A VISION OF THE MODERN ISLAMIC STATE : AN EXAMINATION OF MUHAMMAD AL-BAHIYY’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Ahmad  H. GHIE

The demand for defining the concept of a modern state, based on the political discourse of Islam, is not a recent one. Although this topic has been discussed exhaustively, its appeal is still as vigorous as ever. Unsurprisingly, it has become in the current decade the omnipresent theme of the entire political concern of Muslims all over the world. Furthermore, this theme is already a predominant topic not only in the Middle East but also in the West alike. The political philosopher Muhammad al-Bahiyy (1905-1982) anticipated and contributed remarkably to this theme by dedicating an enormous number of his works to the subject of the Islamic state.

His combination of being a philosopher and an Islamic scholar, besides his role in the political arena of Egypt during Nasser's time, enabled him to be prolific and scrupulous at the same time. The aspects of politics, economics, sociology and philosophy which he studied in Germany (1931-1938) are carefully fused with his Islamic knowledge of tafsir (exegesis), theology and fiqh (jurisprudence) which he had developed from his study at al-Azhar University in Cairo. So prolific was he that his printed works amount to almost sixty-five volumes, tackling several different subjects, in addition to many articles and lectures.

The reputation which he gained among his fellow ’Ulama’ in his own country Egypt, and throughout the Muslim world, has made him one of the most authoritative Islamists, philosophers and reformers of this century.

The results of al-Bahiyy’s contribution can be perceived in two respects. First is the part that the course of the Islamic intellectual reform, which started with Jamal al-Din al-Afghani  and Muhammad Abdu in the last century, is still in progress. Secondly the sum total of his work provides a convincing and comprehensive blueprint for the modern Islamic state. This thesis examines and evaluates this blueprint, and reconstructs the paradigm of al-Bahiyy-vision of the Islamic state of the future.