THE LIFE AND TIMES OF 'ALLÿMAH IQBÿL

Introduction

An individual's personality is determined by his inherent potentialities, his environment and interaction between these two. Understanding these factors is important in the study of a person and his contribution to society. Persons who make important contribution are considerably above the rank and file of the human race. Their distinction lies in the fact that they do not bend to and get molded by their environment. They bring into play their inherent qualities and potentialities as well as the Divinely conferred autonomy and mold their environment or derive only good influences from it instead of being led by it blindly. ‘All«mah Iqb«l was one such person whose personality has to be understood in order to comprehend his thought contained in B«ng-i-Dar« and other books. Just as rain has different influences on different soils, depending upon the latter's potentialities, human beings are also affected differently by the same environment, depending upon their potentialities: