The Secrets of the Self (Asrar-i Khudi) — A Philosophical...

[63] The religious law of Islam.

[64]I.e. water is an indispensable element in the life of the body.

[65] The first article of the Mohammedan creed.

[66] Like Abraham when he was about to sacrifice Isaac or (as Moslems generally believe) Ishmael.

[67] The lesser pilgrimage (’umra) is not obligatory like the greater pilgrimage (hajj).

[68] The original quotes part of a verse in the Koran (ch. 3, v. 86), where it is said, “Ye shall never attain unto righteousness until ye give in alms of that which ye love.”

[69]I.e. overcome the lusts of the flesh.

[70] Here Iqbal interprets in his own way the Súfí doctrine of the Insán al-kámil or Perfect Man, which teaches that every man is potentially a microcosm, and that when he has become spiritually perfect, all the Divine attributes are displayed by him, so that as saint or prophet he is the God-man, the representative and vicegerent of God on earth.

[71]I.e. his appearance marks the end of an epoch.

[72] Koran, ch. 2, v. 29. The Ideal Man is the final cause of creation.

[73] Koran, ch. 17, v. 1, referring to the Ascension of the Prophet.

[74] For the white hand (of Moses) cf. Koran, ch. 7, v. 105, ch. 26, v. 32, and Exodus, ch. 4, v. 6.

[75] These four lines may allude to Jesus, regarded as a type of the Perfect Man.