Politics, Virtue, and the Role of the State in Islamic Thought
The first political philosopher to propose a philosophical method for examining political and religious occurrences was Abu Nasr Farabi, a well-known philosopher of the 10th century. Tahsil al-Sa’adah, al-Siyasat al-Madaniyyah, al-Fusul al-Madani, and Mabadi Ara’i Ahl-i Madinah al-Fadilah are some of his published works. Whilst his philosophical viewpoint and intellectual accomplishments are firmly founded in Islamic thought, Plato’s Republic and other Greek philosophies significantly impacted Farabi. Similarly, Ibn Taymiyyah, one of the most well-known Islamic academics, theologians, and jurists of the 13th century, lived under the Islamic world’s Mamluk dynasty and was renowned for his strict interpretation of Islamic law as well as his criticisms of rulers and intellectuals of the day.
Schools of Thought
According to Farabi, right conduct leads to felicity, while wrong conduct leads to misery. The state’s role in this regard was crucial. As the embodiment of the community, the state was responsible for guiding its citizens toward proper conduct. He Islamicized the Platonic idea of a philosopher-king, aiming at happiness in this world and the hereafter. In Farabi’s view, the ideal state was one in which the ruler was a philosopher-king, who would lead the community toward the right conduct. Farabi’s view of the ideal state as the virtuous city was informed by his understanding of the Platonic idea of the ideal state, which he Islamicized to make it relevant to the Islamic world.
The virtuous city was one where citizens were guided by ethical principles and orthodoxy, which enabled them to live together in harmony and pursue happiness. Farabi argued that the state had a crucial role to play in ensuring that citizens were educated in the principles of ethics and morality, as well as in the pursuit of knowledge and virtues. This emphasis on education and the propagation of knowledge was a departure from the prevailing view of the time, which saw the state as primarily concerned with maintaining order and security.
Contrary to Farabi’s view, one of Ibn Taymiyyah’s most famous works is Kitab al-Siyasah al-Shari‘iyyah (The Book of Islamic Political Ethics), in which he argues that the state’s primary duty is to enforce the Shari‘ah (Islamic law). He believed rulers who failed to do so were not legitimate and should be replaced. He also advocated for the concept of “commanding good and forbidding the reprehensible,” which holds that it is the duty of Muslims to promote virtuous behavior and discourage sinful behavior in society.
One of the most notable aspects of Ibn Taymiyyah’s thought was his emphasis on the use of force to establish and maintain a just society. He believed using force was necessary to enforce the Shari‘ah and defend Islam against its enemies. At the same time, he emphasized the importance of knowledge and education, arguing that a balance between the “pen and the sword” (i.e., between scholarship and military might) was necessary for a strong and effective Islamic state.
Mirroring Thoughts
Yet, one of the main criticisms of Ibn Taymiyyah’s ideas is that they prioritize the enforcement of Islamic law over individual rights and freedoms. He believed the state’s primary duty was to enforce the Shari‘ah, even if this meant restricting personal freedoms or using force to enforce religious orthodoxy. This approach illudes into various directions Muslim states could adhere to. Farabi identified different types of states, applying the Platonic idea to the Islamic world. These included the vile city, which was an accumulation of wealth; the base city, which was characterized by sensual gratification; the independent city, which aimed for subsistence as its goal; the tyrannical city, which was dominated by power over others; the timocratic city, which was based on honor and fame; the democratic city, which left each citizen to seek their best; and the virtuous city, which was based on virtues and orthodoxy. We see Ibn Taymiyyah’s ideation of implementing the Shari‘ah mirroring Farabi’s thought of the tyrannical city. While he advocated using force to establish and maintain a just society, he also emphasized the importance of education and scholarship.
Ibn Taymiyyah’s recognition of the importance of knowledge and wisdom in Islamic thought goes hand in hand, as a basis of agreement, with Farabi’s philosophies. Farabi also emphasized the importance of the division of labor and education in the ideal city. In his view, everyone in the virtuous city must be assigned a single art, and the virtuous city was divided into ranks derived from people’s functions in society. These ranks included those who possess speculative and practical wisdom, those who transmit such wisdom (teachers), those who apply such wisdom (doctors, accountants), warriors, and those who deal with property (farmers, craftsmen, merchants). This division of labor would ensure that each member of society had a role to play aligned with their abilities and interests. This, in turn, would lead to the efficient functioning of society and help achieve the state’s mission of propagating knowledge and virtues.
Final Thoughts
As I conclude with my opinion, despite their mutual dependence on the Qur’an and the Prophet’s tradition, Ibn Taymiyyah’s and Abu Nasr Farabi’s perspectives were incompatible. The disparities can be linked to their various philosophical influences as well as their unique historical and cultural circumstances. In the Islamic Golden Era, Farabi established a political philosophy emphasizing the value of a just ruler and education. Farabi was influenced by ancient Greek philosophy. Ibn Taymiyyah, who lived in a time of political instability and was inspired by the Hanbali school of Islamic law, placed an emphasis on physical jihad and strict conformity to Islamic law. These contrasts show how different conceptions may emerge from the same religious origins depending on the setting and intellectual traditions in which they are perceived.
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