The Concept of God and the Reality of Prayer: A Critical Analysis of Iqbal’s Third Lecture
تصورِ خُدا اور حقیقتِ دُعا: اقبال کے تیسرے خُطبے کاتحقیدی مطالعہ
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52015/daryaft.v17i02.421Keywords:
Concept of God, Prayer, Divine Immanence, Ego, Spiritual Experience, Modern Islamic Thought, Metaphysics, Religious PsychologyAbstract
This paper presents an in-depth critical analysis of Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s third lecture in The ‘Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’, titled “The Concept of God and the Reality of Prayer.” In this lecture, Iqbal redefines the traditional theological understanding of God by integrating Qur’anic insights with modern philosophical thought. He challenges the classical metaphysical notion of a static, impersonal, and purely transcendent deity and instead advances the concept of a Living God, dynamic, creative, and intimately involved in the ongoing process of cosmic evolution. According to Iqbal, God is not a remote Being detached from human affairs but the ultimate source of life, movement, and purpose in the universe. This study examines the philosophical, metaphysical, and epistemological implications of this conception, highlighting Iqbal’s efforts to harmonize spiritual intuition with scientific rationality. It further emphasizes Iqbal’s understanding of prayer as a profound spiritual dialogue between the human and the Divine rather than a mere ritual. Prayer, in this view, strengthens moral character, purifies the self, and fosters creativity, ethical awareness, and purposeful action. The paper concludes that Iqbal’s conception of God and prayer presents a transformative religious vision that unites faith, reason, and human agency, remaining relevant to contemporary philosophical and spiritual discourse.
Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article, and that the data presented have not been fabricated or falsified.
Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant or financial support from public, commercial, or not-for profit funding agencies.
Participant Consent: The authors confirm that Informed consent was obtained from all participants, and confidentiality was duly maintained.
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Author Biographies
DR. TALIB HUSSAIN HASHMI, Assistant Professor (Adjunct Faculty), Department of Urdu, MY University Islamabad, Pakistan
Dr. Talib Hussain Hashmi is an Assistant Professor of Urdu (Adjunct) at MY University, Islamabad. He earned his PhD from Allama Iqbal Open University, specializing in Urdu Fiction and Iqbaliyat. Dr. Hashmi has published twenty research articles and three books and received several honors, including the Hakim-ul-Ummat Award (2024), Allama Iqbal Gold Medal (2024), and Mehkan Literary Award (2024). He has also led research projects on Iqbal studies, including Editing of Kalam-e-Iqbal Urdu (2023) and a 2024 initiative on Iqbal’s writing style, political themes in Masnavi “Pas Che Baid Kurd”, and Bashir Ahmed Nahvi’s Iqbalistic thought.
ATTIA QUDUS, M. Phil Urdu Scholar, Department of Urdu, MY University Islamabad, Pakistan
Mrs. Attia Qudus is an M.Phil. Urdu scholar in the Department of Urdu at MY University, Islamabad, Pakistan. She completed her M.A. in Urdu and M.A. in Islamiat from the University of the Punjab, Lahore, and her B.Ed. and M.Ed. from Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad. Her research interests include Urdu fiction and Iqbaliyat.
