Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami

Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami (The Construction of Islamic Society), also titled Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami wa-Nuzumuhu, is a sociological study by the Egyptian sociology professor Nabil al-Samaluti examining the institutional structures and foundations of Islamic society from an Islamic sociological perspective Majallat al-Bayan+1.

Background and Purpose

The author completed the preface to the first edition in Abha on 19 Muharram 1401 AH (27 November 1980 CE) Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami. In it, al-Samaluti noted that sociology seeks a scientific understanding of society, phenomena, and institutions through historical, statistical, empirical, and comparative methods in order to uncover the historical and social laws established by God Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami. He argued that Arab and Islamic societies need a critical re-examination of competing Western sociological paradigms—such as structural functionalism and dialectical materialism—grounded instead in the Quran and the Sunnah, as well as an empirical understanding of local social reality Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami.

The book contends that Islamic Sharia offers an integrated institutional order (covering familial, economic, administrative, penal, and educational domains) that synthesizes moral idealism and practicality, contrasting with man-made positivist social systems Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami+1.

In the expanded second edition, the author revised the text by incorporating Muslim educational perspectives—specifically those of Abu Hanifa and the contemporary thinker Malik Bennabi—and appending a sixth chapter addressing modernization, development, and an Islamic alternative model for social development Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami+1.

Structure and Contents

The second edition of the work is organized into six main chapters:

• Chapter 1: The Structural Foundations of Islamic Society (al-Usus al-bina'iyya lil-mujtama al-islami): Discusses the concept of creed (aqida) in the Quran versus opposing ideologies, Islamic social thought, the objectives of Islamic law (maqasid al-sharia), the foundations of sound social relations, and the relationship between creed and law Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami.
• Chapter 2: The Sociological Study of Social Institutions (al-Dirasa al-susiwulujiyya lil-nuzum al-ijtima'iyya): Defines social institutions, their characteristics, types, functions, classifications, and relative weights within the broader social structure Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami.
• Chapter 3: The Family System (al-Nizam al-a'ili): Explores the family's functions and founding principles (selection, mutual consent, compatibility, and dowry), spousal and child rights and duties, categories of prohibited marriage, mechanisms for resolving marital disputes, divorce, and polygyny Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami+1.
• Chapter 4: The Educational System (al-Nizam al-tarbawi): Details Quranic and prophetic pedagogical models, objectives and arenas of Islamic education (recitation of verses, spiritual purification, teaching scripture and wisdom), educational methods, mental health, principles of learning, and historical educational models from Abu Hanifa and Malik Bennabi Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami+1.
• Chapter 5: The Economic System (al-Nizam al-iqtisadi): Analyzes Islamic views on wealth, investment, ownership regulations and methods of acquisition (labor, risk, land reclamation, inheritance), financial transactions, labor relations, economic justice, responses to poverty, class stratification, and unemployment, state responsibilities regarding public funds and social security, and economic thought in Islamic heritage as exemplified by Ibn Khaldun Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami+1.
• Chapter 6: Modernization and Development in Sociology and a Proposed Islamic Approach (Qadaya al-tahdith wal-tanmiya fi ilm al-ijtima ma'a tarh madkhal islami muqtarah): Assesses theories of modernization, industrialization, and social change in developing nations, analyzes obstacles to modernization, and proposes an integrated Islamic model covering ideological, economic, occupational, educational, psychological, health, ethical, administrative, political, and international dimensions of development Bina al-Mujtama al-Islami+1.