Explaining the Form and Structure of Government in the Thought of Allama Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Tabatabai

Explaining the form and structure of government in Islam from the perspective of the Quran and hadiths has always been one of the most challenging topics in Islamic political thought—a challenge that has gained even greater significance following the Islamic Revolution. In this context, the thought of Allama Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Tabatabai, a figure who comprehensively integrates philosophical, exegetical, and social dimensions, offers a distinctive framework for understanding this issue. The fundamental question of this study concerns how the form of government is explained within Allama’s intellectual system. Its main hypothesis is built on the premise that, according to Allama’s Quranic approach, Islam advocates a model of “religious social government” in which the form and executive structure of government are not fixed across time. Rather, they are variable matters determined by the requirements of time and place and shaped by the will of the people. To grasp this claim in depth, one must refer to Allama’s distinctive philosophical innovation: the theory of “constructed perceptions” (idrākāt-i iʿtibārī). He draws a clear distinction between real entities—which reflect fixed, ontologically objective realities—and constructed (or conventional) entities, which are products of the human mind created to meet vital and social needs. From Allama’s viewpoint, political affairs, the state, and government fall within the category of constructed entities. This means their essence and reality are rooted in mental agreements and human social necessities. Since constructed entities depend on environmental conditions and the historical evolution of humanity, the state cannot possess a fixed and eternal form. Its structure is continually reconstructed through a process of trial and error, in harmony with the rational development of society. In continuity with this discussion, the concept of “social sovereignty” emerges as the foundation of political legitimacy in Allama Tabatabai’s thought. He holds that sovereignty and political power are, in their essence, a shared and collective possession belonging to all members of society. Although throughout history tyrants have usurped this right by unilaterally employing the people and turning it into despotism, the true nature of social power has always originated from the community itself. Accordingly, any governmental structure that can secure the participation of a greater number of the genuine owners
of power—that is, the people—in exercising this right draws closer to social justice.
This perspective highlights the necessity of social dialogue and mutual agreement in determining the manner in which society is governed. Through his theory of “interactive realism” in epistemology, Allama emphasizes that truth is not the exclusive property of any individual or particular group. Human apprehensions of political reality arise from the interaction between perceptual faculties and the social environment. Therefore, the most desirable form of governmental structure can only be discerned through collective thinking and communal deliberation. At the exegetical level, Allama concludes from his examination of Quranic addresses that the addressee of Islam’s social rulings is the generality of believers, not the Prophet alone. God demands the establishment of justice, jihad, and prescribed punishments from the community of people as a whole, which reveals the distinctly social character of the religion. Islam is a social reality, so to speak, whose implementation has been entrusted to everyone collectively. Thus, political power derives from the will and consent of society. In the era of occultation, the matter of governance has been delegated to the Muslims themselves without any reservation, so that they may—following the practice of the Prophet and relying on the principle of consultation—appoint the ruler and supervise his performance. Although Allama critiques Western democracy for its materialistic foundations and exploitative spirit, he emphasizes a form of religious democracy in which the sound reason of society, within the framework of divine values, assumes responsibility for drafting executive laws and managing political affairs. In the final analysis, Allama Tabatabai’s political thought establishes a profound connection between human rationality and divine guidance. In his view, religion provides the best method for ordering society because it creates an internal mechanism of supervision and links worldly well-being to ultimate perfection in the hereafter, thereby restraining instinctive excesses and preventing social injustice. Nevertheless, religion does not impose a rigid or unchangeable structure upon government. Instead, it entrusts the management of unfolding events and the regulation of administrative and defensive systems to the discretion of the ruler, in consultation with the Muslims. The outcome of this approach is a model of governance that remains fully faithful to the principles of monotheism while being thoroughly flexible and dynamic, allowing society in every era to develop new managerial structures appropriate to its own level of advancement. This paradigm explicitly rejects any despotic concentration of power in the executive branch, places strong emphasis on the separation of powers and the dignity of the human being, and paves the way for the development of political knowledge and the realization of justice within Islamic societies. Thus, in Allama’s perspective, the form of government emerges as the product of the interaction between the collective reason of the believers and the guiding principles of the Sharia—an interaction that takes place within the domain of social constructs.