Ideas on Personality: A Contrastive Analysis between

Iqbal & FreudBy:

Mohd Abbas Abdul RazakDepartment of Fundamental & Inter-Disciplinary Studies

Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences(maarji@iium.edu.my)

Presented at: 2nd International Conference on Mental HealthOrganized by: Depart. Of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences,

International Islamic University, Islamabad, PakistanVenue: Senate Hall, IIUM, Gombak Campus

Date: 5th & 6th May 2015 1

My Research Works1. Konsepsi Pendidikan Akhlaq Menurut Muhammad Iqbal,

1992, Banda Aceh, Indonesia

2. Human Nature: A Comparative Analysis between Western and Islamic Psychology, 1997, IIUM

3. Contribution of Iqbal’s Dynamic Personality Theory to Islamic Psychology: A Contrastive Analysis with Freud and Selected Mainstream Western Psychology, 2011, IIUM

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My Book on Iqbal:Iqbal’s Theory of Personality: A Contrastive Analysis with Freud,

Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany, 2013.

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Allama Muhammad Iqbal

1879-1938

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Personal Information

• Born in Sialkot Punjab• His ancestors were of Kashmiri Brahmins• Pakistan was Iqbal's brainchild• Poet-philosopher, thinker, Sufi-scholar,

statesman, religious- reformer, advocate, educationist

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Personal Information

• He was given titles like Allama Iqbal (Iqbal the learned)

• Shaire-e-Mashriq (Poet of the East) • Hakeem-ul-Ummah (The sage/physician of the Ummah)

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Iqbal’s Magnum Opus

The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam

(Iqbal’s Philosophical Ideas)My personal experience in trying to understand Iqbal’s Philosophical Ideas

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Poetry and Philosophy

To Iqbal, poetry and philosophy are the two vehicles through which he

conveyed his ideas to the intellectuals as well as the masses in the East and

West

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Professor Nicholson on Iqbal:

“He is a man of his age and a man in advance of his age;

he is also a man in disagreement with his age”

(Nicholson in Iqbal 1983,p.xxxi)

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Iqbal’s Philosophy (An Eclectic Approach)

Mohd Abbas,2013,pp.227-228Notes on a, b and c on the next slide.

Iqbal’s Philosophy

Notes:a)The dynamic teachings of the Qur’an on man and the good example

shown by the Prophet of Islam (P.B.U.H.).

b) Ideas of Western philosophers, which are not contrary to the Islamic

principles. Iqbal has agreed with some of the ideas of Goethe, Bergson,

Nietzsche, Mc Taggart and some existential philosophers.

c) Mainly mystical ideas of Ar-Rumi. He also liked the reformation works

done by Al-Afghani and other Muslim reformers (Mohd Abbas,2013,pp.227-

228)

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Iqbal’s Theory of Personality came as a Response to:

Mohd Abbas, 2013, p.315Refer Notes on next slide

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Iqbal’s Theory of Personality came as a Response to

Notes:a)After the fall of the Mogul empire, Muslims lost their dominant position. As such, under

the British rule, Muslims were left behind in education and other sectors of public life

b)Iqbal was saddened by the fact that all Muslim countries were under European

subjugation. This pathetic situation has robbed their dignity, honour and self-esteem. It also

created a state of mental slavery in them towards the West

c)Muslims lost their zeal and zest for life. Abandoning active participation in worldly life in

the pursuit of attaining the nearness of God

d)Sufi teaching which preaches that at the highest level of man’s spirituality, man can attain

union with God

e)Muslims suffered inferiority complex and started imitating the Western culture

(Mohd Abbas, 2013,p.315)

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Iqbal’s concept on Ego/Khudi/Self

Efficient Ego(A)

AppreciativeEgo(B)

Mohd Abbas, 2013, p.338

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Khudi/Self/EgoAccording to Iqbal

• It has a point of departure• It starts with God• It develops fully through its relationship with God,

