THE region of Syria has been associated with our history and literature in the same way the tradition of Islamic civilisation has been associated with sub-continent. The region of Syria (Balad Sham) is an elaborate term which included Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and the whole of Syria. But now, Syria is an independent country, separate from the other states. Rare sources of history and literature are spread on every inch of this country. Recently I had an opportunity to visit Syria. During this visit I saw a number of historical sites. I visited five cities, namely Damascus, Bosra, Shehba, Sweda, and Nawa there. I went to various historical, religious and spiritual sites of these cities. Damascus is history in itself. The city is illuminated by Ummayad Mosque (Jamia Umwiya), Mount Qasiyun (Jabal-e-Qasiyun), graves of the Prophet John (Hazrat Yahya AS), Prophet Dolkifal AS, and graves of Holy Prophet's (PBUH) companions like Bilal of Habsha (RA), Abu Darda (RA), and Abu Huraira (RA). Tombs of rulers like Ummayads family, Salah al Din Ayyubi, Noor al Din Zangi, graves of mystics like Muhyuddin Ibn Arabi and Fakhr al Din Iraqi are also there. Besides these, monuments of many religious personalities, historians, scholars, rulers and generals are also situated here. The writer was fortunate to have an opportunity for visiting all these sites. This particular piece of writing, however, is about Mohamed Iqbal's (1877-1938) message in Syria. The reason being that like all other travels, Iqbal and his thoughts were travelling with the writer during his visit to Syria too. Along with sightseeing, I wanted to explore libraries and new books on Iqbal. The area of Halboni in Damascus is especially famous for the bookshops. This place is exactly like Pakistan's heart, Lahore's Urdu Bazaar or Cairo's Ramsis. During the search for books here I found some new and old gems. A new book on Iqbal has been published from Damascus. It would also be a good news for the readers that a valuable thesis on Iqbal's philosophy of selfhood has been produced in the University of Baghdad, Iraq. This thesis has been written by Dr. Raed Jabber Kazim under the supervision of professor Madni Saleh. The work has been brought out recently in 2009 by Daar Nainwa, a publication house of Damascus. The title of this work is Falsaft al Zat Fi Fikr Mohamed Iqbal. The book consists of 196 pages, and it has been written with the help of 122 sources including a number of research papers and journals. This research has originated from Iraq which indicates, in a way, the liberation of this land through the spirit of Iqbal's thought as was witnessed in the case of united India many years back. We can say that by selecting this topic Dr. Raed has shown a dim picture of the coming days. We can say that it is a worthwhile book which has been published at a pertinent time on a pertinent subject. Apart from the preface, the book has been divided into three chapters. The first chapter presents an introduction to Iqbal's life and works along with the socio-political landscape of his age. Philosophical, reformist, mystical and poetic aspects of Iqbal's personality have also been introduced in the book. The second chapter discusses Iqbal's concept of selfhood. The concept of selflessness has also been highlighted at the same time. All the sufferers of the present world need these very concepts today. Man needs to consolidate his self, and then the awareness to sacrifice this consolidated self on the nation in order to face aggression. The third chapter discusses the sources of Iqbal's thought. In this part, an effort has been made to trace the Indian, Islamic and a Western philosophical tradition in the background of Iqbal's thought. An evaluation of Iqbal's philosophy has been made by placing it with the international cultures. In this regard, Iqbal's relations with the Indian, Arabic and the Western cultures have been traced. The author prays for reward in this world and the world hereafter for this work. And he rightly associates his work to this A'yat of Sura Al-Tauba of the Holy Qur'an: "Keep on doing your work! Allah will behold your actions, and (so will) His messenger and the believers, and ye will be brought back to the Knower of the Invisible and the Visible, and He will tell you what ye used to do." I also found a selection from the translations of Iqbal's poetry. This also is a fresh book, which has been published in 2008 by Daar al Irshaad Hamas, Syria. The selection is entitled Mukhtarat Min She'r Al-Duktoor Alphelsof Mohamed Iqbal. It has been compiled and edited by Ahmad Esa Al Khitab. The book is spread over 150 pages and the translations of Iqbal's poetry used for this selection include: Dewaan Mohamed Iqbal, Al Aa'maal Al Kamla, Jannah Jibrel, Almalloohi and Maulana Syed Abul Hassan Nadvi's Rawaey Iqbal. As Rawaey Iqbal is a book of prose, therefore, Khitab's book contains selections from poetry as well as from prose. In the beginning, there is a two-page biographical introduction then, under the title of Qudwatul Shabab (Role model for young generation) such events from Iqbal's life have been presented which provide guidance to the youth. The style of writing is full of exaggeration. Like all poetic selections, this one too, is based on choice. At some places, notes have also been added. A Persian poem from Asrar-e-Khudi (Secrets of the Self) captioned Khudi Az Sawaal Zaeef Tarr Mi Gardad (Showing that the self is RA gets down from his horse to pick up his lash. At this point, a note has been added which clarifies that the story is about Hazrat Sobaan and not about Hazrat Umar RA (P.89). At the end of the book Iqbal's life has been reflected through some pictures. In order to know about the academic and literary institutions of Syria, the writer also visited, in Damascus, the institution of Grand Mufti of Syria, Sheikh Ahmed Kuftaro, which is called Sheikh Ahmed Kuftaro Islamic Foundation. This is a major educational institution of Damascus. The Foundation has twelve faculties where, a large number of Muslim students are studying. The Foundation also has a hostel and an orphans' house. The Foundation has a huge library, too. All these facilities are housed in spacious buildings of modern architecture. Upon arrival at the Foundation, the writer was first of all presented a briefing about the Foundation in a beautiful hall. Then, I was introduced to different departments of the Foundation. This visit started with paying homage at the graves of Sheikh Ahmed Kuftaro (founder of the Foundation) and his father Sheikh Mohamed Amen Kuftaro, and Ameer Zain Udddin Qaraja Salahi known as Abi Al Noor. These graves were located in the north of the Foundation building. Sheikh Ahmed Kuftaro had visited Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1968. During this visit, he was presented Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the most prestigious civil award of Pakistan, by President General Mohamed Ayub Khan. During the visit, Dr. Salah-Uddin Ahmad Kuftaro, son of Sheikh Ahmed Kuftaro, remained with the writer. Then he took me to various departments and the library of the Foundation. After visiting all the departments, the kitchen and the library, discussions were to be held with Sheikh Salah. In these discussions, deans of the faculties, along with professor Faruk Akbik, also took part. Issues relating to the present educational scenario of the Muslim world, and possibilities of cooperation between the Islamic countries were discussed. The writer stressed upon the need to study the literary and social trends, side by side the historical and the religious topics. This would help understand the new trends of thinking of the Muslim societies in their original colours. This would also help understand the ground realities of the Muslim countries. The second part of the article will appear next Wednesday. Amir is a professor of Urdu & Pakistan Studies Chair at the Faculty of Languages & Translation, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt. He can be reached at http://www.zahidmuniramir786.blogspot.com
