Iqbal’s “Complaint and Answer” consists of two parts: first, a complaint against God and second, God’s response. The complaint portion displays a clear frustration of Muslims with God. The individual speaking criticizes God for not providing those that fight for Islam with worldly riches. The individual claims that they took on great battles in the name of Allah. Iqbal writes, “It was we and we alone who marched, thy soldiers to the fight, now upon the land engaging, now embattled on the sea…we shouted, “God is One!” (8). However, the Muslims themselves feel abandoned by Allah. Rather, they feel that His love is given to those who are less worthy. Iqbal writes, “But the showers of Thy mercy other thirsting souls assuage, only on the hapless Muslims falls the lightning of Thy rage” (16).
In response to this proclamation, God states that these individuals were not truly worshiping God or gaining these lands in his name. Iqbal writes in “The Answer,” “Very heavy on your spirits weighs the charge of morning prayer; Liefer far would you be sleeping, than rise up to worship Me” (45).
It is this interaction, and this response from God, that inspired the ideas that went into my project. First, I chose to use the medium of clay because, though I am far from artistically talented, I thought it would be a great way for me to creatively think about “The Complaint and the Answer.” The colored clay is non-committal; it is easy to start over on a project using malleable clay and thus it allowed me to try out various different projects before committing to my current project.
When thinking about molding this clay in relation to Iqbal’s work, I thought about the words from God, specifically the passage stated above regarding the lack of true worshiping of God. Though the Muslims said that they were conquering lands in the name of Allah, their actions were, in reality, empty of love for God. Thus, I created the red exterior of a castle with the words “Allah Akbar” in Arabic on the side. The castle symbolizes the lands conquered by the Muslims in the name of God, hence the “Allah Akbar.” However, the inside of the castle is empty except for an unlit lamp. In Islamic literature and within the Qur’an, the lamp is a symbol of the light of Muhammad and God’s love. Because the lamp is not lit, it symbolically shows the lack of presence and focus on God. Thus, the complainer has only worldly desires, not desires fueled by God.
