Creativity is about striking a conversation with the unknown, which may be God or any other reality
IT was wonderful to interview Dr Jawaid Iqbal at his home, and to sit and talk about his literary pursuits — especially his ideas regarding art and creativity. It was revelatory as well as enlightening to know how strongly he feels about creativity and the different stages the creative process goes through.
He said: “I am trying to collect about 30 of my plays. In those, I am going to add some things which I wanted to say in Apna gariban chaak. For instance, I wanted to discuss the Quranic concept of art. And in art I would include literature, painting, poetry and sculpture. Then I would touch upon Aristotle’s concept of art, particularly with reference to drama. I’d also like to discuss what are the concepts of Plato, Iqbal and myself regarding the subject. It would be an interesting confluence of three streams of thought.
“Aristotle, for instance, says that the good thing about tragedy is that when you witness it, you cry, and feel relieved later on. Reason being, it gives you an outlet for your own emotional disturbances. But my objection is: if this is the only reason for a person to go to a theatre, then it would imply that he or she is only making a visit to a hospital. (To get rid of your excessive emotions.) Therefore, I differ from Aristotle in this concept. In the Quran, there is no permission for such things.”
Dilating upon what creativity rally means, he opined: “I feel creativity is a form of self expression. I think that human beings possess some God-like capabilities. Like Allah says in the Holy Quran, ‘Why have I made these worlds and all that lies within? I have made all these so that people may know me.’
“Now, it often happens that you are not fully aware of what qualities you have. Even if you find out about one quality in you that differentiates you from others and you want to perfect it, you can certainly do so. It implies, sometimes you possess qualities that you don’t even know yourself. They are often hidden inside you. With the passage of time they get disclosed, provided you have the will power to do so. So, apparently there are two elements that contribute to the make-up of a human being. One is your freedom of choice. (You can choose between good and bad, right and wrong.) And the other is your will power.
“Now, will power has got nothing to do with decision-making; it is something separately given to you. Hence, the two elements are in you. Whether you use them in a negative way or in a positive manner, that’s entirely up to you.”
Talking about the genesis of any piece of art he said: “A work of art, whether didactic or otherwise, is a form of self expression. While creating, a person makes his own world, like God does. At the same time you are head of your state. You ask your hand to do good or evil or whatever your wish is. This means you are your own master. And therefore, if you keep a distance from the rest of mankind, who do not have this awareness, you might find your solitude or the state of being alone sufficient. This form of self expression is a result of creative pursuits.
“In this respect I quite subscribe to what Ghalib says. He believes that whatever you create (as an artist, sculptor or poet) or whatever topics you choose to work on, come to you through an unknown source within you. This is like a dialogue with God. If it happens to a prophet, it’s called Ilhaam. If it happens to a Wali, it is called Kashf. And if it happens to a sculptor like Michelangelo, it’s called inspiration. So, whether its inspiration, intuition, revelation, through all these aspects you are striking a conversation with the unknown. You can call it God, or any other reality.
“Sometimes you reject it. Sometimes it’s something outside yourself. You do not know what it is, but the fact is that you are constantly engaged in a conversation.”
Elaborating upon this aspect of creativity, Dr Jawaid Iqbal discussed another interesting issue: “I have developed a theory in this regard (which I am going to formalize pretty soon). In the process of self-expression, you possess a God-like quality. In my play Poison I touch upon the same issue, which is: there is life after death, and everyone is a candidate. (This play was banned as an unIslamic piece of literature.) In the play I develop a theory that life after death is not for everyone. It’s only possible for those who are creative. You are a good candidate for life after death if you are creative enough. It is something which He only wants to bestow on those who possess qualities that He possesses, says my theory. However,I’m not the only one who’s contrived this theory. Allama Iqbal held the same opinion. He also felt that life after death was not for everyone.”
Expressing his fondness for creative people he said: “It is a well-known fact that Michelangelo used to put a piece of marble in front of him, and see a person inside it, and only then would start working. How could he do that? Who was it that gave him this quality? After all, it was God who made him see those things. If you read about his life, he was definitely having a dialogue with the unknown — you may call it God. So, how can a sculptor be called a heathen? That is a very extremist point of view.”
Giving away his ideas regarding loneliness that many artists often go through, he said: “All that you have around you, your family, your wealth — it’s all your imagination. The only reality is that of God. Now, all this brings you to another reality, which is of loneliness. This also brings you closer to God — because He is lonely too.
Iqbal has a poem in which he addresses God. He says: ‘Look I am lonely. You made this universe to get rid of Your loneliness. But I am so lonely. I feel as if I am stranded on a desert. And I feel alone even in a Mehfil. Cant you give me a friend whom I can apprise about my innermost thoughts?’
“The way I interpret it as that Iqbal is praying to Allah, asking Him to give him a friend. As a result He gives him someone like Muhammad Ali Jinnah as his friend.
“In our lives we all need someone whom we can befriend, someone that one can completely confide in. That is not possible. That can only be achieved through art. That is why I say, art is a form of self-expression.
“Rumi says: ‘Why does the Nay (a Turkish flute like instrument, made with a thick branch) sound so sad? Perhaps it wants to be taken back to the place it came from, to the tree from which it was separated.’
“Hence, the whole exercise of creativity is to communicate. Expressing yourself is the ultimate pleasure that you seek. When you receive appreciation, you feel good and it makes you move on. But this is not all. You have to carry on doing it whether you receive appreciation or not.”
Creativity is about striking a conversation with the unknown, which may be God or any other reality
