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What were the three stages of personal development in Muhammad Iqbal’s ideas?
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Muhammad Iqbal believed that the reform of the Muslim community could be achieved by strengthening the individual through three successive stages of personal development:
- Obedience to the law of Islam: The foundational stage involving adherence to religious principles.
- Self-control: The development of discipline and mastery over one's own impulses.
- Acceptance of vicegerency: The realization that every individual is potentially a vicegerent of God (nāʾib or muʾmin), emphasizing active engagement in the world rather than ascetic resignation.1