Nature & fellow human beings• It can reach a state of Immortality• The ego has to earn this state of Immortality by

carrying out all Ego Sustaining Acts and avoiding all Ego Dissolving Acts Mohd Abbas, 2013, p.338

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Efficient Ego (A)

• A-The efficient ego interacts with the outside world. While getting busy with the physical world it weaves a barrier around separating itself from the appreciative ego. It lives in serial time and space. Its position can be equated with the ‘Aql or intellect

Mohd Abbas, 2013, p.338

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Appreciate Ego (B)

• B-Appreciative ego stays connected with God. It lives in pure duration and not confined to any space order. To it, all events happen as a ‘single order’/‘single now’ and there is no past and present. Its position can be equated with the Qalb or heart

Mohd Abbas, 2013, p.338

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Efficient and Appreciate Egos

a)The two parts of the human psyche are not rivals to one another. The appreciative ego makes reminder of God to the efficient ego during the time of prayer and deep meditation

b)The human ego can be either strengthened by the ego-sustaining activities or weakened by the ego-dissolving activities

Mohd Abbas, 2013, p.338

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Strong Personality According to Iqbal

• Strong Personality develops when the ego is strong

• The one closer to God, his/her personality becomes stronger

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Elements that Strengthen the Personality(Ego Sustaining Act)

a) Loveb) Faqr: which can be best described by the

expression ‘supreme indifference to the rewards that the world has to offer’

c) Couraged) Tolerancee) Kasb-i-Halal: which can be best translated as living

on lawful earningsf) Taking part in original and creative activities

(Vahid, 195_:30)

Elements that Weaken the Personality(Ego Dissolving Acts)

a) Fearb) Dependency (Su’al)c) Slavery d) Pride of Ancestry (Mohd Abbas, 2013,pp282-288)

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Stages of Personality Development

a) Obedience to the Lawb) Self-control, which is the highest form

of self-consciousness or Ego-hoodc) Divine vicegerency (Iqbal, 1983: xxvii)

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Ideal Society for Personality Development

a) It must be based on spiritual considerations like monotheism

b) It must centre round inspired leadership or prophethood

c) It must possess a code for its guidanced) It needs a centre

(Vahid, 195_: 34)

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Ideal Society for Personality Development

e) It must have a clear goal towards which the whole society should strivef) It must gain supremacy over the forces of natureg) The communal or collective ego must be developed in the same way as the individual ego is developedh) It must safeguard maternity (Vahid, 195_: 34)

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Mohd Abbas,2013, p.302

Sigmund Freud(1856-1939)

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Freud’s Theory Got its Influence from:

Mohd Abbas,2013,p. 311

Freud’s Theory Got its Influence from:

Notes:a) Ideas like Oedipus complex, Electra complex, catharsis and narcissism are taken from Greek mythology. While some ideas on the human psyche, have been taken from Platob) He was influenced by Schopenhauer’s idea that states sex is the most powerful among all human instinctsc) He was also well read in the stories mentioned in the Old Testament and Talmud. These stories also influenced him in the conceptualization of his theoryd) Freud also relied on information gathered from his sick patients who came for psychotherapy e) During his childhood, Freud was sexually attracted to his motherf) Darwinian ideas on man and survival of the fittest linger around his own concept of human natureg) He had similar views with Nietzsche with regard to the power of the unconscious mind

Mohd Abbas, 2013, pp.311-312Refer Note on the following slide

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Painted a negative image of man There is no difference between man and

other members of the animal kingdom Man is an intellectual beast doomed for

destruction Man is enslaved to his sexual impulses Man has no freedom to cut loose from the

shackles of his psychosexual development Freud’s concept on man is a pessimistic and

deterministic one Man is driven by two psychic forces; Eros (Life Instinct) and Thanatos (Death Insticnt) 29

Freud’s Structural Model

Id

(Works on PleasurePrinciple)

(Biological)

Ego

(Works on RealityPrinciple)

(Psychological)

Superego

(Works on Moral/Ideal

Principle(Social)

Mohd Abbas,2013,p.336Notes on the next slide

Id, Ego & Superego• Notes:

- The id, ego and superego fight for dominance in the human psyche.

