The Flame of Sinai Hope and Vision in Iqbal by Sheila McDonough (Lahore: Iqbal Academy Pakistan, 2002, 249 pages.)

Abstract

The current surge of attention and sensitivity to Islam in western academia
and popular culture often boils down to the question of Islam’s compatibility
– or lack thereof – with modernity. The issue is by no means a simple
one, and is further complicated by the fact that both “Islam” and “modernity”
are made to carry a heavy load of multiple definitions that are also
susceptible to ideological uses and abuses. Such influential American commentators
as Francis Fukuyama, Daniel Pipes, and Bernard Lewis have
been unanimous in their diagnosis that while Judaism and Christianity have
come to terms with modernity, Islam has so far failed to take that necessary
and crucial step. In the larger context of modern Muslim history, however,
the question is almost two centuries old; it was repeatedly grappled with in
the past and continues to occupy a prominent place in the Muslim consciousness.
Sheila McDonough’s new book on Muhammad Iqbal (1877-
1938) can be approached with reference to this particular discourse, for the
question of Islam and modernity was perhaps the most important factor that
motivated and shaped Iqbal’s creative output – a body of ideas whose revelance
has tremendously increased in the six decades since his death.
While Iqbal’s poetic and intellectual genius has been greatly celebrated
and widely acclaimed, both within the Indian subcontinent and abroad, it can
be safely contended that his true potential as the twentieth century’s most
important post-critical Muslim philosopher is yet to be discovered. In view of
his work’s creativity, depth, and visionary reach, the number and quality of
English-language studies on Iqbal’s thought leave much to be desired. In this
context, McDonough has done a remarkable service by making the intellectual
and imaginal contours of Iqbal’s consciousness accessible to a new generation
of Muslim and non-Muslims readers, many of whom have been recently
sensitized to the question of Islam’s relationship with modernity. Mixing her
serious erudition with a loving sensitivity and an almost artistic gift for discerning
interconnections, McDonough skillfully blends together the accounts
of the vicissitudes of Iqbal’s personal life, his turbulent socio-historical context,
and his sometimes shocking ideas to paint a colorful picture of his life,
times, vision, and struggle. The Flame of Sinai is sure to become a classic,
alongside a similar work by another Western admirer of Iqbal, namely, the late
Annemarie Schimmel’s book Gabriel’s Wing. Incidentally, both of these
charming titles come from Iqbal’s own symbolic imagination ...