Abstract
Although modern scholars tend to be sceptical of the role of religion in the formation of ethical and political thought in the Būyid period (334/945–440/1048), this article argues that both philosophy and religion, as envisioned by al-Tawḥīdī and his contemporaries, played an integral role in its creation. The analysis shows that modern concepts such as ‘humanism’ and ‘political philosophy,’ as applied to these authors and their texts, are not felicitous to the social and intellectual contexts in which they were produced. Through analysing al-Tawḥīdī’s ethical and political thought, certain modern assumed dichotomies, including scientific enquiry versus religious teaching, theoretical ethics versus practical ethics, and the social versus the personal, are reconsidered. The article argues that a contextual approach to al-Tawḥīdī and his peers should consider the encyclopaedic system of knowledge that shaped their thought and the interdisciplinary nature of their work where religious, philosophical, and literary elements are intertwined. The article highlights al-Tawḥīdī’s political thought, his active role as an intellectual and his attempt to disseminate knowledge based on two main beliefs: the role of knowledge linked to action in social life and reform, and a solid sense of the religious and moral responsibility of the scholar to offer advice to the leaders of the community. The concepts that he uses, such as maḥabba (love) and ṣadāqa (friendship) with its four foundational components, namely the soul (nafs), intellect (ʿaql), nature (ṭabīʿa), and morals (khulq), addressed social and political challenges in Būyid society and produced alternative moral and intellectual responses to sectarianism, social disintegration and the decline in morality, which were characteristic of the Būyid era.
 Keywords: Ethical political thought, Būyid, Humanism, Political philosophy, ʿIlm (Knowledge), ʿAmal (action), Ṣadāqa (friendship), al-Tawḥīdī, Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ
Highlights
Modern philosophy tends to be suspicious of the role of religion in morality and ethics, a serious scrutiny of ethical discourse in the Muslim context, especially in the premodern period, cannot afford such a dismissive attitude towards the impact of the religious discourse of Islam
Abstract modern scholars tend to be sceptical of the role of religion in the formation of ethical and political thought in the Būyid period (334/945–440/1048), this article argues that both philosophy and religion, as envisioned by al-Tawḥīdī and his contemporaries, played an integral role in its creation
The analysis shows that modern concepts such as ‘humanism’ and ‘political philosophy,’ as applied to these authors and their texts, are not felicitous to the social and intellectual contexts in which they were produced
Summary
Modern philosophy tends to be suspicious of the role of religion in morality and ethics, a serious scrutiny of ethical discourse in the Muslim context, especially in the premodern period, cannot afford such a dismissive attitude towards the impact of the religious discourse of Islam. Certain western categories and definitions, namely ‘political philosophy’ or ‘humanism’ have often been applied by scholars as lenses to analyse al-Tawḥīdī’s writings and the broader literature of Islamic ethical and political thought, assuming rigid dichotomies between religion and philosophical activities and those of the littérateurs in the period.[4] This reductionist view produces a misreading of pre-modern Arabic tradition by considering that a conflict between religion and philosophy were the core dynamic behind the study of Islamic morality in the fourth/tenth century.[5] Such a view overlooks the complex relationship between philosophy, religion, and adab traditions in this period It isolates Būyid authors, like al-Tawḥīdī, from their historical, intellectual, and cultural contexts by overlooking the encyclopaedic system of knowledge that shaped their thought and the interdisciplinary nature of their work where religious, philosophical and literary elements are intertwined.
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