Ibn Tufail’s political thought

The main purpose of this research is to look into Ibn Tufail’s political thought in his philosophical charter “Hayy ibn Yaqzan”. The method of this research is descriptive-analytical, and the hierarchy of politics is studied from Ibn Tufail’s point of view by using Quentin Skinner’s “hermeneutic intent” method. The study of the role of a philosopher in the interpretation of political life is considered an analogy between the position of a jurisprudent and philosopher as well as an assessment between jurisprudence and philosophy, which are the most important issues discussed in this research. The results indicated that Ibn Tufail aimed to give an account of the relationship between religion and philosophy in his essay “ Hayy ibn Yaqzan” and he was chiefly concerned about the subject of jurisprudence, philosophy, and mysticism. The foremost political dimension of Ibn Tufail’s essay deals with a system of knowledge in Islamic civilization. Jurisprudence science in Islamic civilization has a prominent position as an exclusion of philosophy and philosopher from the heart of society are the main political implications of all-out involvement of jurisprudence in a Muslim human’s life. From the viewpoint of Hayy ibn Yaqzan, the coalescence of jurisprudence and philosophy is not feasible. Consistent with the intellectual foundations of Almohad Caliphate, Ibn Tufail, by writing Hayy ibn Yaqzan essay,  warns philosophers to stop arguing against people’s beliefs and respect the Sharia.