The Moral Role of the State in Islamic Thought
The contemplator of Islamic political thought throughout the ages finds that it has maintained, since its inception, a strong connection between ethics and politics. The practice of the Islamic ruler and the Islamic state in fulfilling the moral role is considered a primary duty of governance in Islam. Many Islamic thinkers have imposed a number of essential moral conditions on the virtuous ruler, in addition to physical and intellectual traits. This has made ethics a major topic within Islamic political science and a fundamental pillar of the Islamic state, guided by the state of Medina established by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and followed by the rightly guided caliphs thereafter. This has placed several moral values at the heart of Islamic political thought, including justice, equality, enjoining good and forbidding wrong, happiness, virtue, and others.
The clearly moral vision should be understood in a broader context than the historical framework represented in traditional political theory that has extended from the Greeks and Romans to the medieval Christian eras, which viewed ethics and politics as two sides of the same coin, with no separation between them, as there should be none.
The political thought, in its theoretical foundation of governance and state management, has sought idealism by focusing on what should be rather than what is. This is evident in the virtues of the republic according to Plato, in Aristotle's ethical advice, and in philosophical ethical schools such as Stoicism and others.
On the other hand, Islamic political thought, which branched into three main branches: political jurisprudence, political philosophy, and the literature of advising the ruler, has contributed to establishing a moral inclination in political thinking. This will be elaborated on by discussing each branch separately to understand the position of ethics in the Islamic state, based on the thinker’s affiliation with one of these branches and the reasons that led to ethics holding that position in Islamic political thought, despite its various intellectual branches.
- The ethics in Islamic political jurisprudence.
Islamic jurists specialized in Islamic political thought by clarifying the legal rulings regarding the governance of state affairs in various aspects and issues. They offered advice on the optimal political management and actions for the Muslim ruler in accordance with the teachings of revelation, represented in the Quran and the Sunnah, as well as the historical experiences of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the rightly guided caliphs in governance, in addition to some governance experiences borrowed from the Persians, Romans, and others.
Based on that legal background of Islamic political jurisprudence, the state was obliged to adhere to the ethical standards brought by the message of Islam to refine humanity and guide them toward the righteousness of their affairs in this world and the hereafter. In this regard, it perceived a correspondence between religion and ethics, considering them as one entity that represents the reference guide for the Islamic state, which must manage the affairs of the governed in accordance with the commands of Sharia as a binding obligation.
- Ethics in Islamic Political Philosophy
Islamic political philosophy believes in ethics as the ultimate goal for humanity, which God has honored by making them, as Ibn Miskuyah says, the noblest of all beings in the world. Therefore, the science of ethics, as it aims to achieve the perfection of the noblest of creatures, is one of the most important and honorable sciences that should be cared for.
This is reflected in the division of sciences among Islamic philosophers. Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi, in his book "Enumeration of the Sciences," saw ethics and civil science as branches of practical wisdom. Ethics, which aims to refine the behavior of individuals in the private sphere, is closely related to politics, which seeks to elevate individuals and societies through kingship or governance. Thus, ethics becomes a major philosophical goal for political science among Islamic philosophers.
While Islamic jurisprudence sought to implement Sharia as the optimal divine system for managing human affairs for their welfare in this world and the hereafter, Islamic philosophy targeted ethics as an end in itself. They considered the pursuit of moral perfection as the only way to achieve happiness. For most Islamic philosophers, happiness is spiritual rather than tied to material possessions, the body, or sensory pleasures. Achieving that happiness requires a public space of virtuous political governance that is characterized by morality.
- Morality in the Literature of the Ruler's Advice
As for the Islamic writings that fall within the framework of the literature of advice, they were among the most politically aware Islamic texts regarding ethics. While jurisprudence focused on legitimizing politics according to the principles of the lawful and unlawful, permissible, and prohibited, and recommended and discouraged, the literature of advice transcended that by seeking to achieve the virtues of both the ruler and the ruled at the general moral level. This aimed at improving the ruler's performance and adorning it with moral virtues, drawing upon the essence and wisdom of previous rulers and nations and their experiences in approaching moral issues and the implications this has on their methods of governance, the stability of their states, and their success.
Based on the various perspectives of branches of Islamic political thought, we clearly see the centrality of ethics in Islamic governance and the consensus among Islamic thinkers, despite their differing reference points, on the importance of the Islamic state and the Islamic ruler adhering to ethics as a means and an end for the Islamic political system, although there are differences in the theoretical foundations of these ethics.
The jurists relied on the Quran, the Sunnah, and the lenient Islamic law, while the philosophers started from a rational, philosophical perspective on the concept of virtue and its benefits for both the individual and society in relation to achieving happiness and attaining human perfection. Finally, the writers followed the ruler's advice by examining the experiences of previous nations and the distilled lessons from their ethical political practices, considering those experiences as practical evidence of the effectiveness of ethical governance.
Ethics in Contemporary Islamic Political Thought
Political theory was on the cusp of a significant change regarding the relationship between ethics and politics in the early modern era, as the book "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli emerged. He succeeded in establishing a separation between ethics and politics, announcing a new era that seeks to reach the truth rather than imagine it, and affirming that there is a fundamental distinction between our lives as we live them and what they ought to be. We should not allow our actions to be constrained in pursuit of what ought to be achieved in the best possible manner. Thus, ethics began to transition to theoretical sciences, distancing itself from politics and governance, making politics the art of the possible and the existent. Pragmatism emerged, seeking interest rather than virtue, and power rather than happiness.
But where does Islamic political thought stand in the modern era regarding those pragmatic developments that are detached from values?
Islamic political thought has continued to emphasize ethics as an integral part of politics. This is largely attributable to the dominance and persistence of the current of legitimate politics, while the other two branches of Islamic political thought have receded. The Quran, the Sunnah, and historical Islamic experiences throughout the ages, especially during the early Islamic period and the Rightly Guided Caliphate, remain the main references for any contemporary or modern Islamic interpretations. In contrast, the moral voice in Western political thought has been sidelined in favor of establishing a secular realist current detached from values.
The attempts by the political system in its Western secular form to dominate Arab and Islamic countries after independence led to a widening gap between the ethical political thought of Islam and the actual reality of contemporary political systems. This complicated the task of Islamic movements that sought to implement Islamic law in real life.
One of the most notable summaries of the relationship between Islamic thought and its moral vision in the modern era, and the decline of the political reality alongside the harsh Western military dominance, is expressed by Imam Muhammad Abduh after the failure of the Urabi Revolution: "I seek refuge in God from politics, from the word politics, from the meaning of politics, from every letter pronounced in the word politics, from every thought that crosses my mind about politics, from every land where politics is mentioned, from every person who speaks or learns, or goes mad or reasons in politics, and from the political leader, the governed, and governance!
