Social Theories of Muslim Thinkers

Social Theories of Muslim Thinkers

Social Policy Foundations: Rousseau’s Social Contract and Tabataba’i’s Practical Iʿtibāriyyāt

Document Type : Research Article / Original Article

Authors
Ahmad Aadeghi 1
Mohsen Dabiriyan 2
1 Ph.D. in Imamiyyah theology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 Ph.D. in Social welfare, University of Allameh Tabataba’i, Tehran, Iran.
10.22059/jstmt.2026.422778.1943
Abstract
Social policy, as the discipline of managing collective life, requires a precise clarification of its anthropological and epistemological foundations before practical application. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and a comparative-critical approach, this study examines the theoretical foundations of social policy within two paradigms: Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s social contract theory and Mohammad Hossein Tabataba’i’s theory of practical Iʿtibāriyyāt (normative constructs). The findings indicate that Rousseau locates the origin of society in the voluntary agreement of natural human beings to overcome environmental obstacles, whereas Tabataba’i traces it to Iḍṭirār (necessity), which arises from the need to restrain the innate drive for Istikhdām (instrumentalization) and to prevent conflicts of interest. Regarding the origin of law and sovereignty, Rousseau’s theory relies on the “general will” and popular sovereignty, in which the state serves merely as the agent of the law. Tabataba’i’s framework, by contrast, holds that because the instrumentalizing intellect is inherently inadequate, ultimate legislation depends on divine revelation and Sharia, and government functions as the executor of justice. In the teleological dimension, both thinkers criticize the proliferation of false needs and consumerism, but Rousseau’s ideal telos is defined as securing civil liberty and legal equality. Tabataba’i, transcending material reductionism, conceives the telos of social policy as the instrumental management of practical Iʿtibāriyyāt toward securing both material and spiritual felicity, grounded in a monotheistic worldview and the primacy of the Hereafter.
Keywords
Istikhdām, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mohammad Hossein Tabataba’i, Practical Iʿtibāriyyāt, Social Contract, Social Policy
Subjects
Cole, G. D. H. (1950). Introduction. In J.-J. Rousseau, The social contract and discourses (G. D. H. Cole, Trans., pp. vii–xliii). J. M. Dent & Sons.
Foroughi, M. A. (1988). The course of philosophy in Europe (Vol. 2). Zavvar. [In Persian]
McLendon, M. L. (2014). Rousseau and the minimal self: A solution to the problem of amour-propre. European Journal of Political Theory, 13(3), 341–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474885113492504
Mohammadpour, N. (2016). A sociological perspective on the importance of social contracts in facilitating the development process in society. Economic Sociology and Development, 1, 17–41. [In Persian]
Rousseau, J.-J. (1911). Emile, or education (B. Foxley, Trans.). J. M. Dent & Sons. (Original work published 1762)
Rousseau, J.-J. (1923). The confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Vol. 2). Alfred A. Knopf. (Original work published 1782)
Rousseau, J.-J. (1968). The social contract and discourses (G. D. H. Cole, Trans.). J. M. Dent & Sons; E. P. Dutton & Co. (Original work published 1762)
Rousseau, J.-J. (1979). Emile, or on education (A. Bloom, Trans.). Basic Books. (Original work published 1762)
Rousseau, J.-J. (1986). A discourse on the origin of inequality. In J.-J. Rousseau, The social contract and discourses (G. D. H. Cole, Trans., pp. 31–126). J. M. Dent & Sons. (Original work published 1755)
Rousseau, J.-J. (2000). The social contract (text and context) (M. Kalantarian, Trans.). Agah. (in Persian; original work published 1762)
Ryan, A. (2012). The nature of human nature in Hobbes and Rousseau. In A. Ryan, The making of modern liberalism (pp. 220-232). Princeton University Press.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2010). Jean-Jacques Rousseau. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rousseau/
Tabataba’i, M. H. (1973). Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān (Vols. 1–20). Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī lil-Maṭbūʿāt. [In Arabi]
Tabataba’i, M. H. (1983). Principles of philosophy and the method of realism (Vols. 1–5). Sadra. [In Persian]
Tabataba’i, M. H. (1995). Translation of Tafsir al-Mizan (Vols. 1–20; S. M. B. Hamedani, Trans.). Islamic Publications Office. [In Persian]
Tabataba’i, M. H. (2008). Islamic investigations (Vols. 1–2). Bustan-e Ketab Institute. [In Persian]
Tabataba’i, M. H. (2009). Man from beginning to end. Bustan-e Ketab Institute. [In Persian]
Social Theories of Muslim Thinkers
Volume 16, Issue 3
Summer 2026
Pages 195-215

  • Receive Date 20 April 2026
  • Revise Date 23 July 2026
  • Accept Date 30 August 2026
  • Publish Date 23 September 2026