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Muslims’ Political Philosophy |
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Dr Seyed G Safavi, SOAS, |
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The
subject of this article in a general manner describes two completely different
aspects of research and study in the area of Muslims’ political philosophy. POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY FROM
THE POINT OF VIEW OF AGENDA OR THEOLOGY The existence or non-existence of Islamic
political philosophy, its quality, the parameters of its domain, its criteria
and its indicators are among the discussions whose foundations must be
established in the area of Kalam (and not
jurisprudence). In the event that the
existence of political philosophy is established via theological discussion,
some questions concerning political rights in jurisprudence become
clarified. Among the various theological
discussions, the subject of this research is placed within the area of
discussion of “expectation from religion.” There are two outlooks in the discussion
concerning “expectation from religion”, some believe that expectation from
religion comes from outside religion and as opposed to this some believe that
it must come from within religion itself.
Each of these two fundamental positions are
themselves divided into two different conceptions about political philosophy. a) EXPECTATION FROM OUTSIDE RELIGION: The first theory says that when we consider
the progress in science, man’s knowledge, and human evolution and we look at
the reality of religion whose kernel is spirituality, we see that religion has
come to offer guidance in problems where man’s intelligence in itself does not
have the power to comprehend or attain. However, in the area of political philosophy,
the ways of government and social administration, natural rights and the
primordial nature of man and society, man’s intellect, especially in the
present age has the ability to show the way forward. The history of political thought, being
separated from religion substantiates and supports the view. For example, the variety of advanced and
progressive governments in Europe especially after the renaissance and the
industrial revolution, by protecting people’s rights have made available a
comfortable life along with freedom for the majority of people. The vacuum in
today’s world, which the knowledge and intelligence of man himself cannot eliminate,
is the need for spirituality and peace in man’s being. As such we should not expect
politico-philosophical results from religion because man’s intellect itself is
sufficient for this; rather, one should expect the aspect of spirito-ethical guidance of man from religion. B) EXPECTATION FROM INSIDE RELIGION: The
second theory completely contradicts the first and the principle of its
reasoning lie in the understanding that because man is a social being (whether
accidentally or essentially) society must be established and thus the existence
of government is reasonable and necessary for man and society. Because man does
not know the reality and all the various dimensions of his essence and that of
society (for instance, throughout history he has been forced to go to extreme
either appealing to downright materialism or to utter otherworldliness) he does
not have a realistic knowledge of the fundamental needs of man and society and
those things necessary for their well being.
So it becomes necessary that there be a god who created man and the
world, that this creation has a goal and that its goal be
arrived at a state of perfection. The
perfection of man and his perpetual happiness are determined by and the subjects to the influence of his
worldly life, for man’s actions or conduct in this world are such that it
writes down his rank in the next world.
In addition to the ethical and spiritual guidance of man, He has also through
the prophets, sent a program guiding him in the life of this world which is the
cause of his growth and perfection to better take him to the good. If this is not the case, then the
purposefulness of creation and the sending of the prophets would be
meaningless, and the punishment of man for his worldly actions in the hereafter
would be evidence of punishment without due reason, which, from the point of
view of the Wise and the All Knower is impossible. Therefore, it is unavoidable for a perfect religion
to present a political system. C) EXPECTATION OF RELIGION FROM WITHIN RELIGION: The
first view: The goal of religion is
knowledge and servanthood to God, “I
did not create the Jinn and Mankind but to serve me”, and servant hood is
possible through self discipline and worship.
Religion is the guarantor of the quality of the spiritual and individual
relationship of the created with the creator, and consequently all the Quranic supplications and the invocations shown through the
Imams corroborate this meaning. The main
axis of religion is the beginning and the return, the quality of man’s
readiness to ascend towards Allah, the most high being prepared to earn the
everlasting happiness in the next world.
The majority of verses and narrations also concern matters about the
beginning and the return and those things necessary for man’s faith in God, the
prophets and the hereafter, such a faith that guarantees man’s eternal
felicity. It is also about ethics, worship and the like. In the same context, God has said concerning
the philosophy of appointing prophets in the glorious Quran: “He it is that sent amongst the unlettered a
messenger from among them reciting to them His signs, purifying them and
teaching them the book and the wisdom although before they had been in manifest
error. (Sura
Jumuah: vs. 2) Concerning
the spiritual characteristics of those who have been guided through the Quran, the case is demonstrated where there is no involvement
in a political system: (This is the book in which there is no doubt, guidance
for those who believe.”) then it goes on to describe
what the characteristics are of those believers whose guidance and felicity the
Quran guarantees: “Those
who are certain of the unseen establish the salat and spend out of their
bounties. They are those who believe in
that which was sent down to you and sent down to those before you and who
believe in the hereafter. They are those
who are guided by their Lord, they are the successful.” (Surah Baqarah v. 2-5) The
prophet of Islam who said concerning the philosophy of his appointment to
prophet hood: “Verily, I was sent in
order to complete noble characteristics.”
