Spirit of Islam, February 2021

Political confrontation is no minor matter. In terms of its results, it necessarily divides people into two rival camps. THE QUEST FOR IDEAL SOCIETY An Unnatural Pursuit ARISTOTLE, one of the greatest thinkers of the world, is known as “The First Teacher”. His philosophy had a profound influence on the history of thought. Aristotle believed that man has been created with many attributes and abilities. Initially, these abilities exist only as potential in the human personality. In order to convert these potential abilities into reality, a favourable socio-political system is necessary. Alexander the Great (d. 323 BCE), was a student of Aristotle. With Alexander’s support, Aristotle desired to establish an ideal sociopolitical system in Greece. Despite Alexander’s leadership, this desire could not be fulfilled and Aristotle died in a state of despair at the age of 62. According to Aristotle, human accomplishment is possible only through a virtuous socio-political order. He presented this argument in the language of philosophy. In other words, he philosophized this theory. He remarked, “The legal system alone saves people from their own savagery”. Many centuries later, Karl Marx (d. 1883) expressed the same idea, using economic terminology. In other words, he secularized the same theory. The global communist movement and the Soviet Union (USSR) that came into being on the basis of the Marxist ideology completely failed in bringing about this ideal socio-political system that was envisaged. After this, the same way of thinking developed amongst Muslims as well. Some Muslim scholars, consciously or otherwise, introduced this theory into ‘Islamic’ thought. They propounded a political interpretation of Islam. They declared the establishment of an ‘Islamic’ socio-political system as imperative for Islamic life. Looking back at history, one can now see how Aristotle had prepared a philosophical edition of the concept of an ideal socio-political system. Marx invented a secular edition of this concept. And later, Muslim scholars devised an ‘Islamic’ version of it. History reveals that during the last 2500 years or so, beginning with Aristotle, this concept has never been realized. Never and nowhere has