Sultanic rulings, the philosophy of history according to Imam Al-Mawardi: Al-Mawardi’s doctrinal, political, and economic visions

Abstract

Al-Mawardi (364-450 AH) emerged as a Shafi’i jurist and was the greatest judge in Baghdad. Amidst the duality of the Sunni Abbasid Caliph and the Shiite Buyid Sultan, although his duties were of a non-neutral politician, he was accepted by both parties. He mediated between them, contributing to the consolidation of the foundations of this duality for a century. Above his stature, this earned him an increase in prestige and dignity. Al-Mawardi spread his intellectual treasures in every direction. The most impactful one of them in the political community was the book he wrote on the Sultan’s rulings, to serve as a legal and administrative constitution. Thus, it represented a shift in Islamic political jurisprudence. Either among those who considered it a retreat from certain principles, as it justified the emirate of seizure and dominance, or among those who saw it as a reflection of a realistic ability that succeeded in providing Islamic solutions with realistic diligence.

As Al-Mawardi’s visions expanded various cosmological, jurisprudential, and political fields, alongside practical experience, they yielded a philosophical work. When these visions overlapped to create an intellectual network with realistic wisdom, thinkers and philosophers rushed to explore Al-Mawardi’s philosophical works which overlapped with Qur’anic interpretation as well as Al-Hawi’s jurisprudence, within the complications of Ash'ari and the innovations of the Mu'tazilites.

Thus, the springs of Mawardi philosophy manifested through four foundational principles: Religious legitimacy, rational centrality, realistic ability, and deconstruction sufficiency. These integrated deeply making Al-Mawardi’s work become a philosophical school of a special kind. It is neither purely religious nor dryly rational, but it harmonizes religion and reason, providing society with ability and sufficiency in politics as well as economics.