al-Siyasa al-Shariyya - Jamiat al-Madina
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- Jāmiʻat al-Madīnah al-ʻĀlamīyah
al-Siyasa al-Shariyya - Jamiat al-Madina (Arabic: السياسة الشرعية - جامعة المدينة) is an academic curriculum textbook on Islamic governance and public policy (al-siyāsa al-sharʿiyya), prepared and published in one volume for master's degree students at Al-Madinah International University under course code GFIQ5203.
Content and Scope
The work is organized as a series of instructional lecture units examining the principles, institutional structures, and historical applications of Islamic political jurisprudence. It analyzes the conceptual foundations of al-siyasa al-shar'iyya, its linguistic origins in lexicographical sources such as Ibn Manzur's Lisan al-Arab and al-Misbah al-Munir, and its technical definitions in classical and modern scholarship. The textbook defines the discipline as discretionary governance and administrative measures enacted by rulers to secure public welfare and prevent corruption in areas not governed by specific, unalterable textual rulings.
The text outlines two primary conditions for the validity of political rulings:
- Alignment with the overall spirit, fundamental maxims, and universal principles of Islamic law.
- Non-contradiction with definitive, universal textual proofs from the Quran, Sunnah, consensus (ijmāʿ), or analogical reasoning (qiyās).
Practical Precedents and Political Systems
To illustrate the application of policy-making in early Islamic history, the book reviews key administrative decisions made during the Rashidun Caliphate:
- Abu Bakr al-Siddiq's compilation of the Quran into a single codex.
- Umar ibn al-Khattab's establishment of administrative bureaus (dawāwīn), institution of the land tax (kharāj), and suspension of the zakat share allocated to those whose hearts were to be reconciled (al-muʾallafatu qulūbuhum) once the Muslim polity attained political strength.
- Uthman ibn Affan's standardization of the Quranic text and order to impound and sell stray camels to preserve private property after social conditions altered.
The curriculum further covers the constitutional foundations of Islamic governance, emphasizing divine sovereignty (al-ḥākimiyya) and mutual consultation (shura) across legislative, executive, and judicial branches. It details the qualifications of the head of state (al-imām al-aʿẓam), including faith, maturity, sanity, freedom, male gender, legal competence (ijtihād), moral integrity, administrative capability, and physical and psychological aptitude, alongside classical debates concerning Qurayshi lineage. It concludes with the mechanisms of succession, the role of electors (ahl al-ḥall wa-l-ʿaqd), the oath of fealty (bay'ah), and the reciprocal rights and duties between the ruler and the public.
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