Unknown author
al-Qiyam al-Islamiyya
- Author died
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- Editions
- The book is published on the website of the Saudi Ministry of Awqaf without publication details
al-Qiyam al-Islamiyya (Islamic Values) is a modern Arabic treatise addressing the foundational ethical, civil, and aesthetic principles of Islam across individual and collective life.
Overview and Structure
The book presents an analytical framework for Islamic values, examining their theoretical definitions, religious proofs from the Quran and Sunnah, and historical applications. It is structured around five primary values:
- Justice (al-ʿadl)
- Freedom (al-ḥurriyya)
- Equality (al-musāwāh)
- Brotherhood (al-ikhāʾ)
- Beauty and aesthetics (al-jamāl)
Justice (al-ʿAdl)
The work defines justice as rendering to every claimant their due without discrimination, identifying it as the pillar of social order and civil stability. It categorizes justice along several axes:
- Temporal scope: Worldly justice, established through prophetic laws to resolve disputes, and otherworldly absolute justice, which God alone executes on the Day of Resurrection.
- Inclusiveness: Universal application extending beyond humans to include animals and the cosmic balance of nature.
- Human dimension: Individual justice (internal balance among reason, anger, and desire) and collective justice (fulfillment of rights in commerce, governance, family life, and judiciary).
The author invokes Ibn Khaldun to argue that injustice and the violation of property rights cause economic depression and the collapse of civilization, whereas justice stimulates industry and security. Historical illustrations include the Prophet Muhammad's ﷺ adherence to legal equality, Umar ibn al-Khattab's submission to judicial evidentiary rules, and Ali ibn Abi Talib's lawsuit before Judge Shurayh over a missing coat of mail.
Freedom (al-Ḥurriyya)
Freedom is characterized as the innate capacity of a rational individual to act or refrain from acting by their own will, bounded by necessary regulations to prevent anarchy and protect the public interest. The text divides freedom into material and moral domains:
- Material freedoms: Personal security and bodily sanctity (for living persons, foundlings, and the deceased), property ownership (distinguishing between individual and public ownership and detailing their lawful acquisition and ethical restraints), and the freedom to work, which Islam equates with striving in God's path.
- Moral freedoms: Religious dialogue to attain conviction, performance of religious rites (highlighting the safety granted to non-Muslim subjects, such as Umar's assurance to the people of Jerusalem), freedom of thought and expression within the bounds of constructive societal benefit, and freedom of education in all beneficial sciences.
Equality (al-Musāwāh) and Brotherhood (al-Ikhāʾ)
The text contrasts Islam's stance on human equality with ancient caste and class systems—including those of Brahmins, Greeks, Romans, Jews, and pre-Islamic Arabs—asserting that all humans share a single origin in Adam and equal intrinsic human worth. It clarifies that distinctions among individuals arise not from lineage or physical creation, but solely from voluntary moral and pious deeds (taqwā).
It also outlines equality before Islamic law and the rights accorded to non-Muslim subjects (dhimmis), including equal access to social welfare from the public treasury (bayt al-māl) during old age or disability, eligibility for administrative and executive state offices, and parity in land taxation (kharāj).
Brotherhood is analyzed into three interrelated tiers:
- Lineage and biological kinship (ukhuwwa fī al-nasab)
- Universal human fraternity (ukhuwwa fī al-ādamiyya)
- Faith-based fraternity (ukhuwwa fī al-dīn)
Aesthetics and Art (al-Jamāl)
The book examines beauty as an essential Islamic value, establishing its foundations in freedom from defects, proportion and harmony, and divine textual specification. It divides aesthetics into:
- Sensory beauty (jamāl ḥissī): Manifested in nature and the anatomical composition of the human body.
- Moral/spiritual beauty (jamāl maʿnawī): Reflected in virtuous speech, righteous deeds, and professional integrity.
It surveys major expressions of Islamic art, focusing on floral and geometric arabesque ornamentation, Arabic calligraphy (enumerating scripts such as Kufic, Persian, Naskh, Ruqʿah, Maghrebi, Diwani, and Thuluth), and architecture. In architecture, it highlights the design of mosques and domestic residences tailored to privacy and modesty, referencing monuments such as the Alhambra in Granada while warning against ostentation and wastefulness.
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