An Overview of Islamic Political Thought

By : Muhammad Choirul Rosiqin, International Relations Student @University of Muhammadiyah Malang

Review Political Thought of Al Mawardi

Al Mawardi was also the first writer on political theory in the history of Islam. so, he was the founder of the science of politics in Islamic world. Not because of similarity of thinking in identical conclusions or ideological foundations, but because of the similarity in concieve the problem (the methodology). Al Mawardi’s remarkable contribution is that he has given a detailed account of the administrative machinery of government. He potrayed not only what exist but also what ought to exist. This idealistic touch mand his work popular with every regime and every generation that came after him. Al Mawardi emmerged four chief offices of governement are under: the army board, the board of provincial boundaries, the treasury, and the board of appointment and dismissal office.

Review Political Thought of Abu Zayd’ Abd al-Rahman Ibnu Khaldun

Teaching is a craft. An important role in providing conceptual and paradigmatic frameworks as well as an epistimological foundation of the study of human society.

Abu Zayd ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Khaldun al-Hadrami[1] was born in Tunis in ah 732/ad 1332. He was deeply rooted in his Islamic background, occupying high government posts in Granada, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt. He spent four years among the Bedouins, and negotiated with both Pedro the Cruel of Spain in Seville and with Timur Lenk (Tamurlane) on the outskirts of Damascus.

Ibn Khaldun wrote on other topics apart from history, although in his autobiography he is rather coy about admitting it. In his Shifa’ al-sa’il (The Healing of the Seeker), he responds to the question as to whether it is possible to attain mystical knowledge without the help of a Sufi master leading the novice along the path. Ibn Khaldun tends to follow al-Ghazali (§3) in reconciling mysticism with theology, but he goes further than the latter in bringing mysticism completely within the purview of the jurisprudent (faqih) and in developing a model of the Sufi shaykh, or master, as rather similar to the theologian. The fourteenth century, in which Ibn Khaldun was working, was very strongly influenced by what Fakhry (1970) calls ‘neo-Hanbalism’, which brought with it a strong suspicion of the claims of both mysticism and philosophy. Philosophy was regarded as going beyond its appropriate level of discourse, in that ‘the intellect should not be used to weigh such matters as the oneness of God, the other world, the truth of prophecy, the real character of the divine attributes, or anything else that lies beyond the level of the intellect’ (Muqaddima 3, 38). He refers to the intellect as like a balance which is meant for gold, but which is sometimes inappropriately used for weighing mountains. Logic cannot be applied to this area of enquiry, and must be restricted to non-theological topics (see Logic in Islamic philosophy).

Ibn Khaldun is also critical of Neoplatonic philosophy (see Neoplatonism in Islamic philosophy). The main object of his criticism is the notion of a hierarchy of being, according to which human thought can be progressively purified until it encompasses the First Intellect which is identified with the necessary being, that is, God. He argued that this process is inconceivable without the participation of revelation, so that it is impossible for human beings to achieve the highest level of understanding and happiness through the use of reason alone. Interestingly, the basis of his argument here rests on the irreducibility of the empirical nature of our knowledge of facts, which cannot then be converted into abstract and pure concepts at a higher level of human consciousness.

Ibn Khaldun also had little respect for the political theories of thinkers like al-Farabi (§4), with their notions of rational government being based upon an ideal prophetic law. He saw little point in using theories which dealt with ideals that have nothing to do with the practicalities of contemporary political life. Although Ibn Khaldun rarely agrees with Ibn Rushd, there is no doubt that his thought is strongly marked by the controversy between him and al-Ghazali, the latter being acknowledged as the surer guide to the truth. The basis of Ibn Khaldun’s critique of philosophy is his adherence to the notion of the state. Religion has a vital role in society, and any argument that it can be identified with either reason or contact with God is to threaten that function. This is doubtless the basis of his attack on Islamic philosophy and on mysticism.

ReviewPolitical Thought of Ibnu Taimiyah

Give priority to establishing the pure worsh. He compromise the position of revelation and aql (logic). Politics and leadership is a part of religion where religion will be throughly implemented without the existence of leadership. Thus, within Islamic community, ibnu Taimiyah accept the plurality of separate state. Nationalism is compatible with the islamic principles which demand the unity among moslems. The community held together only through political or military is truly united.

