Rereading and interpreting the ideas of leading Muslim thinkers
Jahanbakhsh Savagheb; Parvin Rostami
Abstract
Society-based thinking in every period is influenced by the conditions of the society, and it is closely correlated with social institutions and social problems. During the Ghajarid Period, various religious and political factors paved the way for the pronounced presence of Shiite ulema in the society ...
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Society-based thinking in every period is influenced by the conditions of the society, and it is closely correlated with social institutions and social problems. During the Ghajarid Period, various religious and political factors paved the way for the pronounced presence of Shiite ulema in the society and in the government. Among the distinguished Muslim scholars, Seyyed Jafar Darabi Kashfi was a religious jurisprudent and a theoretician who was interested in social theories dealing with the ways to rule on the basis of Islamic faith during the Ghajarid government. In his books, Tohfat-ol-Moluk and Mizan-ol-Moluk, he focuses on social theories in order to describe the society, Moreover, he focuses on individual and family affairs in order to portray an ideal society for a ruler. The present study describes how the ulema were politically influential during the Ghajarid Period, and in particular, it deals with Kashfi's social theories. Findings show that Kashfi tried to outline the individual as well as social life in the light of ethical and religious teachings in an effort to base the society on reason and justice. His ultimate goal was to create a utopia, and to this end, he focused on the relationships among individuals in the society, and he discussed in detail the relationship between the government and the society in the one hand, and the relationship between the social life and various virtues for happiness both in this world and in the Hereafter.