So if it happens that some verses and some narrations are also concerned
about social and political cases in the general context of religion, this will
be from the point of view of the time of revelation (of the verses) and the
early period of the religion and not generalized for all time. Occasionally, even if some of them are
general, they would not be from among those “mandatory things”, and even if
they are a result from such they would not constitute divine commands from
which a religious law would naturally come about, rather, at most it would be a
statement concerning guidance. From another point of view, this subject is not
discussing a variety proposition and from yet another point of view the mixing
of religion and politics would require the disappearance of the sacred aspect
of religion and the humanization of something divine. Consequently, it would
become the cause whereby religion would become the means and an instrument in
the hands of those who have power which they can abuse for achieving
egotistical and worldly goals. Therefore, different viewpoints concerning the
matters of material and worldly life must be compiled and explicated by the
“hidden messenger” i.e., the intellect of man.
So one must expect an answer to political and economic matters from
religion, rather, what is expected from religion must be a more important and
fundamental aspect of the life of man ensuring his eternal felicity, which is a
program for the health f the spirit and the feeding of the soul, of struggle
against vices of the ego and inculcating goodness and ethico-spiritual
traits. Human spiritual guidance towards
a good life and meeting with God is the goal and fundamental aim in the sending
of messengers and in the appointment of the great prophets. The most valuable aspect of religion is the
worship and love of the creator of all being, the Absolute truth. The heralds of this idea among religious
people have mainly two fundamental tendencies in the area of religious thought,
which at the same time oppose each other in many fundamental questions
concerning the reality of religion, these two groups comprise some from among
those who have a legal perspective and many from among those whose perspective
is esoteric. EXPECTATION
OF RELIGION FROM WITHIN RELIGION: VIEW
POINT #2 Religion
is a collection of subjects with cognition, world view and ideology which
together form a harmonious system. Its
different dimensions cannot be separated from each other, it has been sent from
God and its completion to the Messenger of Allah, Mohammed bin Abdullah and its
name is Islam to which all the prophets invited mankind; “Verily, the religion
with Allah is Islam.” (Aal Imran, vs.
67) Muhammadi
Islam is for the guidance, growth and the elevation of humanity in all
dimensions and for all ages, therefore, Islam has a political and social system
specific to itself which is based upon a correct perception of the primordial
nature of man and ensures felicity in this world and in the afterlife. Islamic politics is a politics which means
the management of the affairs of creation; it does not mean deception,
trickery, cunning and the appropriation of power for personal aspirations. The relationship between religion and
politics is one which Islamic politics is identical with religiosity and the
true religion of Islam is identical with politics (in the correct meaning of
the word). Politics and political
philosophy are related to the area of ideology or practical government in
religion. In the Quern as the basic
source of religion thought, two conceptual areas of political concepts are
sketched out; negative concepts and positive concepts. Negative concepts are in the Quran where Muslims are invited to fight against these
social phenomena, they include; 1) Fighting against false systems (apart from
its derivatives which occur 39 times, the term false system (taghut) is used 8 times in the Quran. 2) Fighting against arrogance (fighting against
social systems which seek supremacy and oppressive domination over the
society). Tafsir al Mizan under verse 49 of sura Naml and Mufradat
of Raghib under the word Kibr (arrogance). 3) Fighting against oppression (compromising
truth or minimizing the truth. (Tabari under vs. 35) 4) Fighting against corruption (removing
something from its state of equilibrium whether a little or a lot, corruption,
the opposite of which is correction.). The different aspects of corruption: (1) Disobedience; “and when it is said to
them ‘do not do corruption on the earth’” - i.e., they do not know that they
are disobedient. 2) Destruction in religion and humanity (Baqarah vs. 205).
3) Destroying the social system by
oppression and tyranny; “Verily
when the kings enter a town they corrupt it and make the noblest of its people
the meanest. Thus do they behave.” (Naml. vs. 34). 4) Sabotaging the general peace and tranquility
of the society and instilling fear among the people. 5) Fighting against an unbelieving system: “So fight you the chiefs of unbelief” (Tawbah vs. 14) “Verily
the unbelievers are a manifest enemy to you.” (Nisa
vs. 101) POSITIVE
POLITICAL CONCEPTS IN THE QURAN: 1) The formation of an Islamic government: “O you who believe obey Allah and obey the
Messenger and those in Authority over you.
