The Concept Of Time and Space (In The Light Of Iqbal’s Lectures)

Abstract

This research study explores the concept of time and space in the philosophical thought of Allama Muhammad Iqbal as articulated in his seminal work “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam”. The study examines how Iqbal reinterprets classical Islamic metaphysics in dialogue with modern philosophical and scientific developments. The research investigates his critique of static and absolute notions of time and space and his formulation of a dynamic, creative, and experiential understanding of reality. The study argues that Iqbal rejects the mechanistic and deterministic worldview that dominated classical Newtonian physics and instead proposes a conception of time as a real, creative, and continuous process closely connected with the evolution of the ego. In this framework, time is not merely a measurable

sequence of moments but an inner, qualitative duration that reflects the unfolding of life and consciousness. Similarly, space is not treated as an independent and absolute container of events; rather, it is understood as relational and dynamically connected with the activity of the self and the structure of the universe. The research concludes that Iqbal’s dynamic conception of reality not only challenges deterministic interpretations of the universe but also provides a philosophical basis for creativity, freedom, and continuous becoming in human existence. Through this analysis, the study highlights the enduring relevance of Iqbal’s lectures for contemporary discussions in philosophy, theology, and the philosophy of science.

Bibliography:

1. Zaman ba-ma’ni musalsal aur pay-dar-pay lamhat ya aanat ka majmua, harakat ki miqdar (jis tarah nuqte ki harakat ya kashish se khat surat pazeer hota hai isi tarah lamhe ya aan ke tasalsul se zaman wajood mein aata hai) roz o shab aur mah o saal ke tasalsul ki hai’at-e-majmu’i, woh jo maujood ho, us ka wajood qarar pazeer na ho, jag, muddat, asar, waqt. Bahawala: Online Rekhta Dictionary.

2. Makan ba-ma’ni wus’at jis mein koi wajood sama sake ya samaya ho (zaman ke bar-khilaf). Bahawala: Online Rekhta Dictionary.

Islami ilahiyat ke mabda Quran-e-Majeed mein aisi bahut si misalein milti hain jin mein ek hi lafz mukhtalif ma’no mein istemal hua hai. Misal ke taur par ‘Masjid’ ek aisi jagah ko kaha jata hai jahan sajda diya jata hai, jis se majaz-e-mursal mein murad ibadat karne ki jagah liya jata hai, aur inhi ma’no mein Quran mein char masajid ka zikr bhi aaya hai: Masjid-al-Haram, Masjid-e-Aqsa, Masjid-e-Quba aur Masjid-e-Zirar. Isi ma’ni mein Surah Al-A'raf (7) ki ayat 31 mein ‘Masjid’ ka lafz zarf-e-makan ki surat mein milta hai: Ya bani Adama khudhu zinatakum inda kulli masjidin wa kulu washrabu wala tusrifu innahu la yuhibbul musrifeen (Ay aulad-e-Adam! Tum masjid (sajda dene ki jagah) mein apna accha libas pahan liya karo. Aur khoob khao, piyo taham had se mat niklo. Beshak Allah had se nikalne walon ko pasand nahi karta), lekin isi Surah Al-A'raf ki do ayat pahle (ayat number 29) mein yahi lafz ‘Masjid’ ba-taur zarf-e-zaman istemal hua hai: Wa aqimu wujuhakum inda kulli masjidin wad’uhu mukhliseena lahud-deen kama bada’akum ta’udun (Aur apne munh seedhe karo har sajda ke waqt aur us ki ibadat karo khalis us ke bande ho kar jaise us ne tumhein paida kiya aur jaise hi paltaye jao ge.)

3. Tehseen Firaqi, “Muslim Falsafa mein Zaman ka Masla”, mishmoola: Zaman o Makan, az: Waheed Ishrat (Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 1990), p. 559.

4. Syed Waheed Ashraf, “Iqbal ka Tasawwur-e-Zaman o Makan aur Sufia”, mishmoola: Zaman o Makan, az: Waheed Ishrat (Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 1990), p. 572.

5. Allama Iqbal, Tashkeel-e-Jadeed Ilahiyat-e-Islamia, mutarajjima: Syed Nazir Niazi (Lahore: Bazm-e-Iqbal, taba suwwam, May 1986), pp. 203-204.

6. Ibid, p. 145.

7. Bahawala: Dr. Razi-ud-Din Siddiqui, Iqbal ka Tasawwur-e-Zaman o Makan (Lahore: Iqbal Academy, s.n.), p. 7.

8. Burhan Ahmad Faruqi, “Iqbal ka Tasawwur-e-Zaman o Makan”, mishmoola: Zaman o Makan, az: Waheed Ishrat, p. 544.

9. Allama Iqbal, Tashkeel-e-Jadeed Ilahiyat-e-Islamia, mutarajjima: Syed Nazir Niazi, p. 11.

10. Bahawala: Dr. Razi-ud-Din Siddiqui, Iqbal ka Tasawwur-e-Zaman o Makan, pp. 8-9.

11. Allama Iqbal, Tashkeel-e-Jadeed Ilahiyat-e-Islamia, mutarajjima: Syed Nazir Niazi, p. 40.

12. Ibid, p. 333.

13. Allama Atique Fikri, “Allama Iqbal ka Nazariya-e-Zaman o Makan”, mishmoola: Zaman o Makan, az: Waheed Ishrat, p. 427.

