Iqbal’s Critique of Western Conception of Time: A Philosophical Analysis

Shaista Akhter

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i01.35513

Iqbal’s Critique of Western Conception of Time: A Philosophical Analysis

Author(s)	Shaista Akhter
Country	India
Abstract	This manuscript investigates Allama Iqbal’s astute critique on materialism and its concomitant mechanistic worldview, which interprets the cosmos as a fixed and immutable entity. This paradigm has been progressively undermined and, as of today, has been largely repudiated even within those intellectual circles that once fervently upheld it. This situation can be traced back to the intellectual legacy of the 17th century, marked by the emergence of novel scientific methodologies and philosophical frameworks introduced by luminaries such as Descartes, Galileo, and Newton. However, it is essential to recognize that no philosophical or scientific perspective can be regarded as definitive, as our comprehension of philosophy undergoes significant radical shifts and fluctuations. As knowledge progresses and new avenues of inquiry are explored, alternative perspectives, likely more robust, become conceivable. The Modern theory of relativity in physics supports Iqbal’s standpoint by depicting matter not as a static substance, nor reality as an unchanging entity-views commonly associated with Classical materialism and classical Greek philosophy-but rather as a system of interrelated events, characterized by a dynamic void and continuous creative evolution. Time is characterized as subjective and objective, as well as sequential in nature, and is not an absolute. However, Iqbal enriches this interpretation by introducing the notion of ‘duration’ in conjunction with linear time, positing that ‘reality deep in its inner being lies, perhaps the dream of a new birth’ and ‘Time represents a free creative movement, and reality possesses a spiritual essence’. So this distinctive viewpoint challenges the constraints of Western philosophical thought and presents a novel framework for understanding the concepts of time and reality.
Keywords	Absolute, Creativity, Dynamic, Ego and Time.
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 1, January-February 2025
Published On	2025-01-20
Cite This	Iqbal’s Critique of Western Conception of Time: A Philosophical Analysis - Shaista Akhter - IJFMR Volume 7, Issue 1, January-February 2025. DOI 10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i01.35513
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i01.35513
Short DOI	https://doi.org/g82gmk

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Iqbal’s Critique of Western Conception of Time: A Philosophical Analysis

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