ABSTRACT
This chapter develops a Kierkegaardian hermeneutics which will be applied to Iqbal’s idea of becoming a genuine Muslim. The construction of a Kierkegaardian hermeneutics in this chapter will take as its basis the principles of Kierkegaard’s existential dialectics. Kierkegaard develops an alternative dialectical method because he believes that modern society has transformed Christianity into an illusion by confusing it with a number of non-Christian elements, and in order to dispel this illusion a new form of dialectic is required. His existential dialectic consists of two main concerns, namely making distinctions between the non-Christian notions with Christianity, and cultivation of existential appropriation on the part of the reader. The main principles of such a Kierkegaardian hermeneutics, which will be applied to Iqbal’s thought, are Kierkegaard’s existential dialectic, which includes qualitative dialectics, existential appropriation and existence-communication.
