Iqbal and Quaid's Vision of Pakistan - Qurtuba University of Science ...

Iqbal and Quaid’s Vision of Pakistan Zamir Akhtar Khan
“I am the son of Islam. Become a destroyer of Idol like
Abraham. If racial pride is the basis of nationalism then
forget about the concept of human brotherhood. I do not
belong to Rome and Arabia, nor do I take pride in the
concept of racial superiority. Follow the way of your
Prophet and get united. Love of the Prophet is the source
of your unity. Make this love as the cementing force of
your nationhood." 21
It was for his spiritual ideals that the Prophet of Islam migrated from the
land of his birth and adopted Medina as his permanent abode. The
Muslims of India must follow this example from the life of Prophet
Muhammad in their refusal to sacrifice their religious identity on the
alter of the territorial nationalism i.e. composite Indian nationalism. In
his historic presidential address, delivered at the annual session of the
All-India Muslim League at Allahabad on the 29 th December, 1930 he
rejected the Western concept of a composite Indian nationalism in an
unapologetic manner. He argued with full emphasis on his command
that:
“The religious ideal of Islam is organically related to
the social order which it has created. The rejection of
the one will eventually involve the rejection of the other.
Therefore, the construction of a polity on national lines,
if it means a displacement of the Islamic principle of
solidarity, is simply unthinkable to a Muslim. I would
like to see the Punjab, North West Frontier Province,
Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single state.
Self government within the British Empire appears to me
the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of North West
India – I, therefore, demand the formation of a
consolidated Muslim State in the best interest of India
and Islam”. 22
When Muhammad Ali Jinnah returned from London and initiated the
task of the reorganization of the All-India Muslim League, Iqbal
extended his total support to Jinnah and worked as his loyal soldier. This
was the time of the closest political cooperation between these two
greatest leaders of Muslim India.
These new ideas concerning the destiny of Muslim India, in
particular, and Muslim world in general, which had stirred the mind of
young Iqbal, way back in the year 1907 continued to grow over the years
and finally culminated into a clear cut ideology in 1938.
The Dialogue 145
Volume V Number 2