The Contemporary Relevance of Muhammad Iqbal

This chapter analyses Muhammad Iqbal's continuing relevance in three parts. The first part examines the ‘One/Many’ problem in the universe through Iqbal's concepts of khudi and the reality of God. It shows how Iqbal's philosophy is an ‘achievement possessing a philosophical importance far transcending the world of Islam’. The second part offers an illustrative example of how religion and science come into dialogue in Iqbal's thought. It shows Iqbal critiquing and repairing the cosmological, teleological, and ontological arguments for the existence of God by combining the findings of modern science with the wisdom of the Qur'an. Lastly, the third part suggests that the dialogue between religion and science at the core of Iqbal's thought can be better understood through the lens provided by Charles Peirce's pragmatism.