Asrar-e-Khudi post 5

Link to the poem: https://ganjoor.net/iqbal/asrar-khodi/sh8
https://ganjoor.net/iqbal/asrar-khodi/sh9
Total couplets: 47+21 = 68
Total completion: 38.6% (337/874)

   Part 8 is an interesting chapter! It discusses how the weaker group of humanity, portrayed as sheep here, wanted the lions' downfall. The lions, of course, represent the Muslims, and the sheep the non-Muslims. In old times, the lions ruled the world, and the sheep cowered in front of them. The lions were mighty and majestic, and the sheep mean and menial. To reverse this arrangement, the sheep came up with a clever and decisive plan. They presented themselves as messengers from God and tricked the lions into believing that they were the guides to Heaven. They propagated that to enter Heaven, they must disregard their Khudi, annihilate it completely and adopt a lowly way of living, for Heaven is for the weak and oppressed and penniless. The lions acquiesced and adopted their creed. They gave up their power and their royal way of living. Thus, the lions were subdued by the clever sheep. They called their decadence "tahzeeb" (civilization/progress). The last line is definitely the most striking in the entire poem; it sums up a huge part of history with just one word: tahzeeb.
شیر بیدار از فسون میش خفت
انحطاط خویش را تهذیب گفت

   The ninth part is also something intriguing. Iqbal claims that Plato was one of the sheep we saw above and disseminated literature and philosophy to weaken the Khudi. I haven't read Plato yet, so I can't agree or disagree with anything, but it is obvious from the harsh, censorious tone Iqbal adopts that Plato is controversial. He calls Plato a delusionist and a day-dreamer, and says that he has misguided the Muslims. The Sufis themselves take their philosophy from Plato, and it is obligatory to avoid being influenced by Plato. As I haven't read Plato, I can't comment on anything, but I did enjoy reading this polemic. I have written a few hypercritical essays myself, and it was refreshing to read one by a great thinker like Iqbal criticising another great thinker so harshly.