If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His
Messenger if ye do believe.” (Nisa: vs. 59) 2) Commanding the right and forbidding the
wrong. “You are the best people brought
out from among mankind, commanding the good and forbidding the wrong.” (Ale Imran: v. 110-112) 3) Fighting and killing in the path of
Allah: Armed struggle and warfare in the
way of God are among the most important social responsibilities and is the
school of tawheed.
“Fighting is prescribed for you.” (Baqarah:
vs. 216). “O prophet rouses the believers to fight.” (Anfal: vs. 65)
“And fight them until there is no more tumult and oppression and
religion prevails.” (Baqarah
vs.192) 4) The Khalifat of the
disempowered and the righteous: “And we wished to be gracious to those who were
being disempowered on the earth and to make them leaders and make them
heirs.” (Qasas:
5. 5). “And we had written in the psalms
after the remembrance, my servants, the righteous shall inherit the
earth.” (Anbiya:
vs.105) 5) Establishing world justice and equity: “Indeed, we sent out messengers with the
clear signs, and we sent down with them the book and the balance, so that man
might uphold justice. And We sent down
iron, wherein is great might, and many uses of men, so that Allah.....(Hadid, vs, 25). One of the
major objectives of the prophets is the establishment of justice and equity in
society the world over through the commands in the great Quran. 6) Man’s individual and social commitment and
responsibility: “How is it with you that you do not fight in the way of Allah,
and for man, women and children who, being abased, say, “Our Lord, bring forth
from this city whose people are evildoers, and appoint to us a protector from
Thee, and appoint t us from Thee a helper.”
(Nisa vs. 75) And
similarly there are verses concerning the economic system, the legal system and
the rule of religious values. Therefore,
Islam, as a religion which guarantees the felicity of man finds it impossible
to disperse with government because the very nature of the laws and
commandments of Islam call for the need for the establishment of a
politico-religious system: “Whoever
has comprehended, even in a general sense, the doctrines and the religious
rules of Islam, after that to arrive at Wilayat al Faqih (the guardianship of the jurisprudent) and to
conceive of it, will acknowledge it without delay and will come to know it as
something essential and self-evident.” (Wilayat al Faqih;
Imam Khomeini,p.1, In
addition to Quranic verses, the sunnah
of the Ma’sumeen (the speech, actions,
and silent ament of ma’sum (infallible one) also
state that religion, in addition to the spiritual guidance of man who believes
in the guidance of man’s life in the world. “The
aim of the mission and the task of the prophets are not only speaking upon the
various matters concerning the religious laws and expounding upon them, in fact
the most important responsibility of the prophets is the establishment of a
just social order through implementing laws and rules which certainly go along
with expounding upon religious rules, teachings and divine doctrines. (Wilayat al Faqih,
Imam Khomeini p. 89, Tehran). We
have illustrated four different views concerning Islamic political philosophy,
and we have seen that on the basis of what we had established it has been made
clear that the discussion is based upon the conclusions that thinkers have
arrived at from considering such words like “man”, “society” and
“history”. That is, every subject
selected concerning expectation from religion and political philosophy. Among the four views there is another, which
at present we do not have the opportunity to outline here. MUSLIM POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY FROM A DESCRIPTIVE ASPECT. From
this aspect, by referring to the history of Muslim thought and knowledge, that
which has been compiled in the area of Islamic knowledge concerning political
philosophy shows its wide scope. Among Muslims, political philosophy has
presented itself in many different modes which are as follows: a) The philosophy of
politics from the viewpoint of philosophy.
