Nietzsche and Iqbal on Nihilism and Religion

DOI:https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13845989

Abstract

Both Nietzsche and Iqbal have made a philosophical and critical analysis of the role of religion in human life. Nietzsche, in his critique of religion, has declared religion as one of the important factors of nihilism; hence, to successfully counter nihilism, he has suggested the total abolition of religion and the rejection of all sorts of religious beliefs.

Iqbal’s critique of religion, on the other hand, was not an attempt to reject religion in totality, by considering it to be a responsible factor of nihilism, for he thought, that it is not a religion in itself which leads society towards nihilism, instead, it is human’s incorrect interpretation of religion, that can plunge the world into nihilism.

This paper attempts to make a comparative analysis of Nietzsche’s and Iqbal’s critical approaches toward religion, by arguing that, though both Nietzsche and Iqbal were critics of religion, however, the nature of their criticism was different. Nietzsche thought that the very nature of religion is that it causes nihilism in the world; hence, he suggested that, to avoid this undesirable destiny, mankind should abandon its faith in religion. Whereas for Iqbal, religion in itself does not cause nihilism, instead the fault is rooted in human interpretation. Since religion, according to him, provides a metaphysical anchorage to humanity; therefore, instead of discarding religion, humans should reinterpret and reconstruct religious thought in the light of contemporary knowledge, by avoiding such interpretations of religion, that can and do lead the world toward nihilism.