A Comparative Study of the Concept of Theology in Ghalib and Iqbal’s Thought

Abstract

A comparative study of the theological conceptions of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib and Allama Muhammad Iqbal, two major figures of Urdu literature who, despite belonging to different historical periods, both centred their thought on the relationship between the human being, the universe, and God. Ghalib, writing in the age of Mughal decline, presents a theology shaped by Wahdat-ul-Wujud, Sufi absorption, rational scepticism, and playful irreverence; his God is a transcendent, all-encompassing Reality before whom human existence appears illusory or burdensome, and whom he addresses boldly as a beloved and rival. Iqbal, emerging in the era of Islamic revival, builds his theology on the philosophy of Khudi and a dynamic reinterpretation of divine-human relations; his God is a living, creative Absolute who invites the human being to strengthen the self and become an active partner in the ongoing work of creation. The comparison reveals that Ghalib’s theology remains a complex intellectual puzzle of wonder and existential questioning, while Iqbal’s theology is an affirmative force of action, selfhood, and cosmic agency, each poet thereby redefining the bond between God-consciousness and self-consciousness in the idiom of his age.