¶ … Art of Ruling an Islamic Society
It is the purpose of this paper to compare and contrast the ideologies of three prominent Muslim scholars in regards to the art of ruling an Islamic society. The scholars in question are Al-Farabi, Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Taymiyya. Al-Farabi was born in 870 in Turkmenistan. He became a renowned scholar, making significant contributions to mathematics, physics and philosophy. His great contribution to the political sciences came in the form of the Model City, a book that has been compared to Plato's Republic in its scholarship and profundity. Since his death in 950, he has become known by Muslims worldwide as the Second Teacher (the First Teacher being Aristotle). Ibn Khaldun was born in 1332 in Tunisia. Also a renowned scholar in his day, Ibn Khaldun's most notable work is the Muqqadimah. This book not only served as a world history up to his own day, but was also the first book to treat history as an objective science that relied on provable facts instead of questionable stories from unreliable sources. Ibn Khaldun is also credited with the invention of the science that later came to be known as sociology. Ibn Taymiyya was born in 1263. In a time of great innovation amongst Muslims, he was a voice of conservatism and fundamentalism. While a reputed scholar and historian, he was also the target of much religious criticism. He was even imprisoned three different times for expressing some of his religious views and teachings. Despite this, or maybe even because of it, his teachings are popular amongst militant fundamentalist Muslims in the modern age.
All three of the scholars have certain ideas in common in regards to good...
Islamic Philosophy Abul-Waleed Muhammad Ibn Rushd: His Work and Philosophy Abul-Waleed Muhammad Ibn Rushd (1126-1198 C.E), also known as Averroes, is regarded by many as one of the foremost Islamic philosophers and a pivotal figure in the history of Andalusian philosophy. He is also deemed an important figure in the history of Western philosophy. An important contribution to Islamic culture and philosophy was his defense of Greek philosophy in the Islamic world
Abdal-Hakim Murad, in his "Bin Laden's Violence is a Heresy Against Islam," generally makes the point that violence against civilians and innocents is not in accordance with Islamic scholarship or tradition. According to Murad, it was a 19th century Iranian reformer called "the Bab" who "ignored the accumulated discussion of the centuries and wrote a Koranic commentary based on his own direct understanding of scripture." (Murad) Over time, Murad
The way in which this argument is employed differently in classical Islamic philosophy is actually quite interesting. We might compare Aquinas' argument here with Avicenna's use of Al-Farabi's concept of the "active intellect." Aquinas' prime mover argument is fundamentally Aristotelian, and thus Avicenna and al-Farabi were both familiar with the Aristotelean notion that God as Prime Mover could be logically deduced from the motion of planets and stars. For Avicenna,
This spiritualism is indicated in the following quotation: it is to this inner dimension that one must turn in order to see, utter, and know the One. In Islam this dimension of inwardness is the domain par excellence of Islamic spirituality, and in fact the Spirit... is identified with this dimension, which is at once beyond and within the macrocosm and the microcosm. Nasr, 1991, p. xiii) He further explains the important
It was their right and duty as loyal followers, a way they could prove their faith and their commitment to God. This mindset is one reason the Muslims under Mohammed's leadership during his conquests were so successful, as described below. Reasons for Success Mohammed and his followers defeated migrants and other raiding parties in part because they decided to attack and defend their holy place during the holy month of Ramadan,
Philosophies of Life: Personal and Traditional When one considers the many aspects of one's "inner life," it becomes clear that most, if not all of them are based upon some philosophical conception. Psychologists have long known that individuals, who have a strong sense of their life's purpose, as well as a spiritual, religious, or ethical viewpoint, tend to live longer, healthier lives. Further, they are less likely to suffer from depressive episodes
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