b) The philosophy of politics in
theology. c) The philosophy of politics in jurisprudence,
d) Socio-political philosophy. a) The philosophy of Politics from the viewpoint
of Philosophy: This
method was compiled from Greek philosophy (Plato-Aristotle) and the Quran and sunnah, its founder was
the “second teacher”, Abu Nasir Farabi(C.875 – 950),from Avicenna (980 – 1037) from b) The Philosophy of Politics in Theology The theologians (mutakallimun)
founded this system; the first person in this field was Ali Ibn
Ismail ibn Maytham in the book “al
Imamah”. (2) Hisham ibn
al Hakam in the books “al Imamah” and “Ikhtilafu ‘l nas fi ‘l Imamah.” (3) Seyyid Murtada Allamu ‘l Huda in the book “al-
Shifai fi ‘l Imamah” (4)
Khwaja Nasir al -
Din Tusi in “Tajridu ‘l Aqaid” (5) Qadi Abu Bakir Baqilani in “al Tamhid” (6)
Imam al - Haramayn
al - Juwaini in “al-
Irshad”
(7) Qadi
Abdul Jabbar Hamadani in “al- Mughni”. The philosophy of politics in theology in a very generalized way, can be divided into the subdivisions
below: the political philosophy of Imamia shias, the Mu’tazilah, the Asha’irah, the Murji’ah and the Khawarij. (C) The Philosophy of Politics in Jurisprudence This is a systematic method presented
exclusively by Muslim jurisprudents concerning government and politics or in
various intervals in chapters of jurisprudence, for example, in debates
concerning jihad, commanding the right and forbidding the wrong in the “al Nihayat” and the “al Mabsut” of Shaykh Tusi and the “Sharayiu ‘l Islam”
of Muhaqiq Hilli, the “Muntaha ‘l Matlab”
and the “Qawaad ” of Allamah Hilli, the “Lum’atu ‘l Damishqiyyah” of Shahidu ‘l Awwal and the “Jawharu ‘l Kalam” of Shaykh Muhammad Hassan Najafi. The method might also take the form of a
separate discussion in a separate book, as, for example, “Taratib al Idariyyah” of Mawardi
or among the later jurisprdents such as “Tabiyu ‘ ummah
was Tanziyu ‘l ummah”
of Allama Hajj Mirza Husain Na’ini. (1860 – 1936, The “Wilayate Faqih” of Imam Khomeini, which is theological in style,
is jurisprudential from the point of view of his theology concerns expectation
from religion from a perspective within religion. The basis of his theory
concerns the essentially of the existence of an Islamic political system based
upon narration by Umar ibn Hanzalah that are considered acceptable (maqbulah) in the science of rijal. The “Fiqh al Dawlah ”
of Ayatullah Husainali Muntazeri from d) Socio-political Philosophy This is a combinations of methods drawn from
sociology, the Quran, narrations, kalam
and philosophy, as well as influences from contemporary circumstances and major
changes in the world. The design of this
method has emerged over the last 150 years.
This method comes after presenting the way
of reforming Muslim society and the revivification of Islam by focusing upon
the Quran, the Sunnah and
the needs for the new age: 1) Seyyid al Jamaluddin Husayni from Iran (1254-1314 A.H.) is the beginning
of a chain in a movement for the revivification of Islamic Political and social
thought. The main body
of his views have been expressed on his book “al ‘Urwatu ‘l Wuthqa.” He was the herald of Islamic unity in the
confrontation with the west and of the return to the Quran
and the simultaneous struggle against local autocracy and foreign colonial
domination. After him, the following
personalities carried on this method. 2) Shaykh Muhammad Abduh was the pupil of Seyyid
Jamal and the author of the commentary of the Quran “al - Munar”. He shared the same troubles as did Seyyid Jamal, on one side in the struggle against the rigid
thinking of the jurisprudents of his time and on the other he did not want
Islam to go to extremes disregarding and ignoring the principles of Islamic
thought under the pretext of conformity with the science and the exegesis of
the time. Abduh,
who saw Islam as the only way for realizing the felicity of man in this world
and the next, advanced a new plan of dialogue by relying upon the Quran and the Seerah and
including the philosophical sources of rights in Jihad, in this way, he hoped
to create a new system of rights in jurisprudence which would answer the
contemporary problems of today. He also
advanced a new interpretation of consensus (which meant taking into
consideration the general views of the society) and established the principle
of shura (consultation) in Islam as equipoised to democracy in Western political
philosophy. 3) Seyyid Abdul Rahman Kawakabi, student of seyyid Jamal and author of the book “Tabayi ‘u ‘l Istibdad” (127 - 1320 A.H.). 4) Muhammed Iqbal Lahori – 5) Shaykh Muhammad Khaibani ( 7)
Shaykh ‘Abdulhusayn Kashiful Ghita Najafi, author of “al
Muthulu ‘l ‘Uliya fi ‘l Islam la fi bihamdun” 8) Ayatullah Seyed Hassan Mudares - 9) Malik Ibn Naby Daru
‘l Jazair. 10) Hasan al Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. 11) Seyyid Qutb - 12) Ayatullah Seyyid Mahmud Taleqani - 13) Abu ‘l ala Maudidi in 14) Doctor Ali Shariati in his books, “Islam
Shinasi” “Ummat va Imamat” “shia
yek Hizbe Tamam” and “Bazgasht be Khishtan.” In a phase,
it can be said that Muslim thinkers have made great efforts by relying upon the
intellect, the Holy Book, the sunnah
and the demands of the age. They have
discussed with great fluency, the political philosophy of Islam around the
poles of freedom, brotherhood, social equality, consultation, the ummah, imamat, allegiance (baiyat), commanding the right and forbidding the wrong, the
socio-political mutual responsibility of Muslims vis
a vis each other and towards every human community,
friendship and alienation, jihad, the necessity of struggling against the
manifestations of unbelief, corruption, shirk and hypocrisy, the tyranny of
false idols and arrogance, oppression and helping the oppressed, the just
distribution of wealth, and justice and fairness in every dimension of
economics and rights. |
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