Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Early Islamic politics and government in Nahj al-balāghah

Nazarahari, Reza (1995) Early Islamic politics and government in Nahj al-balāghah. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, University of Kent. (doi:10.22024/UniKent/01.02.86094) (KAR id:86094)

Abstract

In this thesis, the political concepts of Nahj al-balāghah, a Shīte source of the eleventh century (fourth century after the Hijrah), is examined. The book contains books materials of political philosophy and evaluation of some political events which occurred in the caliphate of Rāshidūn (632-661 A.D.) especially 'Alī . However, the historical authenticity of the book is not the concern of this thesis and the main concentration is made on the early caliphal government and politics in the book with reference to the Islamic political initiatives of Islam in the prophetic society.

The first step in our approach is to create awareness about the difficulties which appear in any attempt that deals with Islam and history. The different approaches of Muslims and non-Muslims to Islam and their different perceptions of religious politics are included in the first part. In addition, several political initiatives of Islam such as political economy, political activism, integration of society and so on are examined in the framework of the Qurān and Sunnah of the Prophet. This explanation enables us to observe the politics and government of the first successors of the Prophet in their ideological context. The second part is devoted to explain the major changes in Islamic politics and government after the Prophet.

With this background, in the third part, the political contents of Nahj al-balāghah, or "the peak of eloquence", are analyzed without consideration as to whether 'Alī is its real author. There are some principles of political theory and philosophy, as well as a political account of several events in the book which are the main subjects of analysis of the present thesis. In its politico-theoretical dimension, the value of the world, the theological description of human freedom and responsibility, and the theoretical approach to society and history are explained. In its political capacity, issues such as the need for a government and the extent of toleration in it, the role of people, justice, leadership and its responsibilities are included in the third part.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD))
DOI/Identification number: 10.22024/UniKent/01.02.86094
Additional information: This thesis has been digitised by EThOS, the British Library digitisation service, for purposes of preservation and dissemination. It was uploaded to KAR on 09 February 2021 in order to hold its content and record within University of Kent systems. It is available Open Access using a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivatives (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) licence so that the thesis and its author, can benefit from opportunities for increased readership and citation. This was done in line with University of Kent policies (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/strategy/docs/Kent%20Open%20Access%20policy.pdf). If you feel that your rights are compromised by open access to this thesis, or if you would like more information about its availability, please contact us at ResearchSupport@kent.ac.uk and we will seriously consider your claim under the terms of our Take-Down Policy (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/regulations/library/kar-take-down-policy.html).
Uncontrolled keywords: #ethos, History
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion
J Political Science > JC Political theory
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
SWORD Depositor: SWORD Copy
Depositing User: SWORD Copy
Date Deposited: 29 Oct 2019 16:28 UTC
Last Modified: 12 Dec 2022 13:13 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/86094 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.