The Political Rules in Assessing the Ruler and the Ruled by
Title: al-Siyasah al-Shar’iyah fi Islah ar-Ra’i war-Ra’iyah
Author: Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyah
Publisher: Dar-al-Islam
Review: **** / *****
as-Siyasah ash-Shari’ah fi Islah ar-Ra’i war-Ra’iyah (The Political Rules in Assessing the Ruler and the Ruled by) is the second most important and exclusive work on political thoughts after his compilaton ‘Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiya’. It primarily covers Islamic rules of administration as well as very important ideas on political theory.
Althought read a while ago, one of the most profound concept I remember from this work is the detailed explaintion and deep political significance of the word Amanah as used in the Qur’an. In his view, amanah is a trust placed in the ruler through the act of swearing allegiance (bayaah) by the subject to him. And trust means doing justice and procuring to the citizens their proper rights. Obedience to the ruler is only valid when the ruler acts in a way which promotes the most effeicent elevation of the community spritually and politically. He describes Amanah as the total effort of the effect that the whole of religion becomes for Allah ta’ala alone. And he makes a link between Amanah and ordering the good and forbidding the evil, which i found to be the crux of his scholarly insight.
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, states in the first sentence of the last chapter of the book entitled “The Obligation of the Adherence to the Leadership (of the Ummah)”: “It is known that the Office of Wilayatul Amri An-Naas (one in charge of the entire Muslim Ummah, i.e. the Khalifah) is of the greatest of obligations of the Deen (Islam). Albeit, there is no establishment of the Deen, except by it.” He continues, saying: “This is the opinion of the scholars, such as Al Fadl ibn ‘Iyad, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and others.”
So even though the Muslim Ummah had suffered a great defeat to the Tartars, Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, realised the importance of living in a society where all the rules which Muhammad (saw) brought were implemented. Imam Ibn Taymiyyah worked for the re-establishment of the Islamic State under the authority of the Khalifah. In the words of Imam Ibn Taymiyyah himself, “The Deen cannot be established except by it”.
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah never treated the Aqeedah as if it was a set of philosophical ideas, and ever thought that the five pillars were of utmost priority at the expense of the rest of the Islamic rules. Rather, he understood that the Aqeedah was the engine that runs the Islamic State, and he realised that all of the rules that Prophet Muhammad (saw) brought had to be implemented simultaneously without discrimination, and he realised that the way of establishing the Deen was by the office of the Sultan. Nowadays, it is quite unfortunate to find people who claim to follow the example of great Scholars like Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal, claiming that it is allowed to accept the rule of Kufr, and that first priority should be given to purifying the Aqeedah, and learning the five pillars, and that the Islamic State and the Shariyah will be a natural by-product. When we look at the true followers of the Salaf, like Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, we find them working for the establishment of Islamic State where the Islamic Aqeedah serves as its basis, in which all the rules of Islam will be implemented, and where the Muslim Ummah, and all of mankind, will be able to live in a harmonious, societal balance.
It is an essential read for english readers who wish to gain in-depth understanding of the relationship between a ruler and ruled by in an ideal Islamic polity and furthermore correct reformation of society.
