Your complimentary articles

You’ve read one of your four complimentary articles for this month.

You can read four articles free per month. To have complete access to the thousands of philosophy articles on this site, please

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Islamic Philosophers

On Tyranny

AmirAli Maleki looks at tyranny from an Islamic perspective.

Do Islamic philosophers allow tyranny, or do they advocate a free and enlightened society?

To explore this, one might turn to Al-Farabi (870-950 CE), widely regarded as the first truly Muslim philosopher. Al-Farabi argues that power should never impose its views through force. In his work Categories of Science (Iḥṣāʾ al-ʿUlūm), Al-Farabi emphasizes that virtue, which in his view can only be achieved through an ethical and well-ordered society, flourishes when all individuals can collaborate in shaping their collective destiny without coercion. Since politics, for Al-Farabi, in essence, is a matter of companionship and empathy. He asserts that a government must cultivate a spirit of obedience within its people by encouraging participation through voting and other ways of expressing their opinions. A good government, he argues, must serve as a forum for dialogue rather than an authoritarian force that regards its own ideology as absolute and silences opposition.

In On the Perfect State (Al-Madīnah al-Fāḍilah) he extends this argument to the realm of education, underscoring the importance of shaping future generations within a just system. To Al-Farabi, a society free from tyranny does not suppress the temperament or development of its children, because an ideal community should provide space for everyone to thrive. So respecting differing beliefs, regardless of one’s age or position, is fundamental to societal progress. The plurality of perspectives fosters intellectual growth and innovation. In this light, he urges older generations to grant younger minds the freedom to explore new and diverse ideas. How can the elderly dictate the future with rigid, perhaps outdated, beliefs? This principle aligns with the Quranic teaching, “There is no compulsion in religion” (Al-Baqarah, verse 256), which affirms that individuals have the right to live freely, provided they do no harm to others.

Later the Aristotelian philosopher Miskawayh Razi (932-1030 CE) engaged with similar ideas. Inspired by Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, he thought of the relationship between a ruler and his people as akin to that of a father and son. In his work The Refinement of Character (Tahdhib al-Akhlaq), Miskawayh argues that a virtuous ruler treats his subjects with kindness and friendship. Without such benevolence, the people may rebel, jeopardizing the stability of society. In an environment dominated by hostility and resentment between the ruler and the governed, neither virtue nor goodness can prosper. Only through dialogue and mutual understanding can a society cultivate morality, cooperation, and shared purpose. Miskawayh contends that governance should be participatory, likening it to a father engaging his child in his plans.

For Abu al-Hasan al-Amiri (913-992 CE), leadership requires both integrity and wisdom. A ruler must not be ignorant or callous, as sound conclusions arise not from a singular perspective but from the synthesis of diverse viewpoints. For al-Amiri, governance resembles the relationship between neighbors. If one mistreats a neighbor, peaceful coexistence becomes impossible; conversely, if they cultivate a bond of trust and companionship, they will look after one another in times of need. If I have a good relationship with my neighbor, he may water my plants while I am away!

In his work The Announcement (Al-Iʿlām), al-Amiri argues that the Quran underscores an essential principle for rulers. If rulers seek to govern a just and prosperous nation, they must refrain from oppression, coercion, and disregard for the voices of their people (Al-Ma’un, verse 7). A nation is not the private domain of its rulers, it’s the collective property of all citizens and must be equitably shared. Governance should provide individuals with the freedom and security necessary to pursue their endeavors without fear or constraint. Rulers who fail to uphold these values and instead impose their ideologies and demand conformity, are nothing more than ‘tamed quadrupeds’ – signifying their failure to recognize the dignity and autonomy of those they govern.

Although Avicenna (Ibn Sina, 980-1037 CE) does not appear to have a pronounced interest in politics, in The Book of Healing (Al-Shifāʾ) he asserts that if people recognize their ruler as a tyrant who begins to oppress his subjects, they have the right to rise against him, protest, and ultimately remove him from power. He emphasizes that the selection of a ruler is a natural right of the people (a principle strongly underscored by the Prophet of Islam). Ibn Sina suggests that from beginning to end, the central concern should be the choice of a just and capable legislator – not only because governance shapes destinies, but also because future generations will inevitably be affected by the decisions of those in power. A despotic ruler does not merely harm the present; his influence extends to the future, jeopardizing the well-being of generations to come. He thus urges society to remain vigilant, acknowledging its collective responsibility in resisting tyranny.

Modern Islamic philosophers have not remained passive against tyranny either; rather, they have actively engaged with the issue in profound and multifaceted ways. Among them, Javad Tabatabaei (1945-2023), an Iranian political philosopher, argues in works such as Decline of Political Thought in Iran (Zawāl-e Andīshe-ye Sīyāsī dar Īrān) that one of the fundamental challenges facing Muslim societies – particularly Iran – is their failure to approach politics through philosophical reasoning. According to him, this deficiency inevitably traps societies in cycles of authoritarian rule. Tabatabaei contends that governance in countries like Iran has historically been pragmatic and power-driven rather than philosophical and critically engaged. Such governments prioritize the preservation of their authority over intellectual development – standing in stark contrast to Europe’s path to modernization. Tabatabaei maintains that a critique of governance, which is an essential function of philosophy, should remain independent of any ideological framework, and must examine society in its entirety. This reasoning perhaps explains his rejection of how Islamic states govern, which he critiques for being ideologically constrained, committed solely to its religious doctrines. He argues that such governments inherently resist progress and development, fearing that academic progress may threaten the foundations of their rule.

Perhaps we should ask ourselves a more urgent question, what would we do if we lived under a totalitarian regime? Would we confine ourselves to reflecting on such matters, or would we strive to put our philosophical principles into action, and rise up against the oppression?

AmirAli Maleki is a philosophy researcher and the Editor of PraxisPublication.com. He works in the fields of political philosophy, Islamic philosophy, and hermeneutics.