Abstract
The present article will focus at the reception and presentation of Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam by the French Orientalist Louis Massignon. For this purpose, the article will analyze the “Preface” written by Massignon for the French translation of Iqbal’s Reconstruction. By looking at the “Preface” we will see how Massignon presented the Iqbalian reconstruction of religious thought to the French reader. More specifically, the article will look into the three fundamental aspects on which Massignon develops his introduction of Iqbal’s thought to the reader. The first of these aspects is Massignon’s claim that Iqbal’s religious empiricism is influenced and inspired by Mu’tazilah and derived from the ‘Asian Greek, Stoic, Anti Peripatetic models’. Second, is Massignon’s reading of Iqbal’s theory of ‘Self.’ Third, his depiction of the Iqbal belonging to the Shuhudiya school of thought. The article will also reflect on the personal exchange between Iqbal and Massignon on the topic of Iqbal’s notion of the “Perfect Man.” This exchange clearly shows that Iqbal is far more influenced by Hallaj’s thought in this regard and completely uninfluenced by Nietzsche or any other European thinker.

Saleha Nazeer. (2021) Iqbalian Narrative of Reconstruction as Perceived by Massignon, Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, Volume 34, Issue 1.
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