Reconstructing Islam in a Post-metaphysical Age: Muhammad Iqbal’s Interpretation of Immortality

This chapter examines the doctrine of immortality in Muhammad Iqbal's thought, flushing out its religious and social impact. Iqbal presents a thoroughly modern theory of immortality — one rooted in teleology rather than metaphysics. Immortality is understood in two ways: as personal immortality and immortality in history. These two kinds of immortality exist in tension with each other. Iqbal reinterprets the traditional Islamic conception of immortality and resurrection as a reward to it being a culmination of the life-process of ego. However, this vision of immortality depends upon human actions and these actions happen within a society and may even be political. The implications are far-reaching for religion and society, including the believers' freedom to interpret their own religion (ijtihad) and asserting a place in India's future.