Tulip In The Desert A Selection Of The Poetry Of Muhammad Iqbal

The Secrets of the Self is a book-length, philosophical poem rooted in metaphysical thought and ideology, as well as Islamic theology. Originally published in 1915, the poem speaks of the "Self" in relation to the universe, how it is the inner power and soul of each individual human. It instructs on how to improve the Self through Love and willpower, which can then help one control the forces within the universe. The poem includes stories that illustrate its points and promotes the spread of Islamic ideals. MUHAMMAD IQBAL (1877-1938) was a poet, prophet, and politician in British India. Born in Sialkot, Punjab, Iqbal converted to Islam with his family as a child. He studied literature and law at Cambridge, Munich, and Heidelberg before starting his own law practice and concentrating on his scholarly writing, which he authored primarily in Persian. Many of Iqbal's works promote Islamic revival, especially in South Asia, and he was a well-known leader of the All India Muslim League. Today, he is recognized as the official poet of Pakistan, and his birthday is celebrated as a national holiday.

Despite the apparent lack of any cultural and religious connection between Kierkegaard and Iqbal, their philosophical and religious concerns and their methods of dealing with these concerns show certain parallels. This book provides a Kierkegaardian reading of Muhammad Iqbal’s idea of becoming a genuine Muslim. It reflects on the parallels between the philosophical approaches of Kierkegaard and Iqbal, and argues that, though there are certain parallels between their approaches, there is a significant difference between their philosophical stances. Kierkegaard was concerned with developing an existential dialectics; Iqbal, however, focused mostly on the identification of the problems of the modern Muslim world. As a result, Iqbal’s idea of becoming a genuine Muslim – the practical aspect of his thought and one of the most central issues of his philosophy – seems to be unclear and even contradictory at points. This book therefore uses the parallels between the two philosophers' endeavours and the notions developed by Kierkegaard to provide a strong hermeneutical tool for clarifying where the significance of Iqbal’s idea of becoming a Muslim lies. By bringing together two philosophers from different cultural, traditional and religious backgrounds, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Comparative Politics, Contemporary Islamic Philosophy and the Philosophy of Religion.

This book makes the Qur'an accessible to the English-speaking student who lacks the linguistic background to read it in the original Arabic by offering accessible translations of, and commentary on, a series of selected passages that are representative of the Islamic scripture. Mustanstir Mir, Director of the Center for Islamic Studies at Youngstown State University, offers clear translations and analysis of 35 selected passages of the Qur'an that will help students understand what kind of book the Qur'an is, what the scripture says, and how it says it.