SİYASAL DÜŞÜNCE

Avicenna is considered to be a descendant of Alfarabi as he continued the Neoplatoic emanationist scheme of existence. In contrast with the classical Muslim theologians,  and argued that cosmos has no beginning but is a natural logical product of the divine One; which would later be attacked by Al-Ghazâlî. The superabundant, pure Good- i.e. the One cannot fail to produce an ordered and good cosmos that does not succeed him in time. The cosmos succeeds God merely in logical order and in existence (Rizvi, n.d.).

In the middle ages, the strong relation between jurisprudence and politics was much emphasized by Abu’l-Hassan al-Mâwardi, who could be claimed to be the first Islamic political scientist.

Fuqaha is the plural form of faqih. Faqih is the person who either is specialized in the Islamic science of law (ilm al-fıqh) or the execution of law.

The fundamental aspect which makes room for the existence of the organization of state-or mulk, according to Ibn Khaldûn- is asabiyyah. The following signify the determining role of asabiyyah on ‘umrân: 1. States-especially the great ones- depend upon ruling through lineage and/or alliance; 2. The great state is the one in which rulers succeed one another in a long period of time; this is the fundamental rule in sovereignty and applies until the decay; 3. The rightful ownership is taken from the hands of those who lost it through the asabiyyah possessed.

The responsibility of the ruler(s), for the materialization of justice, is making ethical codes set forth through fıqh applicable in public space, via incentive and deterrent executions of law (Ibn Khaldûn, 1958-I:262-263).

When we quickly look through the history of thought in the Islamic world after the death of Averroës (1198), we see that the Islamic civilization, in terms of flourishing philosophical thought and/or originality/productivity, has started to vanish.

Averroës, different from Al-Fârâbî, evaluates the relationship between philosophers and nonphilosophers as static.

Al-Mâwardi’s requirements for being a caliph:  The caliph, on his view, must be:

1.Just,

2. Possessing full knowledge of the shari‘ah to be skilled in independent interpretation (ijtihâd),

3. Good in overall health-especially in terms of
sight, hearing and speech,

4. Physically sound and not disabled from movement,

5. Good in administration,

6. Brave and courageous enough to declare war and fight against enemies,

7. In relation with (a descendant of) the family of Quraish (ibid).

Related with the social side of religion, Avicenna added a fourth tract to practical philosophy (in addition to ethics, household management, and politics), which he called “the discipline of legislating”.

His direct resources of inspiration included Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Plato’s Republic, and Aristotle’s Politics. Thus, the correct answer is E.

According to Farabi, requirements of common knowledge among the members of the perfect state include the material existents-including the active intellect, the celestial substances, the first ruler, the first cause and all its qualities, but the balance between man and animal. Thus, the correct answer is A.

“In the Latin West, his metaphysics and theory of the soul had a profound influence on scholastic arguments, ın the Islamic East, too, he was the basis for considerable debate and argument. Even the philosopher-theologian Al-Ghazali, in his attack (The Incoherence of Philosophers) admitted that no serious Muslim thinker could ignore him. In general, Avicenna could be claimed to be the principal representative of philosophy in Islam.” Thus, the correct answer is B.

In the middle ages, this strong relation between jurisprudence and politics was much emphasized by Al-Mawardi, who could be claimed to be the first Islamic poitical scientist. Thus, the correct answer is E.

Fasl al-Maqal is the work where Averroes’s fundamental assumption on the relation between philosophy and religion is expressed clearly. Thus, the correct answer is D

The three methods of persuasion are demonstrative, dialectical, and rhetorical—applying to different groups in the society: the first, to philosophers; the second, to theologians; and the third, to large masses. Thus, the correct answer is C.

Asabiyyah is a fundamental factor which puts human beings into wars against one another for sovereignty and for founding dynasties and states. Thus, the correct answer is A.

According to Ibn Khaldun, mulk is the necessary condition for the establishment of social lives in towns and cities. Thus, the correct answer is C

In The Muqaddimah, the term ‘umran’ bears several meanings such as to settle down, building up a construction, visiting a location, and taking care of a given place, but not evacuating a location. Thus, the correct answer is D.

According to The Muqaddimah, the power of muk is materialized only through the execution of law, development cannot be achieved without justice, wealth cannot be acquired without development, the major criterion Allah will evaluate humans is justice, and people cannot survive without acquiring wealth. So, the correct answer is A.

Al-Fârâbî’s written works on politics-as well as his other works on philosophy- appear to have a familiarity with Plato and Aristotle. However, when political philosophy is the case, his direct resources of inspiration are as follows:

However, his major works The Perfect State, The Political Regime or The Principles of Beings begin with a metaphysical part presented as a descendant of Neo-Platonic legacy followed by a second part dealing with the organization of the city or state and do not treat of being and unity as the most universal notions. The hierarchical structure of the ideal state reflects purely the hierarchical emanationist structure presented in the first part. As is also understood from the information given, the correct answer is C. When political philosophy is the case, “Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics”,  “Plato’s Republic” and  “Aristotle’s Politics” are his direct resources of inspiration. “The Perfect State” The Political Regime” and The Principles of Beings are his major works.