- The human personality, mental health, creativity, motivation, psychotherapy,

etc. are all related to the interplay of the id, ego and superego.

- A stable condition in the human psyche is sustained when the ego is able to

balance the moderate demands of the id and superego.

- An individual develops a strong personality when the ego is strong and

dominant compared to the id and the superego.

Mohd Abbas, 2013, p.336

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Stages in Personality Development

a) Oral Stageb) Anal Stagec) Phallic Staged) Latency Stagee) Genital Stage

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Mohd Abbas,2013

Strong Personality According to Freud

a) A strong personality develops when the Ego is strong in its control over the Id and Superego

b) A weak personality is formed when the Ego is weak as a result of being submissive to the demands of the Id and Superego

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Similarities Between Freud & Iqbal

1) Both Scholars were controversial during their time

2) Great admirer of Goethe and Nietzsche

3) They were well read in the Greek philosophy

4) Their travel to foreign land brought marked changes in their intellectual way of thinking

In favour of the scientific research & exploration

6) Both believed that a strong ego produces strong personality

7) Fighting for the supremacy of their respected community(Mohd Abbas, 2013, P.321)

Differences Between Freud & IqbalFreud Iqbal

1.His personality 1.His his personality

2.Concept on Human Nature

2.Concept on Human Nature

3.Nature of his Theory on Personality

3.Nature of his Theory on Personality

4.Views on Women 4.Views on Women

5.What is Personality 5.What is Personality

Mohd Abbas, 2013, pp.340-342

Appraisal (Mohd Abbas,2013,pp.342-347)Freud Iqbal

1. Pessimistic and deterministic views on Man

1. Positive image on Man. Man is a universe at the micro-level. There are many positive potentials hidden in man

2. Smeared the innocence of childhood vulgar ideas

2. Man can create a better world

3. In education: civilizing man who is uncivilized

3. Ideas are relevant to education & in producing dynamic leadership

4. Freud has not been rejected in the West “Feud is not Dead”. He is still a controversial figure

4. Ideas are much appreciated now

5. His ideas caused the sexual revolution in the West

5. His personality theory calls man to bind a good relationship with God, Nature & Humanity.

Reference

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Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak. ( 2011). Contribution of Iqbal’s dynamic personality theory to Islamic psychology : A contrastive analysis with freud and selected mainstream western psychology.

Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak. ( 2013). Iqbal’s theory of personality : a contrastive analysis with freud. Iqbal, Muhammad. (1983).The secrets of the self (Asrar-i-Khudi). (Renold A. Nicholson, Trans.).

Lahore: SH. Muhammad Ashraf.

Iqbal, Muhammad, & Saiyidain, K. G. (1995). Iqbal’s poetry. Patna: Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library. Saiyidain, KG. (1977). Iqbal’s educational philosophy. Lahore: SH Muhammad Ashraf. Iqbal, Muhammad. (1996). The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam, Lahore: Institute of

Islamic Culture Munawwar, Muhammad. (1985). Iqbal and Quranic wisdom. (2nd.edn.) Lahore: Iqbal Academy Pakistan. Iqbal, Muhammad, Sir. (1953). The mysteries of selflessness: A philosophical poem (Rumuz-e-Bekhudi). (A.J. Arberry, Trans.). London: John Murray. Beg, Abdulla Anwar. (1961). The poet of the east: Life and work of Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal. Lahore: Khawar Pub. Cooperative Society. Nadwi, Syed Abul Hasan Ali. (1979). Glory of Iqbal (Trans. Mohammad Asif Kidwai).Lucknow: Islamic Research and Publications.

Syukran JazilanTerima Kasih

Thank You

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