14. Allama Iqbal, Tashkeel-e-Jadeed Ilahiyat-e-Islamia, mutarajjima: Syed Nazir Niazi, p. 319.

15. Bergson ne apni kitab The Two Sources of Morality and Religion mein riwayati andaz mein fardiyat ko teen darjo mein taqseem kiya hai: pahle nabatat o jamadat, phir dusre darja par haiwanat aur aakhir mein teesre aur aakhri buland darja par insan hai. Insan fardiyat ka aakhri maqam is wajah se hai ke ise shu'ur-e-zaat hai, jo zamane ko mazi, haal aur mustaqbil ke dauraniya mein taqseem karte hue “haal” jeeta hai aur mustaqbil ka laiha-e-amal tarteeb deta hai.

16. The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (Oxford Edition) Lecture I, p. 45.

17. Rashid Amjad, “Tasawwur-e-Zaman o Makan aur Iqbal”, mishmoola: Khutbat-e-Iqbaliyat, martaba: Dr. Anwar Ahmad, Dr. Robina Tareen (Multan: Shu’ba Urdu, Baha-ud-Din Zakariya University, July 2003), p. 83.

18. Riyaz Ahmad ke nawal Shajar-e-Hayat mein is hawale se ishaara milta hai ke idrak bhi azafi hai, jo zaman o makan ki tabdeeli ke alawa kaifiyat mein tafheem ke zawiye badal leta hai. Is nawal mein Hazrat Isa (A.S) ki tasveer par ki gayi tanqeed mein ek paira diya gaya hai jis mein tasveer ke rangon ki ma’niyat aur markazi khayal tak rasai ke liye majmu’i taasur char maqamat par hasil karne ki taraf ishaara milta hai: “Baaz auqat woh kacchi neend mein tasveer dekhta, baaz auqat kai pahar bhooke rah kar tasveer ka mushahida karta, kabhi band kamre mein oonchi awaaz kar ke raag sunte hue tasveer dekhta aur baaz auqat to kisi nashe ki haalat mein tasveer dekhne ka tajarba karta. Aaj woh lamba muraqba karne ke baad tasveer dekh raha tha.” [Riyaz Ahmad, Shajar-e-Hayat (Lahore: Al-Hamd Publishers, 2019), p. 145.] Isi tanazur mein ek baat Allama Iqbal ke ek khutbe mein yun milti hai ke Riyaz Ahmad ke bataye gaye tafheemi model mein izafa kar ke dekh sakte hain ya phir yeh ke Allama Iqbal ke nazariye ka tasalsul Riyaz Ahmad ke nawal mein milta hai. Allama Iqbal likhte hain ke “Khwab ki haalat mein taasurat-e-zehni ka ghair mamooli artikaz ya maut ke waqt hafize mein ghair mamooli izafa, yeh sab is amar ka saboot hain ke khudi zamane ka ek nahi, kai miyar qaim kar sakti hai.” [Allama Iqbal, Tashkeel-e-Jadeed Ilahiyat-e-Islamia, mutarajjima: Syed Nazir Niazi, p. 181.]

19. Allama Iqbal, Tashkeel-e-Jadeed Ilahiyat-e-Islamia, mutarajjima: Syed Nazir Niazi, pp. 148-149.

20. Ibid, p. 73.

21. Qazi Javed, “Iqbal ka Nazariya-e-Zaman o Makan”, mishmoola: Zaman o Makan, az: Waheed Ishrat, p. 636.

22. Ibid, p. 637.

23. Ibid, p. 638.

24.Ibid

25.Ibid

26. Syed Waheed Ashraf, “Iqbal ka Tasawwur-e-Zaman o Makan aur Sufia”, mishmoola: Zaman o Makan, az: Waheed Ishrat, p. 571.27. 27.Muhammad Iqbal, The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (Oxford University Press, 1930), Lecture VI, p. 123.

28. Allama Iqbal, Kulliyat-e-Iqbal (Urdu) (Nai Delhi: Islami Publishers, taba naham, 2003), p. 252

29. Allama Iqbal, Kulliyat-e-Makateeb-e-Iqbal, Jild 3, martaba: Syed Muzaffar Hussain Barni (Delhi: Urdu Academy, 1993), p. 434.

30. Allama Iqbal, Tashkeel-e-Jadeed Ilahiyat-e-Islamia, mutarajjima: Syed Nazir Niazi, Khutba Doum.

31. Time and Timelessness: From Newton to Tulving. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258835816_Time_and_Timelessness_From_Newton_to_Tulving [accessed Jan 28 2026]

32. Stephen Hawking, Waqt ki Mukhtasar Tareekh, mutarajjima: Tufail Dhana (Lahore: Fiction House, 2013), p. 44.

33. Allama Iqbal, Tashkeel-e-Jadeed Ilahiyat-e-Islamia, mutarajjima: Syed Nazir Niazi, pp. 58-59.

34 . Ibid

35.     Ibid.