Review Political Thought of Abu A’ala Al Maududi

He was born in Andhra Pradesh, India September 25, 1903 – September 22, 1979. A sunni Pakistan journalist. The founder of Jama’at islami the Islamic revivalist party. War in Islam, Maududi counteracts the wrong notion that ‘Islam support terorism and was spread by the sword’. Tauhid (Allah is the greatest/the creator). Before assigning to man the inheritance of the earth, God made it explicitly clear to him that He alone is the lord, the ruler and the diety. Man must not think himself totally free and should know that this earth is not his permanent abode. What the main gain is “seeking mode of conduct is judged and classified as good or bad”. ‘Islam is not a religion’ in the sense the team ‘religion’ is commonly understood. It is a system encompassing all fields of human life. Maududi argues that Islam is much more than daily rituals or habits passed down from one generation to another. It is to be regarded as a dynamic system for the whole of life. God has put us to serious trail on two counts. He has left man free. He wants to see whether man is prepared to have such confidence in God as to offer his life and wealth in return for what is a promise. This plan-the code of conduct-is known is the shariah. Three principles: tauheed, risalat, and khilafat.

Review Political Thought of M. Iqbal

Iqbal’s though, as reflected in his work, are primarily concerned with the spiritual direction and development of human society. He became a strong critics of western society’s separation of religion from the state and what the percieved as its obsession with materialist pursuits. Iqbal condems self-destructruction, as for him the aim of life is self-realization and self-knowledge. He argues that sufism is the necessary product of the play of various intelectual and moral force and could take the slumbering soul to a higher ‘ideal’. He ties to meet the challenge of materialist thought on its own ground. After salvaging the lost values, attitudes and revitalizing our social system, we must initiate a process of reinterpretation of islamic though to address contemporary challenges and to reclaim our status as a modern, vibrant and dynamic polity. Our culture has been grossly corrupted through the natural phenomenon of the rise and fail of nations. The beliefs, values attitudes that bed to the development and advance of islamic civilization across the world have signficantly decayed over time, rendering our social system including religion as dysfuctional. He makes us review our false belief, negative attitude and social norms that were shaped and corrupted through history. He makes us vividly see our social and veligious systems as dysfunctional and points to the ideal type from islamic history for therapy. It is important to note that while Iqbal neralds and impatiently anticipates the encounter between Islam and the west, his notion of this encounter is not militaristic in essence. He consider the unhindered advance of the exploitative system of the west as a threat to humanity including the west itself. The aim of life is self realization and self knowledge, one must realize that s/he is the vicegerent of Allah on earth. Concept of “khudi” or “self”. According him, the key muslim’s revival is the contruction of islamic though. His notion of ‘self’ is actually a call action for muslims to shape the development along the lines of islamic culture. Three main aspect of international community of muslim: political, ideological, and culture. Iqbal suggested reorganisation of the county on the basis of language race, history, religion, and economic interest within the indian federal system with maximum autonomy for state.

Reference:

[1] Ibn Khaldun, ‘Abd al-Rahman (1332-1406), http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H024.htm

Others:

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/2014/03/pertemuan-ke-ii-ppi-konsep-dasar-pemikiran-politik-dalam-islam/

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/03/2.THE-NA%E1%B9%A2%C4%AA%E1%B8%A4AT-AL-MUL%C5%AAK-OF-PSEUDO-M%C4%80WARD%C4%AA.pdf

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/03/Abu-Al-Hasan-Al-Mawardi%E2%80%99s-Views-on-Economic-Policies.pdf

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/03/The-Racial-Philosophy-of-Ibn-Khaldun.pdf

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/03/Theorizing-from-within-Ibn-Khaldun-and-His-Political-Culture.pdf

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/03/The-Racial-Philosophy-of-Ibn-Khaldun.pdf

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/03/Ibn-Khald%C3%BBn-The-Muqaddimah.pdf

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/04/economic-concepts-of-ibn-taimiyyah.pdf

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/04/Political-Thought-of-Ibnu-Taimiyah.ppt

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/04/Pemikiran-Politik-Al-Maududi.doc

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/04/1.Maulana_Maududi_NATIONS_RISE__FALL_WHY.pdf

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/04/Pemikiran-Politik-Al-Maududi.doc

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/04/1.Maulana_Maududi_NATIONS_RISE__FALL_WHY.pdf

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/04/Allama-M.ppt

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/04/1.Mohammad-Iqbal-and-the-Universe-of-Muslim-Identities.pdf

http://gondayumitro.staff.umm.ac.id/files/2014/04/1.Mohammad-Iqbal-and-the-Universe-of-Muslim-Identities.pdf