Muhammad Iqbal’s Philosophy of Self

Malay Mandol

doi:10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i02.022

Title: Muhammad Iqbal’s Philosophy of Self
Authors: Malay Mandol
Journal: International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research (IJSSER) ISSN: 2455-8834 Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Publication Date: February 2026 DOI: 10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i02.022
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Malay Mandol Associate professor, Rabindra Bharati University,Kolkata, Kalyani Ghoshpara, Ward No. 3, Po-Kalyani, Dist-Nadia, West Bengal
MLA 8 Mandol, Malay. "Muhammad Iqbal’s Philosophy of Self." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 11, no. 2, Feb. 2026, pp. 730-738, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i02.022. Accessed Feb. 2026. APA 6 Mandol, M. (2026, February). Muhammad Iqbal’s Philosophy of Self. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(2), 730-738. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i02.022 Chicago Mandol, Malay. "Muhammad Iqbal’s Philosophy of Self." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 11, no. 2 (February 2026), 730-738. Accessed February, 2026. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i02.022.
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ABSTRACT: Discussion on the nature of individuals self or ego is an important topic in philosophy and in psychoanalysis. Before the European Enlightenment essence of self was understood from religious point of view. The philosophers of the European Enlightenment, (from Descarte to Kant, freed individual self from the religious mysticism and subjected it as a matter of rational study. On the other hand Sigmund Freud has given a psychoanalytic interpretation on the nature of self or ego. As a poet and philosopher, Muhammad Iqbal also propounded his own philosophy on the origin and nature of individual self or khudi. The main purpose of Iqbal's analysis of self was to strengthen the Muslims so that they could overcome fatalism. He believed that individual has the ability to change the condition of life. As a pious Muslim,Iqbal did not deny the Islamic interpretation of self. On the other hand, under the impact of modern philosophy he could not completely ignore the rationalistic interpretation of the nature of individual self. As a result Iqbal's analysis of self has become a synthesis of both metaphysics and rationalism that has made his idea of self as unique.

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