Government and Respect; An Introduction to the Political Philosophy of Government in Islam

Considering the importance of government in the management of human societies, particularly from the point of view of Islam, and the big role the holy prophet – as the supreme role model according to the Quran – gave to government, learning his thoughts in this respect can be effective and determining in the destiny of our present day society. Emphasizing divine revelation and the basic principle of human nature, the holy prophet of Islam raised the issue of government as a vital necessity towards guaranteeing the rights and interests of human beings and explained it with special focus on the concept of respect. The present article deals briefly with the nature of government considering the concept of respect from the perspective of the holy prophet. Thus the main question is what interpretation has the holy prophet given of government, and what is the nature of government? In view of this question, the main hypothesis is that considering the establishment of political society and that of government by holy prophet in Madina and considering his emphasis on divine revelation and his knowledge of human being, he has regarded government as respect and observance in sense of guarding and protection. This interpretation represents the prudent direction and action towards public good and happiness and satisfying the rights and interests of community. Accordingly, he counts respect as a human policy and relation indicating the equal rights of individuals in the society. In other words, according to him, all people – besides being subjects or citizens – are protectors of each other. Thus government is just a trust and a vital responsibility towards administration of public affairs of people.