Prophethood and Administration in Imam Mohammad Ghazali’s Political Thought

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor, Research Center of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The present study aimed at exploring the prophethood and administration in Imam Mohammad Ghazali’s political thought. The research method was descriptive-analytical and the results showed that the foundation of Ghazali’s political thought is priority of Sharia. The point worth noting is that the way Sharia is preferred in Ghazali’s thought is a posteriori. Ghazali considers politics from the perspective of the human’s material life. Finally, he turns to the reforming mission of politics and explains the correlation between politics and piety under the inner attitude and the concept of reformation in individual and social life. Ghazali discusses prophethood in various forms, but what manifests itself in his final thought is paying attention to one’s heart, inner side and insight in prophethood. Paying attention to one’s inner side is Ghazali’s solution for reconciling religion and world. He also, like other Muslim thinkers, maintains that true felicity is the felicity in hereafter. He considers the way to achieve that important goal to be not imitating and repeating a practice in its outer form; rather, he searches for it inside one’s heart, the heartfelt belief and inner purity. Ghazali must be considered as an inquirer who was seeking sincerity and divine proximity up to the end of his life. He considered this proximity in resorting to the Prophet as God’s supreme creature. He compensates the Prophet’s absence by resorting to mysticism, inner attitude and moral loyalty to the prophetic teachings. He maintains that the solution to society’s problems is in the hands of the religious scholars and rulers who have made firm decision to reform the situation.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Islamic Political Studies
Volume 5, Issue 2
July 2023
Pages 166-188

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