics of the World

Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) was not content to treat the physical world as an illusion or a mere shadow of some higher spiritual realm. Unlike many classical Eastern and Western philosophers who dismissed the material universe as unreal, Iqbal took a strikingly different stand. He affirmed that the world we see, touch, and inhabit is real – but its reality is far richer and more dynamic than ordinary perception reveals. In his landmark work, The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (1930), Iqbal laid out a vision of the world that is at once scientifically informed, philosophically rigorous, and spiritually grounded. This post explores that vision in depth.

Iqbal’s affirmation of the reality of the external world 🔗

One of the most important starting points in Iqbal’s philosophy is his firm rejection of the idea that the external world is illusory. Several philosophical traditions – from Advaita Vedanta to certain strands of Sufism – had taught that the material world is maya (illusion) or a veil hiding the true spiritual reality. Iqbal disagreed sharply with this position.

For Iqbal, Islam’s orientation toward the world is fundamentally affirmative. He argued that the Qur’an, unlike classical Greek philosophy, does not direct human attention away from the physical world toward abstract, otherworldly forms. Instead, it repeatedly asks its readers to observe nature – the movement of the stars, the cycle of rain, the growth of crops – as signs of God’s creative activity. The physical world, therefore, is not something to escape from. It is the field where human beings engage with divine reality.

Iqbal held that Islam affirms the contact of the ideal with the real and points the way toward mastering the material world in order to build a just and realistic regulation of life. This is a crucial distinction. Where many philosophical systems saw matter and spirit as irreconcilable opposites, Iqbal saw them as deeply connected. Matter, in his view, is not the opposite of spirit – it is spirit expressing itself in the framework of space and time.

Space, time, and the relativity of the world 🔗

Iqbal was deeply engaged with the scientific developments of his era, particularly Einstein’s theory of relativity and the emerging field of quantum physics. He drew on these ideas not to undermine religion but to deepen the philosophical understanding of the universe.

Nature as a structure of events 🔗

In the Reconstruction, Iqbal argued that nature is not a static object sitting in an empty void. Rather, it is a continuous structure of events – a creative flow that the human intellect breaks up into isolated, fixed units. From these fragmented units, we construct our concepts of space and time. In other words, space and time are not pre-existing containers into which the world is placed. They arise from the dynamic activity of reality itself.

This is a significant philosophical move. It means that space, time, and matter are not independent realities existing on their own. Instead, as Iqbal articulated, they represent the free creative energy of God and serve as intellectual modes through which we apprehend divine activity. God, in Iqbal’s framework, is not bound by the serial, clock-based time that governs ordinary human experience.

Serial time versus pure duration 🔗

Iqbal made an important distinction between two kinds of time, drawing on the work of French philosopher Henri Bergson. The first is serial time – the measurable, sequential time of clocks and calendars. This is the time of physics and everyday life, where events happen one after another. The second is pure duration – the time of inner experience and, ultimately, of God. In pure duration, there is no rigid separation between past, present, and future. All of existence is grasped as a living, organic whole.

For Iqbal, God exists in this pure duration, in what he called an eternal “now.” This has profound implications. If God’s knowledge of the future is not a deterministic prediction but a timeless comprehension of all possibilities, then human beings retain real moral freedom within a divinely sustained order. The world is not a pre-scripted machine. It is an open, evolving arena where genuine choices matter.

The universe as a self 🔗

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Iqbal’s worldview is his claim that the universe itself resembles a self or ego (khudi). This is not a poetic metaphor. It is a philosophical position rooted in his understanding of the Qur’an and informed by modern science.

God as the ultimate ego 🔗

Central to Iqbal’s metaphysics is the concept of God as the Ultimate Ego. Unlike many theological traditions that portray God as a remote, static being – an Aristotelian “Unmoved Mover” – Iqbal conceived of God as the supreme, eternally active Self. God is not merely the creator who set the universe in motion and then withdrew. He is the living, dynamic source from which all existence continually flows. As Iqbal wrote, the universe is the self-revelation of this Ultimate Ego, constantly disclosing the divine reality in new ways at each moment.

This idea of creatio continua – continuous creation – is fundamental. The universe is not a finished product. It is an ongoing process, a perpetual act of divine self-expression.

Every entity as a self 🔗

Because the universe flows from the Ultimate Ego, all finite beings within it also possess a degree of selfhood. Iqbal used the Urdu-Persian term khudi to describe this quality. Every entity – from a particle of matter to a plant, an animal, and a human being – embodies a certain level of ego or individuality. The plant reflects God according to its own mode of existence, and the bird according to its own. No mode of being is purposeless or dispensable.

However, the degree of selfhood varies enormously across the spectrum of existence. Iqbal maintained that what appear to us as inert material objects are actually collections of egos of a very low order. They lack the self-awareness and creative capacity of higher beings, but they are not dead or lifeless in an absolute sense. Life, for Iqbal, is immanent throughout the universe.

The rising note of egohood 🔗

One of the most powerful ideas in Iqbal’s philosophy is what he called the gradually rising note of egohood that runs through the entire gamut of being. This is his concept of creative evolution – not a blind, mechanical process, but a purposeful movement toward greater self-awareness, freedom, and individuality.

From matter to human consciousness 🔗

Iqbal saw creative evolution as the gradual ascent of selfhood from its most rudimentary forms in matter to its highest expression in human consciousness. At the lowest levels, the ego is almost entirely dominated by the physical. It has little freedom and operates under the iron grip of natural laws. But as one moves up the scale of being, the mental and spiritual dimensions gain increasing independence from the physical.

