Empirical application of Muslim social knowledge
Seyyed Pouya Rasoulinejad; Akbar Shahbazi
Abstract
This study investigates Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi’s affection-justice theory and its application in social control. Through qualitative content analysis of Tusi’s works and related sources, the findings reveal that he developed a comprehensive framework for regulating social relations by intelligently ...
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This study investigates Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi’s affection-justice theory and its application in social control. Through qualitative content analysis of Tusi’s works and related sources, the findings reveal that he developed a comprehensive framework for regulating social relations by intelligently integrating affection as an internal mechanism of control with justice as an external one. Tusi’s affection-justice model not only ensures order and stability but also fosters a balanced and harmonious society by reducing reliance on coercion and emphasizing human bonds. Affection, as an intrinsic and spontaneous force, promotes social solidarity through emotional relationships in an organic manner, while justice guarantees the structural order of society. With its dual emphasis on emotional and structural dimensions, alongside cultural adaptability, this theory offers a native framework for analyzing and designing social control systems in Islamic societies. The study demonstrates that Tusi’s theory has strong potential to address contemporary challenges of social control and may be applied to issues such as reducing deviance, strengthening social capital, and managing conflicts.
Rereading and interpreting the ideas of leading Muslim thinkers
Tahereh Sharif; Ebrahim Barzegar; MohammadBagher Khorramshad,; Nafisesadat Ghaderi
Abstract
Civil friendship among human beings is a noble virtue, a prerequisite for human flourishing, and a defining characteristic present since the dawn of history. As Carl Schmitt asserts, the essence of politics lies in the friend-enemy distinction, inherently inciting conflict. In recent centuries, discourses ...
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Civil friendship among human beings is a noble virtue, a prerequisite for human flourishing, and a defining characteristic present since the dawn of history. As Carl Schmitt asserts, the essence of politics lies in the friend-enemy distinction, inherently inciting conflict. In recent centuries, discourses of hostility have expanded within the Islamic world, with movements such as Wahhabism and jihadist-takfiri factions exemplifying this tendency. Given that conflict appears foundational and that one of the main responsibilities of politics is conflict resolution through friendship, this study aims to conceptualize and advance the idea of a "politics of friendship" in Iran and across Muslim societies. To this end, the thought of Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi—an influential thinker from the Islamic Golden Age—is revisited. Tusi emphasized love in political thought, considering it superior to justice, and offering great potential for grounding a politics of friendship. The findings suggest that Tusi's political philosophy can be adapted to contemporary contexts through a theoretical model of political and civil friendship. This model incorporates insights from Western thinkers such as Hannah Arendt and Jacques Derrida, as well as elements from the thought of Imam Khomeini.
Rereading and interpreting the ideas of leading Muslim thinkers
saeideh Hamledari; Ahmad Fazeli
Abstract
Friendship is an internal quality that stems from the conscience and temperament of a person. Neglecting this essential quality of human existence will result in destructive harm that will be difficult or impossible to compensate. Friendship encompasses numerous dimensions of types, degrees, obstacles, ...
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Friendship is an internal quality that stems from the conscience and temperament of a person. Neglecting this essential quality of human existence will result in destructive harm that will be difficult or impossible to compensate. Friendship encompasses numerous dimensions of types, degrees, obstacles, meanings, and resources, but the focus of this research is on the examination of two essential categories, “friendship’s causes and properties,” and it begins by posing the following questions: What factors motivate man’s tendency toward friendship, and what topics can constitute friendship? The author intends to investigate the answers to the aforementioned questions from the perspectives of Ghazali and Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi, two renowned Islamic thinkers. This research required library research to collect the necessary data, which was then compared to determine the similarities and differences between the two approaches. The findings indicate that Ghazali, with his mystic outlook, considers “God” to be the greatest friendship motive among the causes of love. Also, only “God” deserves to be man’s best companion among the subjects of love, and expressing love to other subjects is interpreted as friendship with God. The greatest motivation for love, according to Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi, is the combination of the three reasons he lists for friendship: pleasure, benefit, and pure goodness. In terms of friendship, Khajah prioritizes social relationships with other males.
