Iqbal’s philosophical views on the nature of man

Human nature has drawn the interest of many concerned parties, including religious scholars, philosophers, biologists, psychologists, and others who continue to explore and discover the many hidden potentials within man. Many Western views on human nature are based on the ideas presented by Darwin and Freud. In contrast to the purely secular and scientific perspectives of the West, the concept of human nature in the Muslim world is rooted in the teachings enshrined in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Despite the foundational understanding of human nature found in the Qur’an, Muslim philosophers and scholars have differed in their interpretations of some scriptural passages from medieval times to the modern era in which we live. In this short article, the writers aim to discuss some of the ideas of Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) on man, as expounded in his magnum opus, The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam.