Description

Iqbal and Pakistan’s Moment of Truth

by Imran N. Hosein

How do we respond to the news which has been widely spread that someone saw Prophet Muhammad SAW in a dream warning that Pakistan’s end was near – but that the recitation of Surah al-Shams of the Qur’an can in some mysterious way, save Pakistan? To which Pakistan did the dream direct attention? Was it the ‘American’ republic of Pakistan whose political and military leaders have been shamelessly dancing for the longest while (and are still dancing to this day) to every fraudulent tune that comes out of Washington?

Was it the Pakistan which has consistently deceived the devoted Pakistani Muslim masses with its claim to be an Islamic Republic, while sinfully banning, at Washington’s behest, non-Pakistani Muslim students from studying Islam in Pakistan? Or was it the other Pakistan which, since 1947, has remained but a distant dream in the hearts of the sincere followers of Prophet Muhammad SAW and will continue to remain a dream until Islamic scholarship succeeds in grasping the reality of the modern age and in responding to its challenges appropriately.

This essay asks: can the recitation of Surah al-Shams of the blessed Qur’an, or the ISI-blessed passionate beating of Iqbalian drums, save that ‘American’ Republic of Pakistan from a fate that was long-scripted for it in London, Washington, Jerusalem and New Delhi? But most importantly of all, this essay seeks to assess Iqbals claim that the modern republican State can be accepted as a substitute for the Islamic Caliphate (Khilafah).