In humans, this process reaches what Iqbal called its relative perfection. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that for Iqbal, the cosmos exists to make possible the emergence and perfection of the Self. Human beings are not accidental by-products of evolution. They are the purpose toward which the entire creative process moves. This is why Iqbal insisted that the Qur’an declares the Ultimate Ego to be nearer to the human being than their own jugular vein – because in humans, selfhood reaches its closest proximity to the divine.

The role of love and action 🔗

Iqbal did not see this evolutionary ascent as automatic or guaranteed. It depends on human effort, action, and – crucially – love (‘ishq). For Iqbal, love is the vital impulse that drives all growth, movement, and progress in the universe. It is the force that prevents the ego from stagnating and propels it toward higher levels of being.

Unlike Bergson, whose concept of élan vital (life force) lacked a definite goal, Iqbal was clear that creative evolution has a purpose. It is directed toward the strengthening and perfection of human personality, which in turn brings individuals closer to the Ultimate Ego. The human ego grows through obedience to divine law, self-discipline, and ultimately through becoming a conscious participant in God’s creative activity – what Iqbal described as becoming a co-worker with God.

The universe as a divine plan 🔗

For Iqbal, the world is not the product of random chance or purposeless cosmic sport. He drew attention to the Qur’anic verse: “We have not created the Heavens and the earth and whatever is between them in sport. We have not created them but for a serious end.” This verse encapsulates Iqbal’s entire philosophy of the world. The universe has a purpose, and that purpose is intimately connected to the development and perfection of selfhood.

Purposeful creation, not mechanical determinism 🔗

It is important to understand what Iqbal did not mean by a divine plan. He was not advocating for a rigid, mechanical determinism where every event is pre-decided and human freedom is an illusion. Quite the opposite. The universe, in Iqbal’s view, is a dynamic arena of becoming, where human beings participate responsibly as morally accountable agents within a divinely sustained order. The divine plan is not a fixed blueprint but an ongoing creative process in which human beings play an active, indispensable role.

This means that the future is genuinely open. God’s knowledge of all possibilities does not cancel human freedom. Rather, it provides the framework within which freedom operates. The world evolves, and human beings, through their choices and actions, contribute to the direction of that evolution.

The unity underlying multiplicity 🔗

Although the universe appears as a vast multiplicity of distinct objects and beings, Iqbal insisted that this multiplicity conceals an underlying unity. The essential character of the universe is its oneness – a reflection of the divine principle of tawhid (the unity of God). The many egos that populate the universe are not isolated, disconnected fragments. They are all expressions of the one Ultimate Ego, and their apparent separateness is a function of the space-time framework through which we perceive reality.

Iqbal drew on the Islamic concept of tawhid not just as a theological doctrine but as a metaphysical principle that encompasses the unity of spirit and matter, body and soul, individual and society. Everything in the universe is interconnected, and the goal of human life is to become conscious of this interconnection – to realize that one’s own selfhood is rooted in the divine life and to act accordingly.

Implications of Iqbal’s worldview 🔗

Iqbal’s understanding of the world has several important consequences that distinguish it from other philosophical systems.

First, it rejects passivity. If the world is real and purposeful, then withdrawing from it – through asceticism, quietism, or world-denial – is a mistake. The proper response to existence is active engagement, creative effort, and moral struggle. Iqbal was deeply critical of any form of philosophy or spirituality that encouraged people to abandon the world.

Second, it bridges science and religion. By embracing modern physics and incorporating it into his philosophical framework, Iqbal showed that scientific inquiry and spiritual understanding are not enemies. He argued that the scientific observation of nature is itself a form of spiritual seeking – a way of understanding the patterns and habits of God’s creative activity.

Third, it places enormous responsibility on human beings. If the universe is evolving toward the perfection of selfhood, and if human beings are the highest expression of that process, then humans bear the weight of cosmic significance. Their choices, actions, and moral commitments matter not just for themselves but for the direction of the entire creative process.

Fourth, it offers a vision of immortality through action. Iqbal argued that personal immortality is not guaranteed by default. It must be earned through the strengthening of the ego – through creative action, moral discipline, and alignment with the divine will. The ego that fails to grow risks dissolution, while the ego that develops its full potential becomes a permanent element in the constitution of the universe.

Iqbal’s vision in context 🔗

Iqbal developed his philosophy at a time when the Muslim world was grappling with colonialism, intellectual stagnation, and the challenge of modernity. His vision of the world was not an abstract exercise. It was a call to action – a demand that Muslims re-engage with both their own spiritual traditions and the discoveries of modern science.

He drew on a wide range of influences: the Qur’an, the Sufi poetry of Rumi, the evolutionary philosophy of Bergson, the physics of Einstein, and the process philosophy of Whitehead. But he synthesised these into something distinctly his own – a worldview in which the universe is alive, purposeful, and moving toward a goal. That goal is the full realisation of selfhood, both individual and collective, in conscious partnership with the divine.

For Iqbal, understanding the nature of the world was never just a theoretical question. It was the foundation for understanding what it means to be human – and what it takes to become fully, creatively, and responsibly alive.

What do you think? If the universe is truly evolving toward greater selfhood and consciousness, does that change how you understand your own role in the world? And can Iqbal’s vision of bridging science and spirituality offer a meaningful framework for addressing the fragmentation of modern life?

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reconstruction_of_Religious_Thought_in_Islam
2. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad-Iqbal/Philosophical-position-and-influence
3. https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/article/muhammad-iqbal-nationalism-pakistan
4. https://www.kubepublishing.com/blogs/news/time-and-space-muhammad-iqbal
5. https://en.islamonweb.net/between-tradition-and-modernity-iqbals-reconstruction-as-philosophical-bridge
6. https://www.allamaiqbal.com/publications/journals/review/apr00/02.htm
7. https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/biographical/iqbal-muhammad-1877-1938/v-1