Peace all,
I'd like to share a few more quotes from Farhan Shah's articles in this thread.
"The message of Iqbal is not restricted to Muslims only. It is the message of a philosopher, profoundly shaped by the Qur`anic teachings, who addresses himself to humanity en masse. Iqbal`s is a message of world-loyalty. In his own words: "So long as men do not demonstrate by their actions that they believe that the whole world is the family of God, so long as distinctions of race, colour and geographical nationalities are not wiped out completely, they will never be able to lead a happy and contented life and the beautiful ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity will never materialise."
- Farhan Shah
"The journey toward governmental, social and moral advancement of Pakistan is, to be sure, long and arduous, requiring great intellectual, emotional and moral stamina. However, equipped with realistic hope, definite goals, and a deep sense of human freedom and responsibility for the future, the people of Pakistan are capable of developing the nation in a constructive direction which will strengthen democratic principles, such as restricting the powers of the rulers and rationalising their policies, protecting the rights of the citizens and our environment, and attaining the public good. This necessary development grows out of the recognition of the existential fact that the cure to pathological conditions lies in our own hands, that the future is an open possibility, and that how the future will be shaped depends to some degree upon what human agents do in their individual and institutional capacities. Furthermore, it is only with a profound sense of duty for the common good of all life that practical change will occur. As Iqbal would have liked to remind us: "True political life begins not with the claiming of rights, but with the doing of duties". And, Iqbal would also teach us that what God seeks ever most deeply, is that we become caretakers of one another and the "dwelling place", all the while respecting the dignity of each and all, thus reflecting God's own love, care and inclusion on the temporal scene. Such an active mode of caretaking is what Muhammad Iqbal means by his vision of spiritual democracy. In the same spirit, let us redefine our collective calling in order to become true spiritual democrats, which is the "ultimate aim of Islam"."
- Farhan Shah
