Both Shāh Walī-Allāh and ‘Alama Iqbal have played a significant role in the religious domain of the Muslim society in their respective times though the former was practical and the later was theoretical in the sense of their religious services, however, their religious services provide immense to the Muslims of the subcontinent. Yet both the scholars developed their religious ideas taking in to consideration the socio-religious atmosphere of their own times which was a common thing between both the scholars. Shāh Walī-Allāh’s time witnessed political disorder, social malice, and religious unawareness, and the same situation was culminated during the times of ‘Alama Iqbal. Furthermore, both of them addressed the intellectual faculties of the Muslims for revival and reform of the Muslim society, though Shāh Walī-Allāh was product of an orthodox Muslim Madrasah which was not case with Iqbal. Both focused on the contemporary needs of the Muslims and endeavoured to resolve the issues confronting by the Muslims through the religious mechanism of ijtihad, and injected a new spirit in the religious commitment of the Muslims in the Subcontinent. They both were in favour of fresh interpretation of Islamic teachings, though in religious affairs Shāh Walī-Allāh took the help of taqlid also.

Muhammad Iqbal’s religious ideas were more inclined towards intellectual level. He was beyond the limitations of sectarian prejudices. He understood the demand of the Muslim society and endeavoured to cure the ills of society at intellectual level. He studied his predecessors with the lens of intellectual approach, and deducted those aspects from the religious ideas of his predecessors which were of intellectual nature. As far the influence of Shāh Walī-Allāh on ‘Alama Iqbal is concerned, hence it can be said that, intellectual aspect of Shāh Walī-Allāh’s religious ideas were penetrated deep into the mind of ‘Alama Iqbal, though it needs an extensive study and deep comprehension to make any comparison between the religious ideas of the two scholars. The ideas of Shāh Walī-Allāh and his other contemporary scholars of different parts of the Muslim world were clearly different from one another; they all embarked on audacious and intentionally revolutionary intellectual endeavors. Additionally, these academic endeavors were combined with active participation in the social and political spheres of the Muslim society. Hence, credit goes to Shāh Walī-Allāh for his intellectual efforts. Shah Wali-Allah’s assessment of the socio-political situation of his times explicitly shows that his efforts were of intellectual sort. Shāh Walī-Allāh and his other contemporaries talked about need of ijtihād, and their efforts combined different degrees of thought for the public interest.
Shāh Walī-Allāh 's writings served as an influence for the intellectual endeavors of Islamic modernists like Muhammad Iqbal and Fazlur Rahman. These intellectuals recognized that Shāh Walī-Allāh addressed the intellectual crises of his day with a spirit of inquiry into whole Islamic religious structure that shaped the particular instructions of the Islamic legal, mystical, and intellectual traditions, with a modern approach.
Shāh Walī-Allāh’s stress on fresh understanding of Islam with the help of ijtihād, and religious comprehension of Islam on the basis of reason and argument made influence on the subsequent religious thought of Muslims in Subcontinent.
The religious understanding of ‘Alama Iqbal was ijtihād oriented wherein he strongly asked for the fresh comprehension of the Islamic teachings taking into consideration the demands and challenges facing by the Muslims. ‘Alama Iqbal says that, the primary responsibility of the Muslims with regard to their religious commitment is to go again through the whole structure of the Islamic teachings and to search the universal nature of the Islam. He says that, it is pertinent to understand the Islamic teachings in the light of contemporary needs. However, he never denied the religious services of (aslāf) predecessors. Similarly, he asked the Muslims to think on the modern knowledge independently, and to integrate both Islamic and modern knowledge. ‘Alama Iqbal, who was a pioneer of Islamic modernist thought in subcontinent, highly appreciated the efforts of Shah Wali-Allah. Iqbal says that, Shāh Walī-Allāh assessed the circumstances and initiated his religious activities, and felt need of a new understanding of the Islamic teachings. In this regard, Iqbal considers Shāh Walī-Allāh as the leader of modern age in order to represent the Muslims. ‘Alama Iqbal strongly stresses on the need of change in the society. He says that, ijtihād is fundamental principle for the change in the society. Similarly, with regard to the religious responsibilities of the Prophets, Iqbal highly appreciates Shāh Walī-Allāh. Shāh says that, Prophets primarily focused on the task for which they have been sent and directed. While talking about the rebirth of the individuals in their physical form, Iqbal supports the views of Shāh Walī-Allāh in his Reconstruction with the help of the Quranic verse “When we have died and have become dust, [we will return to life]? That is a distant [i.e., unlikely] return. We know what the earth diminishes [i.e., consumes] of them, and with us is a retaining record”. (al-Qāf :3-4)
Similarly, both Iqbal and Shāh Walī-Allāh seems to un-believe in the separation between religious and secular knowledge. Again in his Reconstruction Iqbal says “The critics of Islam have lost sight of this important consideration. The ultimate Reality, according to the Qur'an, is spiritual, and its life consists in its temporal activity. The spirit finds its opportunities in the natural, the material, the secular. All that is secular is therefore sacred in the roots of its being. The greatest service that modern thought has rendered to Islam, and as a matter of fact to all religion, consists in its criticism of what we call material or natural – a criticism which discloses that the merely material has no substance until we discover it rooted in the spiritual. There is no such thing as a profane world. All this immensity of matter constitutes scope for the self-realization of spirit".
Besides, we find some letters written by Alama Iqbal to Sayed Sulymān Nadvi wherein he highly appreciated the social thought of Shāh Walī-Allāh, and considered the principles designed by Shāh Walī-Allāh with regard to the society useful. Here, it also appears that Iqbal was interested in studying Hujjat Allahi Baligha, and he felt need for al-Budur al-Bazigha, and asked for a copy of this book. Even the political aspect of Shāh Walī-Allāh’s religious services have made influence on ‘Alama Iqbal. Therefore, ‘Alama Iqbal’s religious ideas were more or less influenced by Shāh Walī-Allāh’s religious ideas, yet the stress on the need of fresh understanding of the Islamic teachings by Shāh Walī-Allāh can be seen more in the religious concepts of Muhammad Iqbal.

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